# Snippets for Actions CommandPost allows you to create Lua code snippets, which appear as actions in CommandPost's Search Console. This means you can trigger a Snippet via a shortcut key or control surface button. For example, to launch Final Cut Pro, you can use this simple Lua code: `cp.apple.finalcutpro:launch()` CommandPost is also compatible with **Hammerspoon**, so you can also use any of the examples on the [Hammerspoon website](http://www.hammerspoon.org/go/). You can learn more about Lua [here](../developer/lua-overview/). You can find the Hammerspoon API reference [here](../api-references/hammerspoon/hs/). Here's some direct links to some useful Hammerspoon functions: - [`hs.timer.usleep(microsecs)`](../api-references/hammerspoon/hs.timer/#usleep) - **Add a delay** - [`hs.eventtap.keyStroke(modifiers, character[, delay, application])`](../api-references/hammerspoon/hs.eventtap/#keystrokes) - **Trigger a virtual key stroke** - [`hs.application:selectMenuItem(menuitem[, isRegex])`](../api-references/hammerspoon/hs.application/#selectmenuitem) - **Trigger an application menu item** Here's some direct links to some useful CommandPost functions: - [`cp.tools`](../api-references/commandpost/cp.tools/) --- ## Examples ### Press "CMD+C" ```lua hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "c") ``` --- ### Press & Release If you want a control surface key to behave like a normal keyboard key, you need seperate actions for **Press** and **Release**. For example, if you want to use the Q key this is the action for press: ``` hs.eventtap.event.newKeyEvent("q", true):post() ``` ...and this is the code for release: ``` hs.eventtap.event.newKeyEvent("q", false):post() ``` --- ### Controlling Final Cut Pro Titles Lets say for example, you want to control the **Animation Amount** of Motion VFX's awesome **mMusic Video 2**, **Subtitle 05** Animation Amount: ![](/static/animation-amount.png) To do this we can use [UI Browser](https://latenightsw.com/freeware/ui-browser/) or Xcode's Accessibility Inspector to find some information about the location of this slider in the Accessibility Hierarchy. **Accessibility Inspector:** ![](/static/animation-amount-ui.png) **UI Browser:** ![](/static/animation-amount-ui-browser.png) With this information we can determine that the `AXSlider` is contained within a `AXScrollArea` within an `AXGroup`. We can also see that the `AXDescription` for this particular slider is "animation amount slider". With this information we can now put together a Lua Snippet to get this slider, and increment it: ``` local fcp = require "cp.apple.finalcutpro" local axutils = require "cp.ui.axutils" local Slider = require "cp.ui.Slider" animationAmountSlider = Slider(fcp.inspector.title, function() local title = fcp.inspector.title local ui = title and title:UI() local groupA = ui and axutils.childAtIndex(ui, 1) local groupB = groupA and axutils.childAtIndex(groupA, 1) local animationAmountSliderUI = groupB and axutils.childWithDescription(groupB, "animation amount slider") return animationAmountSliderUI end) animationAmountSlider:show():increment() ``` To decrement it we can use: ``` animationAmountSlider:show():decrement() ``` To set a specific value we can use: ``` animationAmountSlider:show():value(12) ``` --- ### Type "test" ```lua hs.eventtap.keyStrokes("test") ``` --- ### Trigger Shortcuts with Delay's in-between ```lua -- Type "t" hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "t") -- Wait 1 second cp.just.wait(1) -- Type "e" hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "e") ``` --- ### Forcefully restart an application by its bundle identifier ```lua local bundleID = "com.logitech.manager.daemon" local apps = hs.application.applicationsForBundleID(bundleID) if apps and apps[1] then apps[1]:kill9() end hs.application.launchOrFocusByBundleID(bundleID) ``` --- ### Select all even clips in a timeline ```lua cp.apple.finalcutpro:launch() local clips = cp.apple.finalcutpro:timeline():contents():clipsUI() table.sort(clips, function(a, b) return a.AXPosition.x < b.AXPosition.x end) local evenClips = {} for i, clip in ipairs(clips) do if (i % 2 == 0) then table.insert(evenClips, clip) end end cp.apple.finalcutpro:timeline():contents():selectClips(evenClips) ``` --- ### Go back 500 frames and play ```lua hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "-", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "2", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "return") cp.apple.finalcutpro:doShortcut("JogForward"):Now() ``` --- ### Audio Cross Dissolve Backward (J-Cut) ```lua hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"shift"}, "]", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "-", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "1", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "return", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "up", 0) -- Need To Assign Toggle Fade Out in FCPX hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd", "alt"}, "f", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "down", 0) -- Need To Assign Toggle Fade In in FCPX hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd", "shift"}, "f", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"ctrl"}, "s", 0) ``` --- ### Audio Cross Dissolve Centre ```lua hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"shift"}, "]", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "-", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "1", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "return", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "up", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "down", 0) -- Need To Assign Toggle Fade In in FCPX hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd", "shift"}, "f", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"ctrl"}, "s", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "down", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"shift"}, "[", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"shift"}, "=", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "1", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "return", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "up", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "down", 0) -- Need To Assign Toggle Fade Out in FCPX hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd", "alt"}, "f") hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"ctrl"}, "s") ``` --- ### Audio Cross Dissolve Forward (L-Cut) ```lua hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"shift"}, "[", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"shift"}, "=", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "1", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "0", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({}, "return", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "up", 0) -- Need To Assign Toggle Fade In in FCPX hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd", "shift"}, "f", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd"}, "down", 0) -- Need To Assign Toggle Fade Out in FCPX hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"cmd", "alt"}, "f", 0) hs.eventtap.keyStroke({"ctrl"}, "s", 0) ``` ---