No hotkey function if OBS window is not the active window

JackoJ

New Member
I hope you can quickly answer a question that I'm sure is simple for you.
As soon as OBS is not the active window, I cannot start a recording with the assigned hotkey. Not even if I set: "Capture window in foreground with hotkey".
So question: How can I capture a window or screen or game when the OBS icon is in the taskbar and the OBS window is not active?
 

koala

Active Member
Usually running OBS not as admin works fine with hotkeys. However, if you run the currently active app as admin, for example some game, you cannot initiate hotkeys to apps that run not as admin. So the better solution (from a security point of view) is to run nothing as admin, especially not the thing you intend to capture.
 

JackoJ

New Member
I had already tried running OBS as admin.
But that doesn't work either, even if I additionally set "Capture windows in foreground with hotkey".
What amazes me is that other (worse) programs like Captura also accept hotkeys when the window is inactive.
What is the reason that this does not work with OBS?
Or is it just that it doesn't work for me?

Most importantly: The OBS window is always in the foreground by default.
When I click on another window, OBS stays in the foreground.
So there is a possibility that the OBS application is in the foreground and yet it is not active until I click on it with the mouse.
 

koala

Active Member
You mix a bit of terminology. There can be only one app in foreground. It's the one app that has the focus. It has its window title active and receives the keystrokes (no hotkeys). Everything else is in the background. Apps in background can either be "always on top", which you seem to have activated for OBS. "Always on top" only makes the app window not obscured by other app windows, but if another app has the focus, even an "always on top" app is in background. Apps in background and not always on top are either simply in background with other apps covering or obscuring their window, or minimized. Minimized apps don't have their app window on the desktop at all, their window can be restored by clicking their icon in the task bar.

This all has nothing to do with hotkeys. Regardless of the app state of OBS, foreground or background, always on top or minimized, OBS should receive and process any hotkeys it has defined. It cannot process hotkeys only, if the currently active app is running as admin and OBS is not running as admin. This is by Windows security to avoid malware scanning keys entered into administrative apps. In every other case, it will receive hotkeys. If it is not working like this for you, check for other hotkey processing apps that might change hotkey handling, and check you defined the hotkeys correctly in OBS in Settings->Hotkeys, and check again if you're really running the app you're trying to capture not as admin.
 

WBE

Member
One other thought: within OBS Studio, go to Settings, Advanced, Hotkeys: Hotkey Focus Behaviour. It can have one of these settings:
- Never disable hotkeys
- Disable hotkeys when main window is in focus
- Disable hotkeys when main window is not in focus

The 3rd option might prevent your hotkeys from working when other apps are in focus...
 

JackoJ

New Member
One other thought: within OBS Studio, go to Settings, Advanced, Hotkeys: Hotkey Focus Behaviour. It can have one of these settings:
- Never disable hotkeys
- Disable hotkeys when main window is in focus
- Disable hotkeys when main window is not in focus

The 3rd option might prevent your hotkeys from working when other apps are in focus...
When I read your tip, I would have bet that the problem was solved.
Because "Never disable hotkeys" I had actually not set.
But the disappointment followed immediately.
No matter what I do
- Set "Never disable hotkeys",
- Start OBS as admin or not as admin......
as soon as the OBS window is no longer active (i.e. the blue window bar at the top changes from blue to white) no more hotkeys come through.
 

JackoJ

New Member
You mix a bit of terminology. There can be only one app in foreground. It's the one app that has the focus. It has its window title active and receives the keystrokes (no hotkeys). Everything else is in the background. Apps in background can either be "always on top", which you seem to have activated for OBS. "Always on top" only makes the app window not obscured by other app windows, but if another app has the focus, even an "always on top" app is in background. Apps in background and not always on top are either simply in background with other apps covering or obscuring their window, or minimized. Minimized apps don't have their app window on the desktop at all, their window can be restored by clicking their icon in the task bar.

This all has nothing to do with hotkeys. Regardless of the app state of OBS, foreground or background, always on top or minimized, OBS should receive and process any hotkeys it has defined. It cannot process hotkeys only, if the currently active app is running as admin and OBS is not running as admin. This is by Windows security to avoid malware scanning keys entered into administrative apps. In every other case, it will receive hotkeys. If it is not working like this for you, check for other hotkey processing apps that might change hotkey handling, and check you defined the hotkeys correctly in OBS in Settings->Hotkeys, and check again if you're really running the app you're trying to capture not as admin.
So, I've been looking for apps that have something to do with keyboard strokes based on your tip.
I came up with the following programs that are active on my computer:
PinWin
JoytoKey
Powertoys
Quit all of them without success.

Furthermore I have set as window the program "Word", which I certainly do not start as admin, without success.

Actually I am at a loss. Why does e.g. Captura accept these hotkeys although I load the above mentioned programs by default?
 

JackoJ

New Member
Sorry, somehow you all helped me a bit further. Thank you very much.
It must really be about some unknown to me (not active) program intercepting keyboard commands.
For the recording I have now taken the key combination Ctrl+Alt+F12, and it works!!!

We can therefore close the thread.
I just have to figure out how to locate the active program that intercepts my previous keyboard input Ctrl + Alt + R.
I am assuming that this cannot be inactive programs (programs that have not been started).
 
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