Mac troubleshooting

Shortcuts blocked by Secure Input.

If IraVoice warns that an app “may be blocking” your shortcuts, macOS Secure Input is on. It is a macOS protection, not an IraVoice setting, and IraVoice resumes as soon as it is released.

What Secure Input is

Secure Input (Apple calls it secure event input) stops other apps from seeing what you type, so a password cannot be captured. macOS turns it on while a password field has focus, and some apps turn it on deliberately:

Password fields in any app or web page, including login screens.
Password managers such as 1Password while they are unlocked or showing a prompt.
Terminal or iTerm2 with Secure Keyboard Entry turned on.

Normally it switches off again the moment you leave the password field. When an app keeps it on, it is “stuck”, and keyboard shortcuts in other apps can stop working.

What it means for IraVoice

While Secure Input is on, apps cannot see most key presses, including IraVoice's shortcuts. Shortcuts made of a single modifier key, such as the default Right Command, usually keep working. IraVoice also tries a fallback for key combinations, but some shortcuts, and recording a new shortcut, can stop working until Secure Input is released. IraVoice shows a warning, and names the app that seems to be holding it when it can tell.

How to release it

Click out of any password field, or close the window that has one, such as a login page or a password prompt.
In Terminal, open the Terminal menu and turn off Secure Keyboard Entry. In iTerm2, it is in the iTerm2 menu.
Lock or quit your password manager, then try again.
Still blocked? Find the app that holds it. In Terminal, run:
```
ioreg -l -w 0 | grep -i SecureInput
```
The number after kCGSSessionSecureInputPID is a process ID. Run ps -p NUMBER -o comm= with that number to see the app's name, then quit it. macOS offers no fully reliable way to find the app, so this can point at the wrong process.
If it names loginwindow, lock the screen and unlock it again. As a last resort, log out and back in, or restart.

You do not need to restart IraVoice: shortcuts work again, and the warning disappears, as soon as Secure Input is released.

Questions

Is Secure Input a problem with IraVoice?

No. It is a macOS protection that any app can turn on, and it affects every app that uses keyboard shortcuts, not only IraVoice. IraVoice detects it and tells you, because otherwise a shortcut would simply seem to stop working.

Should I leave Secure Keyboard Entry off in Terminal?

Turn it on only when you need it, for example while typing passwords in a terminal on a shared computer, and off again afterwards. While it is on, shortcuts in other apps can stop working.

Does this happen on Windows or Linux?

No. Secure Input is specific to macOS. On Windows and Linux, see the troubleshooting section of the user guide.

Still stuck? Read the troubleshooting guide or email hello@iravoice.com.