Shortcuts Quick Actions Not Working

[JoelBC]

I have setup a Shortcut that enters an e-mail address.

I have setup the Shortcut to work as a Quick Action.

The problem I am having is that the Shortcut does execute / fire when the Shortcuts application is closed as it should.

Would appreciate assistance in getting this to work as it is maddening (at least to me)!

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[BigBlur]

What is the problem? Did you mean to say that it does not execute / fire? What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

The tip below is what you can do with the output.

 

[JoelBC]

@BigBlur

If the Shortcuts app is open then the keystrokes ^D enters the e-mail address where the cursor is positioned.

If the Shortcut app is not then the keystrokes ^D do not the e-mail address where the cursor is positioned. The problem is that the shortcut is not "outputting" / typing the e-mail address which base don my understand it should do.

 

[BigBlur]

@BigBlur

If the Shortcuts app is open then the keystrokes ^D enters the e-mail address where the cursor is positioned.

If the Shortcut app is not then the keystrokes ^D do not the e-mail address where the cursor is positioned. The problem is that the shortcut is not "outputting" / typing the e-mail address which base don my understand it should do.

Gotcha, I re-created this and it seems to be working whether the Shortcuts app is open or closed...but not everywhere.

For example, it worked if my cursor was in Safari's address bar or in Notes, but not in a textbox on a site and some other apps. It did work if I went to App Name > Services in the menu bar and run it from there though. I also got it to work in textboxes on sites by changing the shortcut to be Control-Shift-D (instead of Control-D). It still didn't work in some other apps though. I'm guessing there's keyboard shortcut conflicts going on with those.

Not sure if that's what you're experiencing or not. Did you happen to test it in one app when Shortcuts is open, but another app after you closed it? Did you see if it works in other places, such as Notes; or from the Service menu?

Depending on how/what you're using this for, Keyboard Text Replacements might be another option to look into. You could make it so that typing something like 'eee' puts in your email address. Then you wouldn't have to worry about keyboard shortcut conflicts with various apps.

Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac

In apps on your Mac, automatically replace text, quotation marks, hyphens, and internet addresses in documents.

support.apple.com

 

[JoelBC]

@BigBlur, huge thank you for taking theme to dig into this noting:

1. Agree it does not work everywhere and it does not work consistently, even where it does work when Shortcuts is closed.

2. Interesting comment about keyboard shortcut conflict, I can will try a more complicated keyboard shortcut combination. That said, why does it work when Shortcuts is open as the same keyboard conflict would exist?

3. Is there a way to determine / see the keyboard shortcut conflicts? I am not aware of any.

4. Will certainly try keyboard text replacement idea, I missed that! Thank you for both the idea and the link!

General comment -- as Apple roles out more and more these features (i.e., SHortcust, etc.) I find that macOS becomes buggier and buggier. I do wish they make things rock solid before releasing them so users can rely on them, else what is the point!

Much thanks for the help, insights and suggestion!

 

[BigBlur]

2. I'm not sure. I haven't been able to reproduce that particular issue. I see the same behavior whether Shortcuts is open or closed. Maybe try restarting your Mac if you haven't already and/or check out this post on Reddit.

3. Not very easily. Apple has this document containing quite a few shortcuts. I now see why Control-D didn't work in some places; it's a shortcut to delete the character to the right of the cursor. You can also check System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts for a list of some (or to change them). Apps can have their own shortcuts too. Would have to go through the menu items of the app to see what they are.

 

[JoelBC]

2. I'm not sure. I haven't been able to reproduce that particular issue. I see the same behavior whether Shortcuts is open or closed. Maybe try restarting your Mac if you haven't already and/or check out this post on Reddit.

I have restarted my MBP many times, it makes zero difference. I wish it were that simple.

3. Not very easily. Apple has this document containing quite a few shortcuts. I now see why Control-D didn't work in some places; it's a shortcut to delete the character to the right of the cursor. You can also check System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts for a list of some (or to change them). Apps can have their own shortcuts too. Would have to go through the menu items of the app to see what they are.

Hmmm, not ideal to say the least but greatly appreciated. The URL is good!

I will investigate the keyboard shortcuts that I use to make sure that there are as few conflicts as possible. I am begging to think that I need to use two modifier keys fro such keyboard shortcuts to minimize the chance of a conflict.

Thank you, this has been very helpful.

 

[JoelBC]

@BigBlur , brief update!

I changed all teh keyboard shortcuts to include two (or more) modifier keys. It appears to have improved the reliability. I will test more over the next two days and provide a more fulsome update.

I do think you are on to something / the solution.

Thank you.

 

[JoelBC]

@BigBlur

I spoke to Apple earlier today about the keyboard shortcut conflict and they provided the following link which lists a number of the Apple app and macOS (including Accessibility) keyboard shortcuts https://support.apple.com/en-us/102650

They also advised that when i) a user defines a conflicting keyboard shortcut and ii) teh application in which the conflicting keyboard shortcut is defined is opened then generally the conflicting keyboard shortcut overrides the macOS defined shortcut. This is explain the behaviour and situation I encountered.

Trust this provides a little additional insight.

Joel