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Troubleshooting: Common Issues
Some common problems and solutions are recorded here. If you're having a problem with Plover, see if it is described here along with a solution.
Also, please make sure to check the Plover bug tracker for known reported issues.
Note: Initially, Plover is set up to use your computer keyboard as a steno machine. If you have a steno machine, you'll need to configure Plover to look for your machine. See the Supported Hardware page for configuration instructions specific to your machine.
If you know your machine has been configured correctly, and Plover doesn't recognize your keyboard or steno machine:
- Confirm your keyboard or steno machine is plugged into your computer.
- On the Plover control panel, check if it states the machine is connected or disconnected.
- Press the Reconnect button (to the right of "connected" or "disconnected").
By default, Plover ships with three dictionaries: main.json, commands.json and user.json. This can be a source of confusion to new users.
If two dictionaries contain the same steno strokes, Plover will use the one in the dictionary that has the highest priority. The dictionaries in the dictionary list are prioritised from the bottom up.
By default, the user.json dictionary is placed at the bottom of the dictionary list and has the highest priority. If you want new strokes to go to different dictionary (for example, you have your own dictionary already), make sure that dictionary is at the bottom of the list.
If you have your own dictionary already, you'll probably want to remove main.json and custom.json and add your own dictionary. This includes existing stenographers and users of another theory (Magnum, Phoenix).
We do not recommend you remove the commands.json dictionary from the dictionary list. This is because Plover has some concepts that users of other steno software will not be familiar with initially.
Make sure your theory dictionary is at the bottom of the list if you want new strokes to go to it.
main.json is the core default dictionary. It is based on Mirabai Knight's own personal dictionary, which follows a StenEd-style thoery. It contains over 140,000 entries and is adequate for anyone learning stenography. Mirabai uses this dictionary professionally for her realtime work.
commands.json contains some keyboard shortcuts and Plover-specific utilities. For example, the stroke to add a new translation: TKUPT. It also contains arrow key movements, copy and paste, and more.
Have a look inside to see which keyboard commands Plover can do.
user.json is a blank dictionary. By default, the user.json dictionary is at the bottom of the dictionary list and has the highest priority - it is the first dictionary Plover will use. When you define new strokes, they will get added to this dictionary. This means you can see which strokes you've defined yourself, instead of trying to locate them inside the default dictionaries.
- Disable AutoKey if you're getting strange behavior with Plover.
- If you use a keyboard instead of a steno machine, Plover needs Assistive Device Permissions.
- Plover will not work if you are using Karabiner Elements
- macOS has a feature where holding down a key brings up an accent menu. This can sometimes drop keys when typing quickly, such as
TO/FPLTproducingt.instead ofto.To disable this, follow the instructions in this article: "How to Disable the Character Accent Menu in OS X Mountain Lion".
- Older versions of IBus (prior to 1.5.11) don't handle the very fast simulated key presses of Plover. If this issue affects you, make sure you disable IBus or upgrade it.
- Plover does not handle dynamic keyboard layout switching: see bug #298