app shortcuts not work

Another solution would be to create a shortcut in the Shortcuts application.

1. Open the Shortcuts application.
2. Click the “+” icon in the toolbar to create a new shortcut.
3. Insert the “Open App” action.
4. Click “App” in the action and select the application to open.
5. In the toolbar, click the “I” icon.
6. Click “Add Keyboard Shortcut” and set your keyboard shortcut.

Here is an exemple to open the App Store with a keyboard shortcut control + option + command + . (Just a dot):

You can’t open an app with that type of shortcut. You’re supposed to enter a menu item, and it executes that menu item not open the app. You can use the Shortcuts app to create a shortcut that opens the app and you can add a shortcut for that shortcut.

Good catch. Without Shortcuts running, I had a similar issue: the App Store (in my example) would open but I would also have an error message.

I tried a few things and I'm not sure how I got the error to go away. Here is what I did:

• Open Finder.
• In the menu bar, click Finder > Services > Service Settings.
• In the Shortcuts section, I unselected the shortcut and clicked Done.
• In the menu bar, click Finder > Services > Service Settings.
• In the Shortcuts section, I selected the shortcut and clicked Done.
• Finally, in the menu bar, click Finder > Services > [the name of your shortcut].

It seems a lot like hocus-pocus but then the error went away. I created another shortcut, this time to open Podcasts, with another keyboard shortcut. I made sure Shortcuts wasn't running and Podcasts opened without any issue.

I'll be honest: I have no idea why as I didn't do anything else.

Use a macro app like Keyboard Maestro. With it you can open any app with a single F key or a 2 key combination beginning with either ⌘, ⌥ or Control. You can also entry boilerplate text with a letter combination, change app or system settings with keystrokes, etc. It's very powerful.

You are most welcome!