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BUG - When using global shortcut, Trello window fails to accept keyboard input until mouse click

Luigi A_ Pastore Pica

Posting bug here since Atlassian won't accept bug reports on free accounts.

I recently started seeing unintended behavior from Trello Desktop on macOS.

I've been using the global shortcut to hide and show the Trello Desktop window for months. Once the window showed, I used to be able to navigate an open board with my keyboard (arrow keys to select cards, N for new card, etc.).

A few days ago, that behavior changed. Now, when I use the Trello global shortcut to display the Trello Desktop window, the window is displayed, focus changes to the window, as evidenced by the menu bar changing to Trello's; however, pressing any keyboard key results in MacOS's alert sound and no input being recognized. I now have to click on the Trello window with my mouse for keyboard input to be recognized. Using Cmd + Tab to switch focus to a different app and then back again to Trello has no effect.

This new behavior is disruptive for keyboard-focused workflows and kind of defeats the purpose of the global shortcut in the first place.

I started experiencing this on Trello Desktop 2.16.5 with MacOS Tahoe 26.5.1. Now I am using Trello Desktop 2.16.7 with MacOS Tahoe 26.6.2 and the issue persists.

I've taken steps to verify no other app or daemon is intercepting my keystrokes. Actually any other app I switch focus to via keyboard acts as intended. This is an issue specific to Trello desktop.

Repro:

Open Trello Desktop 2.16.7 on macOS Tahoe 26.6.2 (or Trello Desktop 2.16.5 on macOS Tahoe 26.5.1)
Log in to Trello account
Open any board
Click global shortcut Cmd + Opt + T
Verify Trello Desktop window disappears from view
Click global shortcut Cmd + Opt + T again
Verify Trello Desktop window is displayed and menu bar changes to Trello's
Press any keyboard key

Expected:

Trello Desktop reacts to key press (e.g. arrow keys move across cards on the board, N key creates new card, etc.)

Actual:

- macOS emits alert sound.

- Trello Desktop does not react to keyboard input

- Mouse click on Trello Desktop is required for Trello to recognize keyboard input

Accepted answers

Andrea Crawford

@Luigi A_ Pastore Pica I'm also able to reproduce this behavior, and I agree that it makes the desktop global shortcut less useful. As a workaround, i noticed that if I press tab first, then the window contents are focused and I can use arrow keys, n key, etc. Let me know if this works for you as a workaround while I try to find a better solution.

-Andrea

All comments

Arkadiusz Wroblewski

Hello @Luigi A_ Pastore Pica

If Trello is hidden and you restore it via the Dock icon instead of Cmd + Option + T, can you navigate the board with the keyboard?

That can help to isolate it.

Best,

Arek🤠

Andrea Crawford

-Andrea

Luigi A_ Pastore Pica

Hi Arek,

Thank you for the suggestion. I just checked. If I hide the Trello window via the global shortcut OR I minimize the window, then I click the Trello Dock icon, I get exactly the same behavior as when displaying Trello with the global shortcut, i.e. cannot navigate Trello with keyboard keys until I click on the window.

Best,

Luigi

Luigi A_ Pastore Pica

Hi @Andrea Crawford

Thank you for your suggestion and good catch with that workaround!

Yes, if I press the global shortcut, then I press tab, this triggers a menu called "Skip to" in the top left corner (with a visual bug btw). Once this menu is displayed, I am able to navigate the board with my keyboard as intended. I haven't seen this menu before, so I wonder whether it is new and its implementation is the cause for this issue.

In any case, this works for now and lets me go back to my usual workflow. Thank you once again.

Best,

Luigi

Luigi A_ Pastore Pica

Also, for the record, see Andrea's reply a few hours after yours. She identified a temporary workaround. Here's hoping the Atlassian team can pinpoint the cause of the bug soon but in the meantime, the workaround helps a lot.

Luigi A_ Pastore Pica

I just discovered that if I use Cmd + number key to switch between favorite boards, I am able to navigate the board with my keyboard as well. Less convenient than your suggestion @Andrea Crawford, but still an option. Hopefully all this serves to help the team pinpoint the issue.

John Paul

This sounds like a genuine focus-handling bug in the macOS desktop app. The fact that the menu switches to Trello but keyboard input only works after a mouse click strongly suggests the window is visible but the board itself isn't receiving keyboard focus correctly.,

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