Highlight area
Draws a red outline over the screen, a window or a rectangle for a moment, then removes it.
Highlight area
Keyboard Maestro: HiliteLocation
Details #
Puts a red-bordered, lightly tinted box over part of the screen. It floats above everything, does not take focus and does not block the mouse, then disappears. Use it to show what a macro is about to act on or to draw your eye to a window.
Choose the area with area, or give an exact rectangle with x, y, width and height (all four; they win over area):
screen (the default) covers all displays together.
main covers the main display.
window covers the front window of the front app, or of
app.
The step waits until the outline is gone. The output holds x, y, width and height of the rectangle used.
Parameters #
| Parameter | Type | Required | Values | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
app | text | For window: the app whose front window to outline. | ||
area | one of | screen main window | screen, main or window. Anything else is treated as screen. | |
height | number | |||
seconds | number | How long it stays. The default is 1. Values are held between 0.1 and 30. | ||
width | number | |||
x | number | , y, width, height: A rectangle in screen points. Used only when all four are given. | ||
y | number |
Every step also accepts label, onFailure, timeout and dryRunSafe.
Examples #
- Outline a screen area
- Show “Outline shown”
Gotchas #
windowfails if the app has no window to read. It needs Accessibility permission.Fails with "no display to outline" if no display is found.
Like most steps it has a 10 second time limit, so for
secondsabove about 10 also set a longertimeouton the step.Steps that touch the Mac are simulated in a dry run, so Try it does not draw the outline.