I’ve made a few macros, but now one or two keyboard keys keep going dead. Turning off the KM engine is the only fix I’ve found. If every one of my macros is assigned to just one app, shouldn’t the engine ignore everything else? What’s the real fix for this?
There's a feature in the KM Editor called Interactive Help which is designed to solve problems like this. Did you try that? Did you check the contents of the Engine.log file to see if the macros were being triggered when you press the keys? Did you turn on the debugger window with the flag "Pause New Macros" checked off to see if your macros were being triggered when you pressed the keys?
What do you mean by "keys keep going dead"? Do you mean that the keys aren't triggering the macros, or do you mean the keys aren't working at all in any app?
What do you mean by "macro is assigned to just one app?" Do you mean that the macro group that contains the macro is assigned to just one app, or do you mean that the macro itself somehow detects which app is active?
Instead of answering these questions, you could show the contents of the macros.
Thanks for the diagnostic suggestions — Interactive Help, Engine.log, the debugger with Pause New Macros. Those are genuinely useful pointers, and I'll pursue them.
That said, the framing here could use some recalibration. A forum for a tool with a steep learning curve is most useful when it meets newcomers where they are, not where veterans wish they were. Stacking four rapid-fire questions and two "what do you mean by" challenges — without first acknowledging that the original question made reasonable sense on its face — reads more like a cross-examination than an offer of help.
"Keys going dead" and "macro assigned to one app" are plain-English descriptions that any experienced KM user can reasonably interpret, even if they're not the forum's preferred terminology. Asking for clarification is fine. Leading with it as if the question were poorly formed is not.
I'll follow up once I've worked through the diagnostics.
This reply comes late, but the point seems worth making nonetheless.
I think the questions highlighted that they were not unambiguous descriptions, and, while you might not have like the blunt phrasing of the questions, I hope you can “reframe” a little too, to recognise that they were seeking clarity rather than quibbling. 
As you will know, online communications are notoriously at risk from misunderstandings about the intended tone, but this is a very helpful forum in which many people are prompt in assisting newcomers. I would say that you received a focussed and potentially very helpful reply there, which also asked for more information.
Even here, there is always the possibility for feeling offended by the perceived tone of a reply, but when that happens, it may help to remember that here, as everywhere, there are all sorts of people, thinking in different ways and expressing their thoughts in different ways. Assuming good faith really is the best starting position, even if one might feel a bit rankled occasionally!
@Airy has not been active in the forum very recently, so might not see your reply immediately, but there will always be someone here who is keen to help, so let us know how you get on!
These pages on the wiki might provide further context or help:
Hi, @Cannolo.
You are not the first to interpret @Airy's tone differently than he intended. I chuckled when I read this post by him.
Although @Airy has been absent for a few months, he has helped many users here and it seems he has a huge heart.
Yes, I think most mac forums are a cut above, but IMO this one sets the standard!
A great reminder, @kevinb!
@Cannolo since it appears that you are an occasional user of the forum, I'll provides some valuable links that I often share with new forum users.
Popeye, is that you? (No offence..!)
I will caution everyone to refrain from quibbling about how responses are written. Many people have english as a second language and/or come from different cultures with different speaking/writing styles.
To quibble about how a post that is actively trying to answer a question and offer help is not ok. If you dislike the contents of a post, then ignore it or report it, but do not respond to it.
My thanks go to @Airy, @kevinb, and @_jims (and many others) for the endless time they put in to freely helping others.
This topic will remain open for now as it does not appear to be resolved/completed, but I will lock it if there is further discussion about styles of writing.
Thanks.
Thank you, @_jims. Those links are indeed helpful.
And if you could upload one of the problematic macros that would really help us to help you -- when we import it into KM it comes in with the same Macro Group, and Macro Group settings, that you have. So we approach this from both directions.
Ideally, pick a macro that is relatively simple (fewer details to derail the troubleshooting!) and that targets a default Mac app like Safari or TextEdit. A note of your macOS and KM versions always help, too.