microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Text shortcut remap makes plain h trigger the mapping and breaks keyboard input

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Issue-Bug Needs-Triage Product-Keyboard Manager
Dominant language
C
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Forks
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Description

### Microsoft PowerToys version

0.100.0

### Installation method

PowerToys auto-update

### Area(s) with issue?

Keyboard Manager

### Steps to reproduce

1. Create a Keyboard Manager shortcut remap that inserts a text sequence.
2. Set the target app to chrome.exe.
3. Open ChatGPT web in Chrome.
4. Trigger the shortcut once.
5. Press plain h afterwards.

I first saw this before updating to v0.100.0 with a Win+H shortcut. I later changed the shortcut to Ctrl+Alt+H and updated to v0.100.0. The issue still reproduced after the update.

I reproduced this after a full Windows reboot:

1. The keyboard worked normally after reboot.
2. I re-enabled Keyboard Manager.
3. I triggered the text shortcut once in ChatGPT web.
4. I pressed plain h.
5. The keyboard/window behaviour became unstable again.

### ✔️ Expected Behavior

The text should only be inserted when the full configured shortcut is pressed.

Pressing plain h afterwards should only type h.

Keyboard modifiers should not stay stuck or affect later keypresses.

### ❌ Actual Behavior

After the shortcut is triggered once, pressing plain h appears to trigger the text mapping again.

Windows then behaves as if keyboard input or modifier keys are stuck. Explorer windows open, windows resize or move, and normal shortcuts such as Ctrl+A stop working.

Turning the physical keyboard off and on did not fix it. Disabling Keyboard Manager did not immediately restore normal input. A full Windows reboot restored the keyboard.

### Upload Bug Report ZIP-file

_No response_

### Additional Information

Shortcut history:
- First tested with Win+H.
- Later tested with Ctrl+Alt+H.
- Target app was chrome.exe.
- Issue started before v0.100.0 and still reproduced after updating to v0.100.0.

Official bug report zip could not be generated. Manual run of:
C:\Users\mike\AppData\Local\PowerToys\Tools\PowerToys.BugReportTool.exe

returned:
Failed to copy logs saved in LocalLow
Failed to parse file C:\Users\mike\AppData\Local\Temp\PowerToys\Workspaces/workspaces.json
Failed to get dotnet installation information

### Other Software

Chrome
ChatGPT web
No other keyboard or macro tools known

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

No source file, test, or code entry point is named. Start by reproducing the issue in Keyboard Manager with a text-sequence remap targeted at chrome.exe, first using Win+H and then Ctrl+Alt+H; done means the full shortcut inserts the text once, plain h types only h afterward, and modifiers do not remain stuck.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
desktop
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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