keyboard shortcuts to toggle "markup" in Preview

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Level 1

119 points

keyboard shortcuts to toggle "markup" in Preview

I know about [control] + [command] + H, [control] + [command] + U, and [control] + [command] + S. And these work.

But I find myself needing to click the markup button (toggling it on and off) multiple times per page while reading. I wish there was a keyboard shortcut for this. I tried making one in system preferences for just Preview: [control] + [command] + M. It doesn't seem to work.

Any suggestions on how to create this shortcut?

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Aug 26, 2014 1:03 PM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

215,334 points

Aug 26, 2014 1:35 PM in response to xser

You can use a shortcut application like Keyboard Maestro, SimpleKeys, Shortcuts or Macro Recorder. I use KM extensively for adding "canned" replies to posts, opening apps, etc. It can handle the kind of task you're looking for. However, it may be overkill for just that one task so look into the others. Go to MacUpdate.com and search for "keyboard shortcuts" and "keyboard macros" to get other candidates.

Currently QuickKeys is not compatible with Mavericks. I had used it previously but like KM so much better.

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Answer 2

xser Author

Level 1

119 points

Aug 27, 2014 8:08 AM in response to Old Toad

I got Keyboard Maestro and it looks fairly useful. I tried recording my clicking on the button I need to toggle, but it just clicks that area of the screen, so if the button isn't where I recorded the click, then the keyboard shortcut is useless. Any tips on other ways to toggle the button?

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

215,334 points

Aug 27, 2014 8:25 AM in response to xser

Try this macro with the Mouse click function:

You can use any key combination you want and if you create a Preview folder it can be a combination that will work only in preview:

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Answer 4

xser Author

Level 1

119 points

Aug 27, 2014 9:45 AM in response to Old Toad

This will definitely work when I am using my native monitor, which is great. I am interested to see if it will work across monitors. If it does, then you've solved my problem!

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Answer 5

xser Author

Level 1

119 points

Aug 27, 2014 10:51 AM in response to Old Toad

It works across monitors if I change the macro click coordinates to be relative to the top left of my screen.

Thank you so much! This is great!

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Answer 6

xser Author

Level 1

119 points

Sep 24, 2014 7:05 AM in response to xser

Update: there is good reason think that one will be able to toggle the markup button with CMD + CONTROL + H (for highlight) or CMD + CONTROL + U (for underline) in Yosemite: one of the beta updates allows it.

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