“Insert / Type / Paste Custom Text” not working with hyper key

Onur · March 11, 2026, 12:35pm

Describe the bug
“Insert / Type / Paste Custom Text” not working with hyperkey. It does work however if I just use ctrl+opt+cmd+shift instead. My hyper key is caps lock. And it does work with other actions.

Affected input device (e.g. MacBook Trackpad, Magic Mouse/Trackpad, Touch Bar, etc.):
Apple Magic Keyboard

Screenshots
N/A

Device information:

Type of Mac: Macbook pro
macOS version: 26.3.1 (25D2128)
BetterTouchTool version: 6.194

Additional information (e.g. crash logs, related issues, etc.):

xidiot · March 11, 2026, 2:10pm

Can you copy/paste your trigger? On my end it is working.

Onur · March 11, 2026, 4:26pm

Here’s the test one I’m using. The hud works, the paste text with dateformat is not working:

[
  {
    "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
    "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 254,
    "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Show HUD Overlay",
    "BTTHUDActionConfiguration" : "{\"BTTActionHUDBlur\":true,\"BTTActionHUDBackground\":\"0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000\",\"BTTIconConfigImageHeight\":100,\"BTTActionHUDPosition\":0,\"BTTActionHUDDetail\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDDuration\":0.90000000000000002,\"BTTActionHUDDisplayToUse\":0,\"BTTIconConfigImageWidth\":100,\"BTTActionHUDSlideDirection\":0,\"BTTActionHUDHideWhenOtherHUDAppears\":false,\"BTTActionHUDWidth\":220,\"BTTActionHUDAttributedTitle\":\"{\\\\rtf1\\\\ansi\\\\ansicpg1252\\\\cocoartf2868\\n\\\\cocoatextscaling0\\\\cocoaplatform0{\\\\fonttbl\\\\f0\\\\fswiss\\\\fcharset0 Helvetica-Bold;\\\\f1\\\\fswiss\\\\fcharset0 Helvetica;}\\n{\\\\colortbl;\\\\red255\\\\green255\\\\blue255;\\\\red0\\\\green0\\\\blue0;}\\n{\\\\*\\\\expandedcolortbl;;\\\\cssrgb\\\\c0\\\\c0\\\\c0\\\\c84706\\\\cname labelColor;}\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\f0\\\\b\\\\fs80 \\\\cf2 test\\n\\\\f1\\\\b0\\\\fs24 \\\\\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\fs48 \\\\cf2 test2}\",\"BTTActionHUDBorderWidth\":0,\"BTTActionHUDTitle\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDHeight\":220}",
    "BTTOrder" : 38
  },
  {
    "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
    "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 118,
    "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Insert  or  Type  or  Paste Custom Text",
    "BTTAdditionalActionData" : {
      "BTTActionTextToPaste" : "{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\cocoartf2868\n\\cocoatextscaling0\\cocoaplatform0{\\fonttbl\\f0\\fswiss\\fcharset0 Helvetica;}\n{\\colortbl;\\red255\\green255\\blue255;}\n{\\*\\expandedcolortbl;;}\n\\pard\\tx560\\tx1120\\tx1680\\tx2240\\tx2800\\tx3360\\tx3920\\tx4480\\tx5040\\tx5600\\tx6160\\tx6720\\pardirnatural\\partightenfactor0\n\n\\f0\\fs24 \\cf0 (BTT)@dateformat:MM/dd/yy hh:mm:ss a(BTT)}"
    },
    "BTTMoveCursorLeftBy" : "0",
    "BTTOrder" : 40
  }
]

Andreas_Hegenberg · March 11, 2026, 4:39pm

unfortunately you need to wrap it in three backticks

otherwise the forum Software breaks the formatting. (or use the preformatted text option from the menu)

Onur · March 11, 2026, 4:54pm

Thanks @Andreas_Hegenberg I just edited it. Any ideas?

xidiot · March 11, 2026, 7:51pm

Either this trigger is broken or my BTT version (BTT: 6.040) is old and I cannot paste it under the "Keyboard shortcuts" :\

Onur · March 11, 2026, 8:10pm

@xidiot could you test again please, I just edited the original post, and was able to paste on my end.

xidiot · March 11, 2026, 8:51pm

Ah, you only copied the actions and not the trigger. Can you copy the trigger (which also will contain the actions) ?

I've created a trigger with my hyperkey and it is working using your actions.

