When trying to execute a macro that starts with SELECT OR SHOW A MENU ITEM (Select Menu in "Front Application") via keyboard shortcut, nothing happens until I Command+TAB away to another app and then back. Then the macro run as expected. This is happening on old macros that have run fine for years. Started happening in the last several months. Tried completely deleting Maestro from the Mac and reinstalling.
Perhaps it has something to do with the "Front Application" setting, as if Maestro doesn't register the app that I'm currently in until switching away from it and then back. But I don't want to define a specific application because when Adobe updates their software, the app name changes and I can't go back and update all my shortcuts every few months.
My suggestion is to read the following post and see if it applies to you. I think it's possible that this is the underlying cause of your problem. I think you should try the advice in this post to see if it's the cause.
As I suggested, use the Interactive Help to determine if the macro is firing or not.
If the macro is firing and the select menu is failing, then presumably the app is not building its menus.
If the macro is not firing, then perhaps the macro group confirmation is incorrect, or the application is not actually active, or there is some issue with its activation (such as can happen when applications change their status from background only to background&foreground).
That's one good step forward. Your next step is to read the post that I linked for you, because, as Peter says, "presumably the app is not building its macros."
Ok, so that means the Keyboard Maestro Engine is running, and the macro is being triggered. So then you need to look at the action and what it is doing. Add an action like Alert or Speak Text or Log and verify that they happen.
Yes, a Speak Text action works, but my actual needed action--a Menu Item Selection is not run in After Effects. And your workaround to start with an empty SELECT MENU does work, although it's not elegant-- the menu visibly pops up every time I run the action (I added an ESCAPE key action to make the blank menu go away).
So the issue must be Adobe After Effects not having the menu options available until you click them and there is not real fix then? Strange that this just started this year, I've been using these same macros for years.
It sounds like you have correctly diagnosed that it depends on your version of adobe software. You could always try using the old versions to confirm that you have the right answer. Or you could just contact Adobe to complain about this problem. but I agree it’s not a serious problem because you have the macro working now.
Options to force the application into updating its menus include:
Switch out and back to the application, and then use the Select Menu Item action. Since this works, you could possibly automate that by switching to the Finder and then back the After Effects.
Use the Show Menu variant (leave the item field blank) of the Select Menu Item action to show the menu item first, and then the Select Menu Item. Which you say works, so that is something. You may be able to do that and immediately follow it with the menu selection for the menu you want.
Simulate a click in the menu bar, and then use the Select Menu Item action.
Desperate measures, simulate a click in the menu bar, and then use arrows and typeahead (Insert Text by Typing) to select the menu item.