Keyboard Manager doesn't work with Avid Pro Tools (2020)

[yoloswaggerboy69]

ℹ Computer information

• PowerToys version: 0.23.2
• PowerToy Utility: Keyboard Manager
• Running PowerToys as Admin: yes
• Windows build number: 19041.572

📝 Provide detailed reproduction steps (if any)

1. remap alt+c to ctrl+c and alt+v to ctrl+v
2. run pro tools
3. select any piece of an audio clip and hit alt+c and then alt+v at a different cursor location

✔️ Expected result

alt+c should copy and alt+v should paste

❌ Actual result

nothing happens

(though it does work on the windows desktop for copying and pasting)

(The reason I'm trying to do this is to match Mac OS Shortcuts for pro tools so that i can switch platforms without issues and retain muscle memory)

[arjunbalgovind]

I can repro this on Pro Tools First. The issue seems to be happen only with remapping a shortcut containing Alt to copy/paste. Remapping Shift+C to Ctrl+C works fine. Pro Tools seems to swallow the Alt event

[yoloswaggerboy69]

Pro Tools seems to swallow the Alt event

so does this mean, there is now way to fix this, outside of avid reprogramming pro tools ?

[arjunbalgovind]

It seems that Pro Tools seems to handle input at a level lower than low level hooks. If you press the Win key while Pro Tools is in focus, Keyboard Manager (even if running as admin) does not receive the key event. For Alt, it seems that only if you press and release Alt without any key in between Pro Tools forwards it, otherwise it suppresses the event.

@enricogior @crutkas This might be something that could get fixed only if KBM was implemented at the driver level. In addition to that we would need to store our own keyboard states rather than using GetAsyncKeyState because in the above scenario, if a user remaps Alt+A, with the current logic we do not do anything until we receive the A event. On receiving A we use GetAsyncKeyState to check if Alt is pressed. For this to work even at the driver level with apps like Pro Tools, we would have to store that Alt was pressed (and similarly all keys), because GetAsyncKeyState will detect that Alt is not pressed. This would be required to ensure KBM is compatible with any other process that could suppress key events.
We have to use GetAsyncKeyState rather than storing our own keyboard state buffer for KBM in it's current state because we could end up with false positives if it is not running as admin (like what happened to PowerToys Run and ColorPicker in their initial releases).

[crutkas]

I can't see us getting this fixed due to the fact they are going lower than we are. I don't want to get into doing a driver as well. We should add this to the known app list then close this as won't fix.

[crutkas]

Added Avid to known issues. https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/wiki/Application-Compatibility

[arjunbalgovind]

I think if possible we should figure out what sort of APIs these apps are using for handling input, so that we can classify all such apps as "can't remap". Might apply to some games as well.

[crutkas]

True, that would be helpful, can you look into that?