Burst Notes: Troubleshooting
The keyboard shortcut does nothing
Another application has probably claimed Command-Shift-B first. Click the Burst Notes icon in the menu bar, choose Bring Up Command Window, run Set Global Keyboard Shortcut and record a different combination. Shortcuts with Control or Option in addition to Command are rarely taken.
If the icon is not in the menu bar, Burst Notes is not running. It has no Dock icon and no windows of its own, so the menu bar icon is the only sign of life. Launch it from the Applications folder, and add it to your login items under System Settings, General, Login Items if you want it there at every start.
Paste mode copies but does not paste
Pasting into the previous application needs the Accessibility permission. Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility and switch Burst Notes on. If Burst Notes is listed but still cannot paste, remove it from the list with the minus button and switch to Paste mode again so that macOS asks afresh; this is needed after some updates. Without the permission, Paste mode behaves like Copy mode and leaves the line on the clipboard for you to paste by hand.
The editor closes before I am done
By default the editor saves and closes when another application comes to the front. Text expanders, clipboard managers, launchers and some dictation tools briefly activate themselves while you type, which looks to Burst Notes like you clicked away. Switch off Auto-Dismiss Editor When Clicked Away under Settings and close the editor yourself with Escape or Command-W.
My line went to the wrong place
Check the footer of the command window. End of Section appends after the last line of the header’s section, Below Header inserts directly under the header. Control-W toggles between them. Also note that the section of a header ends where the next header of any level begins, so a line added at the end of ## Monday goes before ### Afternoon only if ### Afternoon comes after Monday’s own lines.
Burst Notes says it cannot find or read a file
The file has been moved, renamed, deleted, or sits on a volume or in a cloud folder that is not available right now. Use Reveal Current File in Finder to see where Burst Notes expects it, or Remove Current Markdown File from Open List and Add Markdown File to Open List to point it at the file’s new home. A permission error means the file or its folder is read-only; check with File, Get Info in the Finder.
The to-do shortcut, bold or italic do not work
The Command-T, Command-B and Command-I shortcuts belong to the built-in editor, not to the command window. In the Source tab the text is treated as plain text, so typing shortcuts such as [] are not expanded there; switch to the Visual tab with Command-1.
The command window has stopped offering Append commands
The 14-day trial is over and Burst Notes is in limited mode. Browsing, opening files, Copy and Paste modes and help still work, but the commands that write to or create files are switched off. Choose Buy From Us… from the menu bar icon to purchase a licence, then Enter Unlock Code… to paste the code from your order email. In the Mac App Store edition, use Purchase App Subscription…, or Restore Purchases… on a new Mac.
Keyboard shortcuts show the wrong letters
Burst Notes records shortcuts by key position and displays them with the characters of the keyboard layout that is active. If you switch layouts while the recorder is open, it redraws. The Control mode shortcuts and the editor shortcuts match the typed character, so Control-C is Copy mode on every layout.
Which macOS versions are supported?
Burst Notes 1.08 and later require macOS 15 Sequoia or later. Version 1.07 remains available for macOS 13 Ventura and macOS 14 Sonoma: download it here. The in-app updater only offers versions that your Mac can run, so a Ventura or Sonoma Mac stays on 1.07 automatically.
Still stuck?
Choose Contact the Developer from the menu bar icon or the command window, or use the support page. Please say which version of Burst Notes and macOS you are using and, if it is about a file, what the relevant part of the Markdown looks like.