HUnruh

Why does my spacebar = F12?

Whenever I press spacebar while in Word or PowerPoint, the Save As dialogue box pops up. Whenever I press spacebar while in Explorer, the Developer Tools window pops up. It seems that in MS programs, spacebar=F12. Why is this happening--and more importantly how do I get it to stop??

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Replies (7)

Guruprasad Ra

Hi,

Since when you had this issue?

Try using On-Screen keyboard and verify the results.

Refer to the following link for more information on using the On-Screen keyboard:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/type-without-keyboard

Reply with the results to assist you better.

Thank you.

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HUnruh

Thanks for the suggestion -- when I use the On-Screen keyboard, spacebar works normally. But the regular keyboard spacebar still acts like F12.

We've noticed that other keys sometimes do the same thing, like the shift key. But not every time.

This started about 2 weeks ago and has been driving us crazy!

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Guruprasad Ra

Hi,

Since you are able to use the On-Screen keyboard, the issue is with the regular keyboard.

In case you are using a desktop, then try changing the keyboard.

Thank you.

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HUnruh

My computer is a laptop. Is there anything we can do?

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Guruprasad Ra

Hi,

Contact the laptop manufacturer for more assistance with this issue.

Thank you.

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HUnruh

I ended up downloading the value added package so that I could disable the function keys. That stopped the craziness though it also means we lost the use of all the function keys.

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Charles Kenyon

My computer is a laptop. Is there anything we can do?

Often when the keyboard on a laptop starts causing problems the only realistic remedy is to get an external keyboard and plug it into a USB port (or bluetooth).

Volunteering to "pay forward" the help I've received in the Microsoft user community.

Charles Kenyon
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
wordfaq[at]addbalance[dot]com

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Question Info

Last updated April 14, 2025 Views 1,142 Applies to: