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Show HN: ShowMeYourHotKeys – A macOS app to show applications menu shortcuts (showmeyourhotkeys.moxadventu.com)

44 points by trevize84 ↗ HN
Hi everyone,

ShowMeYourHotKeys is a macOS application I worked for the last months. This app shows the frontmost app's menu items shortcuts (it also have some other features)

There is a beta version available on the website.

Accessibility permission is necessary to obtain menu items informations and Full disk Access is necessary to create custom shortcuts.

I would love to hear all the feedbacks and suggestions.

Thank you for your attention.

52 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 67.0 ms ] thread
kayodelycaon
For anyone who doesn't know, Shift + Command + / will let you search the menu bar. It'll show you which menu/sub-menu a command is under.
behnamoh
Raycast and Paletro provide a better UI for this. Especially Paletro remembers your last choice so you don't have to search for commands over and over. Really helpful when working with mouse-heavy apps.
CharlesW
For other Raycast users who didn't know it could do this, use the "Search Menu Items" command.
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o-o-
Whoa! Been a mac user since 1986 and never knew of this.
dkjaudyeqooe
Ditto, but it doesn't work in 10.14.6, so it's probably a (very) recent addition.
CGamesPlay
Naw, it's been there since 10.0.0. Without a shortcut: use the text field in the "Help" menu.
brewmarche
It’s quite an old feature. Check whether you have disabled or changed the shortcut under System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts > All Applications > Show Help Menu.

The default shortcut might also differ between keyboard layouts.

As the sibling comment said you can also use the text box in the Help menu by clicking it.

TheRealWatson
Interesting but it doesn't seem to activate the menu item for me. Can I make the menu item be invoked once I found it? Hitting return does nothing.
kitsunesoba
Under Ventura 13.0.1 it works as expected for me. Shift + Command + /, down arrow to select result, hit return activates it.
Wevah
It might depend on which key your question mark is on, if not using a US layout.
leodriesch
How is this different from Cheatsheet?

https://formulae.brew.sh/cask/cheatsheet

throwaway675309
I've had great success with cheatsheet. @trevize84, would also be interested in knowing how your app distinguishes itself.
trevize84
My reply to @leodriesch list the main differences with the great CheatSheet app.
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greggh
I have to have Cheatsheet and Shortcat installed on every Mac I use.
trevize84
This app offers several display options for the main window which can be useful for big screen or setup with multiples screens. Hot keys can be bookmarked. Bookmarked hot keys are always displayed on the top of the hot keys list. There is filter options on menu item title and/or pressed keys.

The app has some other features like custom hot keys, hot keys database (all showed hot keys are saved in a database), cheat sheet print and on screen hot key display while typing.

This application is not perfect and will be improved over time.

leodriesch
Question was out of interest, not meant as a discouragement. Sounds nice, will check it out!
alden5
"v1.13(14) - expires on 1/12/2022 (DD/MM/YYYY)" damn, I've never heard of software "expireing" on a certain date, cool app though
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pocketarc
Odds are they just didn’t test on older versions. It’s one person building an app and they’ve made it clear it’s a beta. There’s no reason to be cynical about it, or to launch into hyperbole.
vehemenz
You know, you don't have to buy anything new. It's not a violation of your principles to buy a used Mac from 2017.
trevize84
I understand your point of view. But supporting previous system versions requires resources and time that I don't have at the moment. But this is one of the goals to be achieved.
vladstudio
also, there is a wonderful little app called ShortCat:

https://shortcat.app

it does much more though, and may not be for everyone's taste.

scoot
Installed one of these and it pops up all the time when I hesitate on the command key, despite which I never use, it even though I'm a fan of keyboard shortcuts. I guess I should uninstall it!
trevize84
I have faced this kind of problem during the development of ShowMeYourHotKeys. The "long press key" can be disabled in settings. There is a way to interrupt the popups before it shows by clicking on a mouse button. I admit its not very intuitive and I have some ideas that should be more convenient.
i_like_apis
On the landing page, is the image of sublime text supposed to be an animation? On mobile it’s just a picture of the text editor. I don’t see any picture of the product.
trevize84
It’s an animation that shows how works the app but it seems not working on mobile for now.
chrsig
I'm interested in this. I use a mac for work, but not personal use, and have a hard time remembering some keyboard shortcuts.

One thing I'd want is a legend for key symbol -> key name text. I use an external keyboard without any ctrl/alt/option symbols on them. I get the symbols mixed up quite a bit. They're not how I think about those keys, and it's always frustrating to me to have to figure out which is which based on a symbol.

Also curious if it works with jetbrains products?

trevize84
It should be not difficult to add the key name text with ‘on screen hot keys’ option. Thanks for the idea.

For the jetbrains products, to be honest I didn’t test it for now but if it has a menu it should works.

superb-owl
This should be called SHOW ME WHAT YOU HOT

I'll see myself out.

quyleanh
I'm currently using CheatSheet [1[ and it fits my need.

[1] https://www.mediaatelier.com/CheatSheet/

nbzso
Thanks a lot. This fits my needs perfectly. Simple and quick.
macshome
Same here, I like that it imitates the iOS behavior when holding the command key down.
Martinussen
CheatSheet made me realise how often I hold modifier keys while thinking about my next few actions. I wish it had slightly more flexible settings so it wouldn't keep getting in the way - but OP might be a good alternative for people like me
frabjoused
It's mildly irritating that the only screenshot on the website is small, can't be expanded and if I stare at it I don't know what I'm looking at.
trevize84
You’re right. The website will be updated with more screenshots and videos.
pierreac
What must app engineers do so your app can see the short cut information?
trevize84
The app list all the app's menu items shortcuts. There's nothing special to do except use a menu in the app.
replwoacause
Raycast lets you search menu items which is nice.
fenixk
I really, really like this. Tried the CheatSheet but I like this better (at least on a quick 5 minute test) Nice work.
fenixk
I really, really like this. Tried the CheatSheet but I like this better (at least on a quick 5 minute test) Nice work.

On confusing thing: on the settings where you have the "press 3 times" etc. It looks like the 3 keys that are not chosen are selected/active. And the one selected key looks like it's not selected :)

trevize84
Thank you :-) I really appreciate. The choice of colors is not very intuitive. Until I revamp this part some text under the keys which should help distinguish the keys combinations.
Terretta
Expires on YYYY-MM-DD and you don't have to explain your date format.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601

Cool app. With lots of new-to-MacOS users, I've downloaded this to share with a few to try. When you do sell it, make sure you offer a full price option so companies using Mobile Device Management (MDM) can buy it for employees. Apps with only IAP or Subscription cannot be provided to employees. Apps with a retail price work.

trevize84
I hope you'll find this app useful. And thank you for the advices.