So, you may be wondering how this website came about. On the Keyboard Maestro user group, people were commenting on how they didn’t have a centralized place to collect and distribute Keyboard Maestro macros. Bakari Chavanu has a nice collection on Tumblr, but it isn’t conductive to organization (Tumblr is designed to be a simple blog). Alfred has a list of workflows, but it lacks reviews and help (basically, it is a simple list).
I immediately thought that WordPress would be the perfect solution, as it has plugins that allow for a huge variety of additional functionality.
As I looked at the various plugins, I noted that none were perfect. In some cases, I wasn’t happy with their interfaces. Some had less than attractive designs. Some didn’t have all of the functionality that we desired.
Then came a post by Chris Lema. It was inspirational. I decided to use a eCommerce system called Easy Digital Downloads, by Pippin Williamson.
Installing Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) was easy. Configuring it was simple. EDD’s code doesn’t slow down the site. I was happy with my initial tests. Compared to other eCommerce plugins, EDD is simply delightful.
There were a few bits of desired functionality missing from EDD. I wanted to be able to offer the downloads for free, without forcing the user to go through a shopping cart or even register. I wanted a review system. I wanted to make it easy for other macro authors to upload their own macros.
Luckily, EDD has a wide selection of add-ons. I settled on four:
- Product Reviews
- Product Support
- Frontend Submissions
- Free Download
After purchasing and installing the above, I started configuring the add-ons. Product Reviews just worked. Product Support worked well, but there was one key bit of functionality that was missing. I posted about it in their support forum, and I got a quick response. Free Download gave me a bit of trouble, but I eventually got it to work. The original author wasn’t responsive to my questions, but Pippin was. Finally, Frontend Submissions didn’t suit my needs. After discussing various issues with the author in their support forum, I decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble. I asked for a refund, and promptly got it.
When I installed bbPress (for the support forums, which I subsequently removed, due to performance issues), I ran into a bug where EDD would get stuck in a redirect loop if you weren’t logged into WordPress. Pippin helped me troubleshoot it, and he ended up writing a custom plugin to fix the issue.
The above brings up something that I feel is important to say. I’ve dealt with tech support for various WordPress plugins. Some have been unresponsive. Some have been ok. Many have been good. But none have inspired respect as much as Pippin Williamson. He was kind, helpful and responsive. If more developers followed Pippin’s practices, the WordPress world would be a better place.
So there you have it. During the creation of the site, several setbacks occurred. But it is now live. It is a meager start, with only three macros as of today. Hopefully, the Keyboard Maestro community will embrace it, and there will be more soon.
Enjoy the site, and I hope you find some macros that improve your life!
Jim
