Other application hung right after using Alfred

[terrencechen]

Hi there, I have been using Alfred for half a year and really love the application. However, I encountered a weird issue when using. Below are the details. Hope to check whether anyone encountered this before or fixed it. Thanks in advance!

* What you were doing when the issue happened

I was using Alfred normally (e.g. copy a text from history). But right after the Alfred UI goes away, I could not use the application on the screen (e.g. Safari). Specifically, I cannot click any button or link on the webpage. But I still can click into bookmarks and links. After I go into that bookmark or link, I cannot click any button or link on the webpages still.

Furthermore, this issue occurs on both of my MacBook Pro 13" and my Mac Mini. 
Found a way to resolve: to switch another application (cmd+tab) and switch back to the original application. This resolves the issue of hanging. 

 

* Whether you were able to replicate it a second time by performing the same action

Yes. It is recurring every time I use Alfred

 

* Include any screenshots that might help us
n.a. It is almost not visible or clear to have a screenshot showing applications that are hanging..
 

* Include the Alfred version & build number you are using (don't say "latest" - you'll find a version number in the Update tab of Alfred's preferences)

Alfred 4.6.5

Build 1299, Monday 25th April 2022
 

* Include your macOS version
1. macOS Monterey Version 12.2
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020)

2. macOS Monterey Version 12.2
Mac Mini (2021)

Edited May 13, 2022 by terrencechen

[Vero]

@terrencechen Welcome to the forum and thanks for the detailed report.

 

First, you say that you're on Monterey 12.2 - When using a new version of macOS, it's essential that you stay on top of updates, so please update macOS.

 

Next, could you open Alfred's preferences to Appearance > Options, and ensuring that Focusing is set to Standard, not Compatibility Mode.

 

Alfred hasn't changed in ways that could affect this, so have you installed any third-party software that could be interfering with the macOS focus recently?

 

If your issue persists, could you please email your Diagnostics file to our info@ address so that I can take a look at your configuration? You can get it by typing "?diagnostics" into Alfred.

 

Cheers,
Vero

[terrencechen]

Thank you @Vero. I am trying to update my macOS right now. Will share more info once completed. 

 

 

Actually, I am not sure what this means. Do you have any examples that could interfere with focus?

Quote

Alfred hasn't changed in ways that could affect this, so have you installed any third-party software that could be interfering with the macOS focus recently?

 

[terrencechen]

Just to update. After trying 1) upgrading macOS and 2) verifying focusing, the same issue can be still be reproduced. 

Thus, I have emailed my diagnostics file to the info email. 

Thanks Vero. 

[Vero]

@terrencechen Thanks for sending in your Diagnostics. After taking a look, the first aspect to check is whether there are hotkey clashes. This is most commonly seen when users pick Cmd + Space (which ends up clashing with Spotlight or language switching) but can happen with other combos like Ctrl + Space.

 

Do you have any other apps running in the background that may be using the same hotkey as your Alfred hotkey? What behaviour do you see if you change your Alfred hotkey to something obscure that's definitely not used by another app/service on your Mac?

 

The next thing to try is to temporarily create a new user account on your Mac, ensure that none of your custom background apps/tools are running, and check what behaviour you see on that profile. There's no need to activate your Powerpack when doing this. Testing on a new profile will help narrow down whether there's something interfering on your primary user account specifically.

 

Let me know how you get on

 

Cheers,
Vero

[terrencechen]

@VeroThanks for the help! 

Yes indeed there was a clash between Spotlight and Alfred for using option + space. After changing spotlight to use control + space, the issue was resolved right away. 

Probably I can continue to monitor for 1 week or so to see if it comes back. Otherwise, I would consider this resolved for now  

[Vero]

@terrencechen Thanks for the update. I'll move this to closed - but you can still post an update if you need any further help on this.

[terrencechen]

@VeroSure. Thank you!