Question / Help Even when I switch to other programs, OBS hotkeys steal the keyboard !

[Dihelson Mendonca]

Hello, all,
I´m trying to run a live broadcast using OBS. I read the text on a teleprompter software, which needs keyboard keys up, down and spacebar to go up, down and stop the scroll. When I run OBS studio, I set several hotkeys to easily control several things. The problem is that even when I leave OBS running and switch to the teleprompter software on windows, the PC keyboard continues somehow to obey and be used by OBS, no matter what another software I open, I can´t use the PC keyboard to another thing on the computer. I´d like I could set the arrow keys to the teleprompter software, while setting other keys to OBS, or at least, when I switch to the telepromter software, OBS could release the hotkeys in order that I use the keyboard for another purposes. How to ? ( BTW, can I use two keyboards on the same machine, one for OBS and another one for the teleprompter software instead ? )

Thanks in advance !

 

[Dihelson Mendonca]

I just figure out a way. Since OBS steal hotkeys, I only mapped those used by OBS and remain with the main windows focused on the teleprompter window. I got to work this way with no problems, but I need to say that even so, the keyboard can´t be used for anything on the computer when OBS is running. It shoudl have a way do enable and disable general hotkey section.

 

[koala]

You might mistake hotkeys with keyboard shortcuts. Both are a way to assign some keypress to some action in an app. Hotkeys are system global, that means whenever a hotkey is pressed, the action in that app is executed. The app does not need to be active - whatever you're currently doing and pressing that key, this app the hotkey is assigned to is executing the corresponding action.
Keyboard shortcuts are the same in general, but are only regarded within the app where they were defined. They are only recognized when that app is active.

Now, in the hotkey definition of OBS, you define hotkeys. Not keyboard shortcuts. So if you assign some trivial keypress such as SPACE or cursor keys as hotkey, this keypress is executed by OBS regardless which other app might be active. You call this "stealing hotkeys", but this is the way it is designed.
In OBS, it is not possible to define keyboard shortcuts (local to OBS), only hotkeys (system global).

In general, you use some unique key combination as hotkey with modifer keys SHIFT, CTRL, ALT to avoid collisions. Such as for example ALT-F{1..12} or CTRL-ALT-F{1..12}, or SHIFT-CTRL-A, ALT-SHIFT-X...

 

[Dihelson Mendonca]

You might mistake hotkeys with keyboard shortcuts. Both are a way to assign some keypress to some action in an app. Hotkeys are system global, that means whenever a hotkey is pressed, the action in that app is executed. The app does not need to be active - whatever you're currently doing and pressing that key, this app the hotkey is assigned to is executing the corresponding action.
Keyboard shortcuts are the same in general, but are only regarded within the app where they were defined. They are only recognized when that app is active.

Now, in the hotkey definition of OBS, you define hotkeys. Not keyboard shortcuts. So if you assign some trivial keypress such as SPACE or cursor keys as hotkey, this keypress is executed by OBS regardless which other app might be active. You call this "stealing hotkeys", but this is the way it is designed.
In OBS, it is not possible to define keyboard shortcuts (local to OBS), only hotkeys (system global).

In general, you use some unique key combination as hotkey with modifer keys SHIFT, CTRL, ALT to avoid collisions. Such as for example ALT-F{1..12} or CTRL-ALT-F{1..12}, or SHIFT-CTRL-A, ALT-SHIFT-X...

Thank you very much. Excellent explanation on the difference between hotkeys and keyboard shortcuts and the information that OBS doesn´t have keyboard shortcuts, only hotkeys. Well, I don´t know why they don´t implement keyboard shortcuts also.

Thanks !

 

[Dihelson Mendonca]

You might mistake hotkeys with keyboard shortcuts. Both are a way to assign some keypress to some action in an app. Hotkeys are system global, that means whenever a hotkey is pressed, the action in that app is executed. The app does not need to be active - whatever you're currently doing and pressing that key, this app the hotkey is assigned to is executing the corresponding action.
Keyboard shortcuts are the same in general, but are only regarded within the app where they were defined. They are only recognized when that app is active.

Now, in the hotkey definition of OBS, you define hotkeys. Not keyboard shortcuts. So if you assign some trivial keypress such as SPACE or cursor keys as hotkey, this keypress is executed by OBS regardless which other app might be active. You call this "stealing hotkeys", but this is the way it is designed.
In OBS, it is not possible to define keyboard shortcuts (local to OBS), only hotkeys (system global).

