Cannot trigger "Prompt for User Input" with hot key

Questions & Suggestions
1

Hi,
I have an Prompt for User Input that works perfectly when I click on the Try button, but it doesn't work with any hot key. Any idea what could be causing that behavior? (The Prompt is quite simple: The selected word (in Firefox or anywhere) is copied and paste into the Kanji field, the user types the pronunctiation (kana) and the translation, then the three fields are added to a txt glossary.)

2

A few possibilities:

  1. The macro is disabled.
  2. The group the macro is in is disabled.
  3. The group is inactive due to a condition you placed on the group.

Let me know if you need further information.

3

Hi,
The macro is enabled, the group is enabled, and the group is active for all applications, always available and available in all windows.

This is very strange, since:

  • all my other macros are OK;

  • the macro works when I click on Try.

Today I noticed one more problem: if I deactivate an old macro (or remove it’s hot key) and use this macro’s hot key with my new macro, the hot key still launches the old macro. And it keeps doing so even if I close and restart KBM.

4

I would agree with you! I've never heard of anything like this.

It appears that a lot of people are out this week, so I'm not sure what kind of response you'll receive, but someone may know the answer. I wish it was me, but it isn't.

Good luck!

If you manage to figure out what's wrong, please post the answer. I'm curious.

5

I got it!
Restarting didn’t work since I restarted only the KBM’s editor, not the engine. :blush:

6

Sp restarting the engine solved the problem?

7

Yes :slight_smile:
Thank you for your assistance…

8

I'm glad you solved your issue.

You probably are well aware of this now, but for all readers:

the first step for recovering from / fixing "weird", "strange", "unusual" behavior is to do a computer restart, AKA, reboot.

It is amazing how many issues that will fix.

Of course, if the issue keeps reoccurring after the reboots, then more in-depth diagnostics will be required.

9

Yes, sorry for that, I should have tried...

10

[quote="HigashiFukai, post:1, topic:5858, full:true"]
Prompt for User Input that works perfectly when I click on the Try button, but it doesn't work with any hot key. [/quote]

I've faced a problem like that multiple times.
Very frustrating ... until I figured it out.

In every case here, the cause was that macro still running from a previous trigger.
The macro had not gone to completion.
Of course, I can't know if that's your situation or not, but it is where I would start looking.

.

That would be the last resort I would follow, not the first.
Not just because it might be a waste of time, but because it would interrupt the application states of everything else open on the computer.

And, what's worse, following that advice would prevent the user from finding the cause of the problem, so he could understand and fix it, and avoid making that mistake again.

.

So, if I understand the problem correctly, then it can be fixed simply and quickly by using:

KM Status Menu (top, right, menu bar) > Cancel (near the bottom of Status Menu).

If I haven't understood the problem, I hope the OP will provide more details.
.

11

It's a good thing to look for, but macros can be invoked multiple times simultaneously so that would not stop the macro from being triggered or from performing it's actions.

I agree too. restarting (the editor, engine, or the Mac) should generally not be necessary. That is resolved this problem gives some clues as to where the problem was. @JMichaelTX is correct though, that when "something weird" happens, and if you want a quick resolution, restarting is usually a relatively quick thing to test. The definition of "something weird" varies with your knowledge of computers.

My guess would be that @DanThomas was on the correct track to begin with.

Whenever a macro does not fire when expected, the troubleshooting process is the same (as described on the wiki Troubleshooting page).

Here is what to do:

  • Ensure the Keyboard Maestro Engine is running - the Keyboard Maestro status menu should show in the menu bar on the right hand side (unless you've turned it off).
  • Ensure you have accessibility enabled (click on the status menu and Keyboard Maestro will tell you if there is a problem).
  • Ensure the Macro Group is enabled, and is active in the application in question.
  • Ensure the macro is enabled.
  • Ensure the macro actions are enabled.
  • Add a status menu trigger, and verify that the macro is active by checking for its name in the Keyboard Maestro status menu.
  • Add a Display Text action to the macro to verify that the macro is firing.
  • Choose Start Debugging from the Status Menu, ensure Pause New Macros is turned on, and trigger the macro. Step through the actions to see where it is going wrong.

Basically, you have to discover if the macro is active, if the trigger is firing, or if the actions are failing.

In this case, since restarting the engine resolved the problem, there are a couple possibilities: the engine might not have been running, or might have been locked up or otherwise jammed; the macro group might be active with a palette, and that palette may have been closed; the macro group might have been deactivated by some other means; etc.

1 Like
12

Valuable lesson.
I did not think to look on the Wiki for "troubleshooting" in general.
From now on, I will look there first.
Thank you @peternlewis.