I am using macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 on a Macbook M4 Pro. I have been fighting with Adobe Premiere (both 25.6.5 and 26.2) because none of my hotkeys are working whatsoever. I’ve been having to manually click tools, the playback buttons, and timeline area to get anything to work. The spacebar seems to like to open a new instance of premiere every time I press it, which is tough because I usually use that key to stop/start playback. When Premiere 26.2 is first opened, I get an error saying ‘The shortcut key file “Adobe Premiere Pro Defaults.kys” is invalid!’ and the app resumes loading. That same error does not pop up in 25.6.5, but the symptoms are the same. Here’s what I’ve done so far:I’ve held option while opening, and reset the prefs/cache/plugins numerous times I’ve completely uninstalled all Adobe apps and Creative cloud, and used Adobe’s ‘Creative Cloud Uninstaller’. I then reinstalled CC + Premiere. No luck. I tried manually copying the kys file form the app’s package contents, and placing it in the /documents/Adobe/Premiere Pro/26.0/[profile]/Mac I’ve thoroughly gone through the Privacy & Security settings on my Mac, and gave Premiere Pro practically access to everything (including full disk acces, keyboard, etc)I’m sure there are other obscure steps I’ve tried, but at this point I’m at a loss. We’re trying to push out several small videos a day, and having to use a mouse-only interface is infuriatingly slow. Any insight would be appreciated, thanks so much.Kyle

Participant

Answered

The KYS file in Adobe Premiere Pro is invalid

Forum|Forum|25 days ago
April 28, 2026
8 replies
225 views

I am using macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 on a Macbook M4 Pro. I have been fighting with Adobe Premiere (both 25.6.5 and 26.2) because none of my hotkeys are working whatsoever. I’ve been having to manually click tools, the playback buttons, and timeline area to get anything to work. The spacebar seems to like to open a new instance of premiere every time I press it, which is tough because I usually use that key to stop/start playback.

When Premiere 26.2 is first opened, I get an error saying ‘The shortcut key file “Adobe Premiere Pro Defaults.kys” is invalid!’ and the app resumes loading. That same error does not pop up in 25.6.5, but the symptoms are the same.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

I’ve held option while opening, and reset the prefs/cache/plugins numerous times
I’ve completely uninstalled all Adobe apps and Creative cloud, and used Adobe’s ‘Creative Cloud Uninstaller’. I then reinstalled CC + Premiere. No luck.
I tried manually copying the kys file form the app’s package contents, and placing it in the /documents/Adobe/Premiere Pro/26.0/[profile]/Mac
I’ve thoroughly gone through the Privacy & Security settings on my Mac, and gave Premiere Pro practically access to everything (including full disk acces, keyboard, etc)

I’m sure there are other obscure steps I’ve tried, but at this point I’m at a loss. We’re trying to push out several small videos a day, and having to use a mouse-only interface is infuriatingly slow.

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks so much.

Kyle

Correct answer johnxley

Hi,

I just solved my issue - and it was nothing to do with Prem Pro!! Somehow I had managed to turn on HEX input IN ADDITION to normal British input for my Keyboard - so it seemed to be working normally in other apps - until I by chance noticed that I couldn't get any additional keys (like Option + V for √ etc) so I then tracked down what the problem was - It is fixed by going System Settings> Keyboard>Input Sources>Edit and deleting the extra Input Source (which in my case was HEX - hope this helps.

MyerPj

Community Expert

Let’s make sure @Kevin J. Monahan Jr. knows about this struggle, seems like mac only at the moment.

johnxley

Participant

Hi, I’m having the same issue - I’m on MacOS Sequoia 15.7.4 Using Prem pro recently - all fine - suddenly when I came to load up today I get that message - strangely it is affecting both 2025 and 2026 versions (I kept the older version for just in case) This makes me think it might be a Mac issue but I’ve no idea what to try next???

johnxleyCorrect answer

Participant

Hi,

I just solved my issue - and it was nothing to do with Prem Pro!! Somehow I had managed to turn on HEX input IN ADDITION to normal British input for my Keyboard - so it seemed to be working normally in other apps - until I by chance noticed that I couldn't get any additional keys (like Option + V for √ etc) so I then tracked down what the problem was - It is fixed by going System Settings> Keyboard>Input Sources>Edit and deleting the extra Input Source (which in my case was HEX - hope this helps.

M

MartinBusler

Participant

Thank you! Your solution worked for me.

Jackson Fitch

Participant

I am having the exact same issue

MyerPj

Community Expert

Don’t get too brief… mac or win.

MyerPj

Community Expert

@MartinBusler , yes, this might be a mac problem. I have older keyboard files, but they are all PC versions. Otherwise, I upload one for you.

M

MartinBusler

Participant

Same here (M2 on Sequoia 15.7.4)

MyerPj

Community Expert

They seem to be working here. I think @Peru Bob and me are both on Windows. On Windows the kys files are located here;

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro (Beta)\Keyboard Shortcuts\

I just took the Adobe default kys (in \EN) made a copy and placed it in the Win folder with the other Kys’s and it is working OK.

MyerPj

Community Expert

Just checking, are you working in English?

IACIS MarketingAuthor

Participant

Yes, I’m working in English. I’ve tried changing the keyboard language around as well, and each time I make a new language selection, that particular error message pops up once again.