Alfred hotkey resets to default every restart

[meadowphoenix]

Hello. In Alfred 5.1.2, my hotkey is now resetting back to Option+Spacebar from Cmd+Spacebar every time I restart my laptop.

 

There is no conflict with Cmd+Spacebar (the option for using this hotkey with Spotlight is unchecked in Settings).

 

This just started happening with 5.1.2, and deleting application cache, etc. with Onyx doesn't fix the issue.

 

Any way to fix?

 

Thanks.

[Stephen_C]

I assume you're using macOS Ventura (and, if so, the latest version of it). In that case, is this thread of any help?

 

Stephen

[Vero]

@meadowphoenix If your hotkey resets when you restart your Mac, it's a sign that Alfred is unable to save your customised preference to disk. 

 

There are two possible next steps, depending on your particular setup:

 

If you sync your preferences, start by moving your preferences to a non-synced location

• Create a temporary Alfred folder in your home directory (which is ~/yourusername - alongside the Downloads, Movies, Pictures folders, which are outside of iCloud syncing)
• Go to Alfred's Advanced preferences and set the sync location to that newly created folder

 

If you do not sync your preferences and they're in the default ~/Library/Application Support/Alfred/ location, there may be permissions issues in macOS. To repair permissions, follow these instructions:

https://www.alfredapp.com/help/troubleshooting/preferences/

 

This will ensure that macOS lets Alfred update the preferences and save the customisations you're making.

 

I would steer clear of adding Onyx to the mix when trying to resolve this, as it can often do more harm than good.

 

Let us know how you get on.

[meadowphoenix]

Hi @Stephen_C and @Vero. Thanks for your replies. Yes, I'm running Ventura 13.5. I believe the issue is with how Alfred and Dropbox are speaking. When I move preferences out of Dropbox, Alfred remembers my hotkey after reboot. When I re-set the preferences folder to inside Dropbox, Alfred does not remember the hotkey.

 

Any idea why that would be?

 

I also recently upgraded to Dropbox Business, so the folder path is slightly different, but I re-set the preferences folder path (in Alfred's preferences) to the updated location; nevertheless, the preferences don't stick after reboot.

 

Thanks for any thoughts you have!

[Stephen_C]

Have you made you Dropbox preferences file available off-line? (See this Alfred help page under Ensuring preferences are available offline.)

 

Stephen

Edited August 29, 2023 by Stephen_C

[meadowphoenix]

Hi @Stephen_C. Thanks so much for the fast reply.

 

Yes, the Preferences were off-line (and my Dropbox preferences are set to save all new files saved to disk as well as to the cloud).

 

Currently, the preferences work when saved directly to disk outside of Dropbox and when saved to iCloud (in my Documents folder), but saved to disk inside Dropbox no longer works. I'm thinking the problem happened not with the Alfred update but when I upgraded to Dropbox Business. Not sure how or why.

 

But I'll keep them in iCloud Documents for now.

 

Thanks so much!

[meadowphoenix]

Hi @Vero, if Alfred ever has a fix for saving Preferences in Dropbox Business accounts, that would be great. 

 

So far, I've been able to replicate this issue without fail. Whenever I save Alfred Preferences in Dropbox Business, on restart Alfred can't find the Preferences and my hotkey resets.

 

I'm not sure if it has to do with the additional folder that Dropbox adds in Dropbox Business (i.e. "Dropbox/[Business Name]/[Folder Tree]) between the parent folder and all of one's personal folders and files, or if it's something specific to my Alfred installation that somehow got corrupted. All my Dropbox files and folders are saved offline.

 

In short, I can't figure out what would create this behavior. Nevertheless, it's working saving Preferences in iCloud for now.

 

Thanks so much for your help!

Scott

[Vero]

34 minutes ago, meadowphoenix said:

if Alfred ever has a fix for saving Preferences in Dropbox Business accounts

 

Alfred doesn't control how Dropbox stores files, and is agnostic to the storage location. The issue will be down to Dropbox or macOS either not allowing preferences to be saved, or Dropbox making the preferences non-available at startup due to your particular configuration. 

 

Aside from making sure the files are stored offline and the location available instantly at startup, you could try creating a new folder in Dropbox and setting this up as a sync location to see if a new folder might be free from permissions issues. 

 

You can also use this brand new workflow to back up your Alfred preferences to save any worries in the future:

https://alfred.app/workflows/alfredapp/backup-preferences/

 

[jarrodjob]

+1 // This is happening to me.  Just wanted to validate @meadowphoenix.  🤝

[Vero]

8 minutes ago, jarrodjob said:

This is happening to me

 

@jarrodjob In that case, you'll also need to take a look at the same troubleshooting steps as above to establish which of the factors I outlined above is causing the preferences to either not save, or not be present at startup.

 

If you provide the full details of your particular configuration, we can help you too.