Troubleshooting PME

Start from what you can see. A dead shortcut, a context error, a script that only works in the Text Editor, and missing menus have different causes and different fixes.

Choose the symptom

The shortcut does nothing—or works in the wrong place

Check the same shortcut in the exact editor and mode where it fails. Then search Preferences → Keymap for the same key and modifiers, compare the PME keymap scope, and look in the Info editor or System Console for an operator call, report, or error Blender logged. If nothing appears, continue with the keymap checks below.

• Make one hotkey work in Object and Edit Mode
• Why Hold or Tweak appears as Press in Blender
• Avoid ghost PME entries when exporting or importing keymaps

A command reports a context or poll error

• Diagnose the editor, region, mode, and selection context
• Guard a layout that changes or breaks with the active object
• Give Geometry, Shader, and Compositor nodes different menus on one hotkey
• Route one trigger to the right menu for the current context

A script works in Blender’s Text Editor but not in PME

• Find missing imports and session-only dependencies
• Move the script to an external file and call it from PME

The value changed, but Blender still looks stale

• Refresh the smallest Blender area that still shows old state

Menus or files appear to be missing

• Find menus, scripts, icons, JSON exports, and backups
• Restore menus from an automatic backup

A menu broke after another add-on was removed

• Find and replace the saved operator reference

A Macro or interactive operation behaves differently

• Check how the Macro is called
• Share temporary state between Macro steps
• Historical: choose EXEC or INVOKE deliberately

Before changing the setup

Record these facts first:

1. The key and modifiers you actually pressed.
2. The Blender editor, region, and mode under the mouse.
3. The active object and selection state.
4. The keymap scope assigned to the PME item.
5. Whether the PME item works when invoked without that shortcut.
6. The exact error text and operator ID, if Blender reports one.

This separates “the PME item cannot run” from “Blender never routed the event to it.”

Before reinstalling or overwriting anything

If menus or files seem to be missing, check where they are stored before reinstalling PME or overwriting anything. Menu definitions, exported JSON, user scripts, icons, and automatic backups live in different places. Start with the storage map, then use the backup recovery procedure if necessary.

Search when the symptom is different

Search Answers with the symptom or operator name first. Search the Forum archive with the exact error text when you need the complete old conversation.

Search practical answers

Search the full forum archive

Useful curated collections:

• Troubleshooting answers
• Hotkeys and input
• Scripting answers

If the problem began while moving from an older PME installation, use the migration procedure after protecting the existing menu files and backups.