How to map shortcuts to a single key

[2pauluzz2]

I'm wondering if anyone has found a solution for the following:

– My right hand rests on a mouse or controller.
– I often find myself wanting to create overview on my screen by closing the Browser (alt + cmd + b) and Detail View (alt + cmd + L) panels.
– With Ableton's native shortcuts, I need to use two hands and press two separate shortcuts to achieve this result, which means moving my hand away from the mouse/controller.

For the sake of workflow I'd like to achieve the following, on Mac:

Map alt + cmd + B to §
Map alt + cmd + L to §

I can already achieve this for a midi controller using MidiStroke. MidiStroke allows me to map multiple key combinations to a single midi button.

But I'd like to have the useless "§" key, conveniently placed just above that other key that I use frequently (tab), to take that role.

Does anyone know a solution for this?

[[jur]]

Yep, that really bothers me too, having to constantly close those two views.
But cmd+alt only needs one thumb, really, there just next to each other; 1 hand is enough.
You can also use shift+F12 to close the device view.
It's also doable with M4L, maybe do a search on maxforlive.com ?

[2pauluzz2]

Thanks, but my mouse is on a lower level on my desk than my keyboard (desktop, not a Macbook), so it still requires two hands. I haven't found a solution on Maxforlive. I'll see if there is a mac hack of some sort that can achieve this, but I don't have high hopes.

[2pauluzz2]

Nailed it!

You can map shortcuts on Mac for 'menu items'. You need to use the exact name that appears in an application's menu bar.



In above example (I messed up the img size but should still be readable) I tried to map to one key, but that doesn't work, so I needed to map to two separate keys.

As I don't use Apple's functionality on the F-keys (F1=dim contrast, F2=bright contrast, etc.) on the mac in my studio, I can map the menu's to F1 and F2:



You'll need to enter the specific menu names "Show Browser" and "Show/Hide Detail View".

Now, I can easily hit F1 and F2 with my left hand and I do not have to take my right hand away from my mouse or controller, to show those menu's.

Too bad those images can't be attached to the forum as they will be removed at some point, and this tip might be useful for someone else.

[[jur]]

Yeah it's a popular trick on osx, but it doesn't allow for single-key shortcuts.

[2pauluzz2]

True. Perhaps you might be in a position to influence that? Those two separate buttons actually work very well for my purposes, so I'm sorted.

[aratunes]

On Windows- and mac I'd love to be able to make quantize (control+u) a one button stoke... its a stretch to hit command+u Can we do that, reassign it to a single button?

[2pauluzz2]

It is a menu item, so on Mac the same technique should work

[thenightshift]

I would also like to remap functions triggered with modifier keys to other keys on the keyboard. Specifically, the default cmd+space (Play Arrangement View Selection) function. I have another app running that already uses that shortcut, and it's something I use quite often, so I don't want to change it.

[vanhaze]

Mac user here,

Reaper is still my main DAW, in which you can easily assign your own keyshortcut bindings
and even make macro actions: very powerful.

I bought this great application for remapping shortcut's in Live:
https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/

It's a really fantastic tool, it goes very deep if you want.
You can create macro actions which trigger various functions in Live at once.
You can even create all kinds of mouse related actions.
For people who want to speed up workflow, it's worth every penny i think.

Just my 2 cents.