[Mac] Keyman on Mojave 10.14.5 sometimes emits wrong characters in legacy apps

[mcdurdin]

Describe the bug
In macOS 10.14.5, when using legacy apps, such as Word or Adobe products, Keyman sometimes emits base characters instead of the intended output character.

For example, using the GFF Amharic keyboard, pressing aa emits አa instead ዓ.

It appears that when context modification is required, it is not working with these applications. This did work in macOS 10.14.4.

Reported at:

• https://community.software.sil.org/t/amharic-keyboard-wont-function-fully-on-macos-mojave/2304
• https://community.software.sil.org/t/sil-ipa-ver-1-7-not-functioning-correctly-on-macos-mojave/2340

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open Word or another app that requires legacy-mode (backspace-based) input.
2. Select GFF Amharic keyboard (or other keyboard that does context manipulation)
3. Type aa.
4. See error

---

Keyman for macOS:

• OS: macOS 10.14.5
• Keyman version: 11.0.220
• Target Application: Word 16.27, Adobe products

[mcdurdin]

This may be related to additional security hardening on 10.14.5?

I am observing that Keyman does not see events it has posted to the app (e.g. kProcessPendingBuffer key event) which it seems is blocking the output of replacement keystrokes after a backspace. I need to run the same tests on a 10.14.4 VM in order to validate the difference in behaviour.

[mcdurdin]

I have a candidate test version 12.0.0 that addresses this issue, available for download at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HsNAJDlsNGMlmSphVEG4OOmhlgi4NNSa/view?usp=sharing

In Finder, unzip the file then drag the resulting Keyman app to the ~/Library/Input Methods folder, replacing existing Keyman if present. (To open the Input Methods folder, press Command+Shift+G in Finder and paste the ~/Library/Input Methods text in.)

If you get an error 'The operation cannot be completed because the item "Keyman" is in use', then open a terminal and run the following command, and try again:

kill `pgrep Keyman`

You will need to run the following command in Terminal to reset permissions after the update, in order for the updated Keyman permissions to be accepted:

sudo tccutil reset PostEvent

And you may also need to restart your Mac in order for the new input method to load.

[mcdurdin]

Reference knowledge for this issue:

Overview:

• https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/hardened-runtime-sandboxing.html
• https://eclecticlight.co/2018/10/10/watching-mojaves-privacy-protection-at-work/
• https://eclecticlight.co/2019/07/09/understanding-signature-checks-on-notarized-apps-in-mojave-10-14-5-1/
• https://eclecticlight.co/2019/07/11/understanding-signature-checks-on-notarized-apps-in-mojave-10-14-5-2/

Apple Events (this may not be required?):

• https://www.felix-schwarz.org/blog/2018/08/new-apple-event-apis-in-macos-mojave

Dealing with previously-denied permissions:

• https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-68830

Notarization:

• https://help.apple.com/xcode/mac/current/#/devf87a2ac8f

Automation of notarization:

• https://blog.zeplin.io/dev-journal-automate-notarizing-macos-apps-94b0b144ba9d
• https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_your_app_before_distribution/customizing_the_notarization_workflow
• https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/notarizing_your_app_before_distribution/resolving_common_notarization_issues#3087731
• https://forum.xojo.com/conversation/post/410576
• https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/357411/enabling-hardened-runtime-from-outside-of-xcode

[mcdurdin]

Done.