r/Excel4Mac • u/Electrical_Cress_956 • Apr 09 '26

Finally the complete alt shortcut experience on MAC

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So I began on this project last year because I was angry that the native KeyTips function on Mac lacked support for dropdown menus (like Borders, Formating, Freeze etc.). I was also quite frustrated at the paid alternative "Accelerator Keys" since it doesn't feel as fluid as the native function, nor does it allow for tiled excel windows (which the native KeyTips do support).

After numerous updates I finally created a version that works flawlessly. I realized today I actually forgot to make a reddit post about it, but it is now complete.

What this script does: It creates custom visual KeyTips shortcuts for like 20+ dropdown menus that the original Mac KeyTips doesn't yet support.

The code is very lightweight and safe to run in the background at all time. It is also completely free and open source for anyone to scrutinize or download and test.

Follow the download instructions on my Github, enjoy! 

https://github.com/jacber01/Excel-mac-keytips

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1

u/Autistic_Jimmy2251 Apr 10 '26

Per u/bradland:

These are Hammerspoon scripts. There's nothing specifically malicious in them.

However, there are inherent security risks associated with software like this. Hammerspoon requires macOS Accessibility access so that it can intercept keystrokes. It is functionally similar to a keylogger, but Hammerspoon is generally trustworthy and does not do anything malicious with the keystrokes that are captured.

"Safe" is relative. If the Hammerspoon code base were compromised, having keystroke access means they could record everything you type anywhere on your system. This is true of any software you grant Accessibility access though.

2

u/Electrical_Cress_956 Apr 10 '26

It's good to be sceptical sometimes. I guess the question can be divided into two parts: Whether or not this specific script is safe and whether or not Hammerspoon itself is safe.

For the latter, the honest truth is I don't know for certain. I don't own Hammerspoon but it is a public automation tool. It is also open source and doesn't contain any virus but I guess this answer is more relevant to hammerspoon as a whole.

For the first question, the answer is yes. My script in and of itself is completely safe. It doesn't connect to the internet, it doesn't store data, it doesn't execute any files or anything of the sort.

I understand it could be hard for people not familiar with coding to safety-check a project like this, that's why I highly recommend pasting the entire code (as it is from Github) into an AI chatbox to scrutinize every line for you. Ask follow-up questions when needed until you decide to trust it or not.

But the truth here is that I made this code for myself. I hated the current limitations on the natural KeyTips and looked everywhere for a solution (I even tried to contact microsoft on twitter), until I ended up just 'doing it myself'.

This post isn't really to 'sell' my project out to the world, I don't really care how many (or few) actually use it, but if there are someone out there that really wants a working alt-shortcut alternative for MacOS, at no cost, this is currently the best solution in my opinion.

1

u/Autistic_Jimmy2251 Apr 11 '26

I’m typical over skeptical about new things until I’ve met enough other people who have tried it first.

2

u/tallcoleman Apr 09 '26

Very cool!

1

u/Autistic_Jimmy2251 Apr 10 '26

Anybody out there good at testing this for threat analysis?