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Workflow Editor Keyboard Shortcuts

New in Alfred 5

In Alfred 5, we have made it easier to navigate the whole Workflow Editor from the keyboard, allowing you to easily add, configure and connect objects without ever needing to reach for the mouse.

You'll see most of these navigation hints at the bottom of the canvas to guide you. You can disable these hints by clicking the [x] in the top right of the hint box, and you can re-enable them by right-clicking the canvas > Options > Show Hints at Bottom of Canvas.

Workflow canvas hints

Skip to the Workflow Shortcuts Cheatsheet to see all hotkeys at a glance.

These hotkeys make Alfred's Workflow Editor much more efficient, as well as improving the Accessibility and VoiceOver compatibility. Give it a try, see how you can create a whole workflow without using the mouse by using the shortcuts below!


Adding objects from the Palette

Objects can be dragged directly from the palette into the canvas.

When dragging an object from the Palette, hold to connect your new object to the selected object(s) on the canvas.

You can also add an object in a specific location by right-clicking the canvas to choose an object from the menu.

Searching the Palette

The fastest way to add objects to the palette is to use the Palette Search.

Palette Search Press \ or / to make the Palette Search appear to the right of the canvas, over the Palette.

Type a search term to find the object you'd like to add to the cavnas, press to add the selected result to the canvas.

Alternatively, use to automatically connect the object to the output of the selected object(s) in the canvas.

Hint: Type the first letters of the objects to search for items faster, such as 'rs' for 'Run Script'. You can also type the category to view all objects in that category, e.g. 'Actions'.

Navigating & moving objects on the canvas

Manually move the selected objects by dragging them.

Use the arrows to move the selected items around the canvas, and arrows to move the object in larger steps.

arrows will navigate the selection to the nearest objects.

and navigates the selection via connected objects.

and navigates to connected sibling objects.

Connecting objects

There are a number of different ways to connect objects in the editor canvas:

  1. Manually connect an object by dragging from its output handle to the handle of the next object.
  2. With object(s) selected in the canvas, hold and click another object to connect the source objects to the clicked object.
  3. With object(s) selected in the canvas, use arrows to connect to the nearest object.

Use while an object is selected to remove its connections to other objects.

Configuring objects

On a selected item, use to open the object configuration.

Also on a selected item, use to show the pop-up menu.

Hint: You can disable auto configuration of objects when adding them from the Canvas popup menu > Options > Show Configuration Sheet for Newly Added Objects


Workflow Editor Shortcuts Cheatsheet

Here are all the shortcuts and hotkeys in one place:

Palette Search

/ or \ Show Palette Search, then type to search the available objects

or Navigate up and down search results

Add selected object to canvas from Palette Search

Add object to canvas from Palette Search and connect to selected object

Canvas

arrows Move the selected objects

arrows Move the selected objects further

arrows Navigate between objects

and Navigate between objects via connections

and Navigate to sibling objects

click Connect selected object(s) to the clicked object

arrows Connect selected object(s) to the nearest object

shiftclick Connect selected object(s) to the clicked object and maintain selection

shiftarrows Connect selected object(s) to the nearest object and maintain selection

to open the object configuration for the selected object

to show the pop-up menu for the selected object

Delete all connections for selected object

D Toggle Debugger

- Zoom Canvas out

+ Zoom Canvas in

0 Reset Zoom

9 Toggle Palette visibility


Learn more about Workflows

You can find out more about creating Workflows here:

Don't forget that you can always use the question mark icon in any Workflow preferences to learn more about a specific workflow object.

Latest Blog Post:

Video Tutorial: Using Web Searches and Creating Custom Searches in Alfred

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