Shortcuts are not working

In some cases, the quick shortcuts may not work as expected for several reasons. There are many possible reasons for that, please follow the instructions below, in that order:

Desktop App (Windows / Mac)

Make sure the app is running and you are logged in. If not, please start the app.
Make sure the app is not running at the same time as the desktop app (you should not use both).
Check the character you have set to enable text expansion in the app settings (for instance, % or /).
Try the text expansion in several apps (email client, simple text editor, etc). Is it only happening in one specific software?
Make sure you don't add a space after the shortcut (don't hit the spacebar). For instance, if your shortcut is shrt and your trigger is the % character, you have to type exactly %shrt without any space.
Make sure no other app is running in the background (other text expander, clipboard manager, screen recorder etc).
Restart your computer (no kidding, this solved 50% of the common issues).
On Mac computers, completely quit typedesk, delete typedesk from the apps in the Security & Privacy / Accessibility list, and start typedesk again to restart the authorization process.

1. Check Desktop App

The desktop app is required to use quick shortcuts (it does not work with the web version or the browser extension). If you don't see it running in the Tray, please start the app first.

2. Check Accessibility Permissions (Mac only)

On Mac, please make sure you have enable typedesk under System Preferences - Security & Privacy - Accessibility. If you see the app there:

Quit typedesk completely
Remove typedesk from the list by clicking on the minus
Restart your computer
Quit all running apps in the background
Start typedesk
Move to step 3

3. Select a Quick Shortcut trigger under Preferences

Make sure you have selected a Quick Shortcut trigger in the app Preferences.

4. Restart your computer

No kidding! In 90% of the cases, a simple reboot after following the instructions above fixes the issues.

5. Quit background apps

Quit all apps running in the background (in the tray menu etc). If it is still not working, there is a good chance something is interfering with typedesk.

Still not working?

Here are few extra things you can check to help us troubleshoot your issue (please send us the results of the tests below when you contact us):

Do you see the "recording" indicator on the Tray icon when you type in your trigger?
If not, typedesk is not recording your keystrokes when requested, feel free to reach out and send us your log files.

Did you close every other app running in the background?

Sometimes, other apps may conflict with typedesk's keyboard detection.

Did you close any other text expander?

In most cases, typedesk can not run while other text expanders are running.

Is this happening only with certain apps or websites?

If so, then the app or website is probably conflicting with typedesk. Feel free to report the issue and we'll happily try and fix this for you.

Do you see the quick shortcut listed in your responses?

Are you 100% the shortcut you are using exists in the app?

Contact us

If none of the above works, please send us your log files after trying the steps above via WeTransfer (or equivalent) by following the steps below.

Click on your name in typedesk app
Press Alt on Windows or Option on Mac
Select "Show log files"
Send us the files you see in the folder that show up