In general, you use some unique key combination as hotkey with modifer keys SHIFT, CTRL, ALT to avoid collisions. Such as for example ALT-F{1..12} or CTRL-ALT-F{1..12}, or SHIFT-CTRL-A, ALT-SHIFT-X...

BTW, OBS has the possibility to map hotkeys to the program, but others don´t. I would like to msp some hotkeys to my teleprompter progrsm which doesn´t offer this facility. Is there some way to do so ? ome externsl software to create hotkeys for programs even if they don´t have themselves ? Thsnks !

 

[koala]

A standard tool for creating arbitrary hotkeys and customized keyboard processing is autohotkey: https://www.autohotkey.com/

 

[Dihelson Mendonca]

A standard tool for creating arbitrary hotkeys and customized keyboard processing is autohotkey: https://www.autohotkey.com/

Thank you SO much, fellow !

 

[StefanOBS]

... and the information that OBS doesn´t have keyboard shortcuts, only hotkeys. Well, I don´t know why they don´t implement keyboard shortcuts also.

Go to File -> Settings -> Advanced -> Hotkeys -> Hotkey Focus Behavior
Select "Disable hotkeys when main window is not in focus" and all your hotkeys become keyboard shortcuts.

 

[Zippydsmlee]

Go to File -> Settings -> Advanced -> Hotkeys -> Hotkey Focus Behavior
Select "Disable hotkeys when main window is not in focus" and all your hotkeys become keyboard shortcuts.

They moved that to the bottom of advanced properties and it still dose not allow any hotkeys/shortcuts to work that are not OBS's I have my sound board to use f13-f24 with shift, alt and ctrl modifies using rewasd to achieve this, and it dose not work in OBS at all, I focus away fro BS and all my soundboard keys work again. If I get a third keyboard to run OBS shortcuts I wonder what it will do..oh just tested it soundboard is dead but the keys work in OBS, I go to another window and keys work with soundboard.

 

[FerretBomb]

They moved that to the bottom of advanced properties and it still dose not allow any hotkeys/shortcuts to work that are not OBS's I have my sound board to use f13-f24 with shift, alt and ctrl modifies using rewasd to achieve this, and it dose not work in OBS at all, I focus away fro BS and all my soundboard keys work again. If I get a third keyboard to run OBS shortcuts I wonder what it will do..oh just tested it soundboard is dead but the keys work in OBS, I go to another window and keys work with soundboard.

If you're going to grab a keyboard specifically for OBS, just grab a StreamDeck instead. No hotkeys needed, it allows direct interaction with the program instead. Plus a lot of really neat extra features and plugins, such as the stuff being made by BarRaider. I honestly couldn't run my cast any more without mine, it's THAT much of a game-changer.

 

[thebluescarecrow]

I've had problems using the space bar as a transition... it also stops and starts OBS from recording. Now when I want to do a transition, I type out the word T R A N S I T I O N on the keyboard and wait for a full moon. That seems to work just fine. Whew!

 

[thebluescarecrow]

Dear
StefanOBS,

You are a GOD!​

I read your post and tried it and it works fine. OBS now keeps recording even when I hit the spacebar.

Why one would even need a prompt like this, I'll never know.

Please communicate this with Joel Bethke and all the other knuckleheads on this forum. They are clueless and would have told had he known.

I can't thank you enough for your input. You have probably save me from much egg on my face.

Best regards,
Michael O'Connor

 

[FableFoxWeaver]

I actually have the opposite problem.

I have set keybinds on Discord that don't work if OBS is in focus.
I also tried Touch Portal and those don't work either if OBS is the main window.
They are hotkeys, not shortcuts. They work regardless of wether their respective apps are the main window or not or even minimized to the tray. And they stop working once OBS is at the front. I'm yet to understand.

OBS hotkeys always work. No problem with that.
Every other hotkey stops working once OBS is at the front.

By the way, that setting in the Advanced tab does not fix this problem.

 

[FableFoxWeaver]

Figured it out. It's because I'm starting OBS as admin. Ohhh, this is so silly. Now I have to start every app with a hotkey as Admin so OBS doesn't take exclusive control. FML

 

[darkangelus31]

Oh my God! Thanks for this post. I was wondering why I suddenly had a ton of duplicate screenshots in my Recordings directory. I had recently set CTRL+S as an OBS HotKey to save a screenshot. As we all know, that is also the shortcut for saving a file in any windows program. So you can imagine how many screenshots got saved whenever I was editing a text file lol. With the HotKey Focus Behavior disabled when the OBS window is not in focus, I no longer have the issue.