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Ease of Learning for Programmers and Power Users

 
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Mr. Kissel,

Automation is a topic I have long wanted to take advantage of though I haven't quite been able to see how integrating automation into my workflow would help yet. As a working software developer and a general power user I would like to learn how my daily process could be improved with automation.

In your video about the book you mention gaining a few minutes here, a few minutes there. Do I stand to gain much benefit from the ideas you provide in your Mac automation book? Currently I don't use any macros, scripts, or automatic tools of any sort. I know tons of keyboard shortcuts on Windows and Mac in addition to using Spectacle, Mission Control, and multiple screens on my Mac for general use.

I seem to get by pretty well with what I know. Would you say that the things in your book are optimizations that are generally not addressed by existing functionality in Mac with keyboard shortcuts and the like?

 
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Keyboard shortcuts "count" as automation in my book, so that's already a good start :-).

Do you use code completion? If so, that's a form of automation highly relevant to programmers (and if not, you should!). There are tons of ways to automate the insertion of code fragments, and that gets you not only faster results but a decreased chance of typing errors.

My book isn't specifically for programmers; it's about automation more broadly. It goes far beyond functionality built into the Mac, including things like macro utilities, clipboard enhancements, launchers, programmable word processors, AppleScript, Automator, shell scripts, and much more. I'd be shocked if you didn't find at least a few things that will save you time and effort, regardless of what you're using your Mac for. (And, after all, I assume you use your Mac for things besides programming!)

Cheers,

Joe
 
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Yes, I do use my Mac for plenty of things besides programming. There are plenty of things I'd like to use it for that I am not, like video editing, photo editing, sound editing, making videos for a youtube channel, and recording audio.

I do use code completion but not nearly enough. If I can learn how to use a computer for automation I'll probably end up using my Mac for things I hadn't even imagined I would.

I look forward to reading your book!

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