Onur · March 11, 2026, 10:34pm

Here you go. Hope this is what you meant @xidiot :

[
  {
    "BTTLastUpdatedAt" : 1773259814.652889,
    "BTTTriggerType" : 0,
    "BTTTriggerClass" : "BTTTriggerTypeKeyboardShortcut",
    "BTTUUID" : "77600B87-38EB-438E-80A6-E30B40868977",
    "BTTAdditionalConfiguration" : "0",
    "BTTShortcutKeyboardType" : 3933,
    "BTTTriggerOnDown" : 1,
    "BTTLayoutIndependentChar" : "y",
    "BTTShortcutKeyCode" : 16,
    "BTTShortcutAdvancedModifierKeys" : "0",
    "BTTShortcutModifierKeys" : 1966080,
    "BTTOrder" : 1,
    "BTTAutoAdaptToKeyboardLayout" : 0,
    "BTTActionsToExecute" : [
      {
        "BTTLastUpdatedAt" : 1773259824.784066,
        "BTTTriggerParentUUID" : "77600B87-38EB-438E-80A6-E30B40868977",
        "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
        "BTTUUID" : "F64947F1-DA33-46A0-A137-96630B92470E",
        "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 254,
        "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Show HUD Overlay",
        "BTTHUDActionConfiguration" : "{\"BTTActionHUDBlur\":true,\"BTTActionHUDBackground\":\"0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000\",\"BTTIconConfigImageHeight\":100,\"BTTActionHUDPosition\":0,\"BTTActionHUDDetail\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDDuration\":0.90000000000000002,\"BTTActionHUDDisplayToUse\":0,\"BTTIconConfigImageWidth\":100,\"BTTActionHUDSlideDirection\":0,\"BTTActionHUDHideWhenOtherHUDAppears\":false,\"BTTActionHUDWidth\":220,\"BTTActionHUDAttributedTitle\":\"{\\\\rtf1\\\\ansi\\\\ansicpg1252\\\\cocoartf2868\\n\\\\cocoatextscaling0\\\\cocoaplatform0{\\\\fonttbl\\\\f0\\\\fswiss\\\\fcharset0 Helvetica-Bold;\\\\f1\\\\fswiss\\\\fcharset0 Helvetica;}\\n{\\\\colortbl;\\\\red255\\\\green255\\\\blue255;\\\\red0\\\\green0\\\\blue0;}\\n{\\\\*\\\\expandedcolortbl;;\\\\cssrgb\\\\c0\\\\c0\\\\c0\\\\c84706\\\\cname labelColor;}\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\f0\\\\b\\\\fs80 \\\\cf2 test\\n\\\\f1\\\\b0\\\\fs24 \\\\\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\fs48 \\\\cf2 test2}\",\"BTTActionHUDBorderWidth\":0,\"BTTActionHUDTitle\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDHeight\":220}",
        "BTTOrder" : 0
      },
      {
        "BTTLastUpdatedAt" : 1773259824.7855558,
        "BTTTriggerParentUUID" : "77600B87-38EB-438E-80A6-E30B40868977",
        "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
        "BTTUUID" : "29E99154-D7BD-48E7-BD77-DC68FCFC8C3C",
        "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 118,
        "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Insert  or  Type  or  Paste Custom Text",
        "BTTAdditionalActionData" : {
          "BTTActionTextToPaste" : "{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\cocoartf2868\n\\cocoatextscaling0\\cocoaplatform0{\\fonttbl\\f0\\fswiss\\fcharset0 Helvetica;}\n{\\colortbl;\\red255\\green255\\blue255;}\n{\\*\\expandedcolortbl;;}\n\\pard\\tx560\\tx1120\\tx1680\\tx2240\\tx2800\\tx3360\\tx3920\\tx4480\\tx5040\\tx5600\\tx6160\\tx6720\\pardirnatural\\partightenfactor0\n\n\\f0\\fs24 \\cf0 (BTT)@dateformat:MM/dd/yy hh:mm:ss a(BTT)}"
        },
        "BTTMoveCursorLeftBy" : "0",
        "BTTOrder" : 1
      }
    ]
  }
]

Andreas_Hegenberg · March 11, 2026, 10:54pm

Seems to work fine here as well. Just to be sure, the hyper key is configured via BTT?

Onur · March 11, 2026, 11:15pm

Yes @Andreas_Hegenberg, and every other action seems to work with the hyperkey but the paste text one, which again, works if I actually push ctrl+opt+cmd+shift instead of the hyperkey. I’m not making a mistake with this set up am I?

Andreas_Hegenberg · March 11, 2026, 11:57pm

Maybe it's related to the app you are trying to paste in? Possibly try to change it ti "Insert Text By Typing"

Onur · March 12, 2026, 12:08am

No that didn’t change anything. And I’ve tried it in different apps. The fact that it works with ctr+opt+cmd+shift makes me think that there’s something wrong with the hyper key function, not the actual pasting of text.

Andreas_Hegenberg · March 12, 2026, 12:12am

If the hud shows, the hyper key itself is working fine. However I could imagine the paste action not being able to release the pressed hyper modifier keys so it can not properly send e.g. cmd+v. I'm not sure what could be different on your machine compared to mine though.

Andreas_Hegenberg · March 12, 2026, 12:14am

Ah, could you try with the current BTT alpha version? There have been a few fixes related to modifier keys on macOS 26.3 - maybe they could help in this case as well

Onur · March 12, 2026, 1:00am

Just tried it @Andreas_Hegenberg. Doesn’t work . Anything wrong with my setup of the hyper key?

Onur · March 25, 2026, 5:01pm

Still no luck with this. Anybody have any ideas?

Onur · April 16, 2026, 10:56am

this is my setup @Andreas_Hegenberg . Again, it works fine if I press all modifiers and the shortcut key together. But doesn’t when I use the hyperkey (caps lock) itself. All my other shortcuts with the hyperkey work fine.

xidiot · April 16, 2026, 11:54am

Out of curiosity, can you try the below? It should show hud with text "Hyper + O" (hope you do not have similar trigger) and paste the focused_window_y variable can you try it? It was generated on BTT: 6.385.

[
  {
    "BTTLastUpdatedAt" : 1776340016.407275,
    "BTTTriggerType" : 0,
    "BTTTriggerClass" : "BTTTriggerTypeKeyboardShortcut",
    "BTTUUID" : "77600B87-38EB-438E-80A6-E30B40868977",
    "BTTAdditionalConfiguration" : "0",
    "BTTShortcutKeyboardType" : 2302,
    "BTTTriggerOnDown" : 1,
    "BTTLayoutIndependentChar" : "y",
    "BTTShortcutKeyCode" : 16,
    "BTTShortcutAdvancedModifierKeys" : "0",
    "BTTShortcutModifierKeys" : 1966080,
    "BTTOrder" : 76,
    "BTTAutoAdaptToKeyboardLayout" : 0,
    "BTTActionsToExecute" : [
      {
        "BTTLastUpdatedAt" : 1776340040.8096561,
        "BTTTriggerParentUUID" : "77600B87-38EB-438E-80A6-E30B40868977",
        "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
        "BTTUUID" : "F64947F1-DA33-46A0-A137-96630B92470E",
        "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 254,
        "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Show HUD Overlay",
        "BTTHUDActionConfiguration" : "{\"BTTActionHUDBlur\":true,\"BTTActionHUDBackground\":\"0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000, 0.000000\",\"BTTIconConfigImageHeight\":100,\"BTTActionHUDPosition\":0,\"BTTActionHUDDetail\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDDuration\":0.89999997615814209,\"BTTActionHUDDisplayToUse\":0,\"BTTIconConfigImageWidth\":100,\"BTTActionHUDSlideDirection\":0,\"BTTActionHUDHideWhenOtherHUDAppears\":false,\"BTTActionHUDWidth\":220,\"BTTActionHUDAttributedTitle\":\"{\\\\rtf1\\\\ansi\\\\ansicpg1252\\\\cocoartf2822\\n\\\\cocoatextscaling0\\\\cocoaplatform0{\\\\fonttbl\\\\f0\\\\fswiss\\\\fcharset0 Helvetica;}\\n{\\\\colortbl;\\\\red255\\\\green255\\\\blue255;\\\\red0\\\\green0\\\\blue0;}\\n{\\\\*\\\\expandedcolortbl;;\\\\cssrgb\\\\c0\\\\c0\\\\c0\\\\c84706\\\\cname labelColor;}\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\f0\\\\fs24 \\\\cf2 \\\\\\n\\\\pard\\\\tx560\\\\tx1120\\\\tx1680\\\\tx2240\\\\tx2800\\\\tx3360\\\\tx3920\\\\tx4480\\\\tx5040\\\\tx5600\\\\tx6160\\\\tx6720\\\\pardirnatural\\\\qc\\\\partightenfactor0\\n\\n\\\\fs48 \\\\cf2 Hyper + Y}\",\"BTTActionHUDBorderWidth\":0,\"BTTActionHUDTitle\":\"\",\"BTTActionHUDHeight\":220}",
        "BTTOrder" : 0
      },
      {
        "BTTLastUpdatedAt" : 1776340046.3319058,
        "BTTTriggerParentUUID" : "77600B87-38EB-438E-80A6-E30B40868977",
        "BTTIsPureAction" : true,
        "BTTUUID" : "29E99154-D7BD-48E7-BD77-DC68FCFC8C3C",
        "BTTPredefinedActionType" : 118,
        "BTTPredefinedActionName" : "Insert  or  Type  or  Paste Custom Text",
        "BTTAdditionalActionData" : {
          "BTTActionTextToPaste" : "{\\rtf1\\ansi\\ansicpg1252\\cocoartf2822\n\\cocoatextscaling0\\cocoaplatform0{\\fonttbl\\f0\\fswiss\\fcharset0 Helvetica;}\n{\\colortbl;\\red255\\green255\\blue255;}\n{\\*\\expandedcolortbl;;}\n\\pard\\tx560\\tx1120\\tx1680\\tx2240\\tx2800\\tx3360\\tx3920\\tx4480\\tx5040\\tx5600\\tx6160\\tx6720\\pardirnatural\\partightenfactor0\n\n\\f0\\fs24 \\cf0 (BTT)@variable:focused_window_y(BTT)}"
        },
        "BTTMoveCursorLeftBy" : "0",
        "BTTOrder" : 3
      }
    ]
  }
]

Onur · April 16, 2026, 1:47pm

Hi @xidiot with this, I do get the hud display on trigger, but it doesn’t paste anything. If I do hold down all keys instead of hyper, it pastes as expected – just not with the hyper key combination.