Hyper Key + Arrows

Hi there,

I am new to the forum, I've been looking around for the past one hour and there are a couple of threads about this, but I couldn't solve the issue on my system.

Describe the bug
The combination of Hyper Key + Arrows is still not working for me. I do window management directly in Keyboard Maestro.

Affected input device:
Apple wireless keyboard

Device information:

  • Type of Mac: iMac, M1, 2021
  • macOS version: Monterey 12.1
  • BetterTouchTool version: 3.624 (I am on Setapp and the very latest is still not available)

Thanks for your support.

I am not sure if I understand your problem correctly. If you want to avoid hyper key, or it does not work, but you want to use "Caps Lock" as a Modifier try this.

I suppose your keyboard does not have a „Control-Key“ on the right side. If so you can chance the Caps Lock to „Ctrl right“. Do this in the Mac OS, System preference —> Keyboard.

Now Caps Lock = Ctrl right

Then record the combination of Caps lock + Arrows (or whatever you want) in BTT. Make sure you tell BTT to use „right Control“ (not left Control). So you can use the two keys as different modifiers, without Hyper Key but with Caps Lock.

How do you use the arrow keys? It seems to work fine for me like this:

Hi Frank,

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.

To answer your question: the Hyper Key (Caps Lock for me) is not working in combination with the arrow keys. The rest seem to be working fine, so the issue is clearly with the combination with arrow keys.

Correct I don't have a "right Control" key, yours is a pretty interesting approach, and I am keen to explore it, just one question, with this "right Control" approach how do I still keep the Caps Lock functionality in the instances where I am not using it as an Hyper Key?

Thanks

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for reaching out!

In think In the same way as you in your screenshot but in Keyboard Maestro.

I've now, as you can see from the screenshot, used as a workaround the "J,K, L, I and ," keys to make it work, I've found that tip in another similar post about this issue. Those keys however would be useful for other macros and I'd like to stick to the arrows if possible but they don't seem to work in combination with the Caps Lock Hyper Key. Below is also my config of the Caps Lock Hyper Key.

Does this answer your question?

Thanks!

There are several ways to turn Caps Lock on and off. I use the predefined action in BTT with the Key combination Command + Option + Control + c. But you can use any combination you like. The same predefined action is also available in Keyboard Maestro, that you also use. And yes I prefer the "right Control" solution because it is simple and works :slight_smile:

One more thing, rose: You could also do your window management with key sequences instead of hyper keys and shortcuts. That could be more intuitive.

For example:

For (Windows) „Bottom Left“ you type „bl space space“

Double „space“ is better, so the trigger does not interfere with normal text typing.

(Windows) „Bottom Right“ = „br space space“

And so on.

Key sequences are underestimated. It's just a thought :slight_smile:

Hi @Andreas_Hegenberg, just wondering if there is a plan to fix this?

It seems to work fine here, however the BTT Hyper Key is optimized for triggering actions inside of BTT. To trigger actions in keyboard maestro using it, you might want to use the BTT apple script action (or one of the other ways zo trigger KM)

Thank you Andreas for the speedy reply, I'll remap everything so that it uses BTT then.

I have come to the forums as a first-time user with the same issue as @rose.

I use Keyboard Maestro for window management using the hyper key (enabled via Karabiner-Elements) and the arrow keys. This no longer works after replacing Karabiner-Elements with Better Touch Tool.

So far (I have only been using BTT for about an hour), all other KM macros that use the hyper key work just fine with BTT. I also have the number pad set up with my window management macros, and those seem to be working as expected.

Only the arrow keys do not seem to be "agreeing" with the switch to the BTT version of the hyper key.

I just wanted to add a +1 to rose's feedback.

Ps. I am excited about the possibilities that BTT offers, and I look forward to digging deeper!

Have you considered doing your window management in BTT? For your window positions BTT has predefined actions - "Window Resize & More".

Briefly, but I am not interested in moving those over right now. I have several other macros that use these macros as sub-routines, so I want to keep all window management in KM for now.

Ok, I tried to just trigger the KM shortcut in BTT. That works fine for me.

So this

Triggers this

Interesting news. Thanks for including your screenshot of BTT; it is quite informative. It seems like you are individually using each modifier key, and I am using the "Act as Hyper Key" feature; perhaps that is why we are getting different results.

Forgive me since I am new to BTT, but in your screenshot, you seem to be using all the modifier keys and the right arrow as the trigger to perform the shortcut of pressing all of the modifier keys and the right arrow. When you do that, it seems to trigger your KM macro successfully.

That method seems a little redundant as it would require creating a BTT keyboard shortcut for every KM macro, and the BTT trigger and shortcut are the same as the KM trigger; I don't understand why BTT would be needed in the workflow you have a screenshot of. Again I am completely new here, so I am sorry if I am not understanding a fundamental part of BTT.

I want to use BTT as a replacement for the hyper key function I get from Karabiner Elements. I want to be able to press and hold the Caps Lock key while I select another key to trigger a KM macro. This should mean that there is one BTT keyboard shortcut that I reuse in any number of KM macros.

As an update to my initial observation, other KM macros seem to be struggling with the BTT Hyper Key implementation, too, not just ones that use the arrow keys.

Perhaps my understanding of using BTT as a Hyper Key across the automation ecosystem was incorrect; no worries if so. I don't want to ask BTT to be something it is not trying to be.

All good. You are doing everything correctly. There is only one small misunderstanding.

First you have to set up "act as Hyper key". The way you did it.

But: Don't use caps lock when setting the shortcuts. Use each modifier separately, like you would do it without hyperkey.

After that you can trigger this shortcut with caps lock.

What doesn't make it easier is that you want to trigger shortcuts from KM with BTT. That's why I suggested to set up everything in BTT.

Thanks for your persistence in helping a stranger on the internet!

Unfortunately, even following your suggested workflow has not remedied the situation.

I'll reinstall Karabiner Elements and look for other ways to incorporate BTT into my workflows.

Perhaps this exchange can add a data point in @Andreas_Hegenberg's development decisions.

Thanks again @Frank1!