Keyboard shortcuts reassign themselves

Hi Madeline

 

 

You can try:

 

•  removing some word plist in this location ~/Library/Preferences >remove the com.microsoft.word.plist.
• remove normal.dotm from this location  ~/Library/Aplication Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates
• But if the problem still persist then your last resort would be uninstall/reinstall office.

 

regards,

Mark

Before you start ripping anything out :-)...

When did you last actually Restart your Mac?... Not just 'close the lid' or allow it to 'sleep'. It's quite possible that a restart will eliminate the issue.

What is your present version update level? 14.3.9 is current for Office 2011. If Word> About Word indicates anything lower use Help> Check for Updates to get the software up to date.

Have you run Disk Utility to repair disk permissions? It might help to do so followed by a restart, especially if you do apply any updates.

Have you installed any software that claims to 'enhance' OS X (especially Clipboard) functionality or provide other 'conveniences'? Utilities such as CopyPaste Pro have been known to cause exactly that type of behavior.

Have you tried creating a new User Account to see if you experience the same issue when logged in as that user?

Cut/Copy/Paste are operating system functions & the keyboard shortcuts are reserved by OS X. Office apps support those keyboard shortcuts but they aren't assigned by the programs. They're basically a pass-through from the OS. OTOH, the contextual menus are constructs of the program in which they are being used. It's interesting that the contextual menus work but the keyboard shortcuts don't -- What about the Edit menu itself, or the C/C/P buttons on the Standard Toolbar?

Thanks, Bob and Mark

Thanks, Bob and Mark

1. I've restarted my computer several hundred times, I'm guessing, since this has been happening for a long time. I can't remember if it started when I first upgraded to Word 2011 or with one of the OSX upgrades. It happens on my Air and used to happen on my MBP.

2. This problem exists only in Word. Even after those keyboard shortcuts begin misbehaving in Word, they function normally in the other programs I use (Outlook, Excel, InDesign, etc.). At that point, the pulldown edit menu gets mangled. (Next time it happens, I'll take a screenshot!)

3. I do keep my programs and operating system up to date so I have whatever the latest versions are.

4. I have no add-ons for Word.

5. I will repair permissions but -- see #1 -- I doubt that has anything to do with it.

6. If I create a new user identity for Outlook does that also create a new identity for all Office programs? (I just did that about a week ago, actually, but it did not fix an equally irritating recurring problem!)

7. If I create a new normal template, how do I carry over all my customized keyboard shortcuts? They've been created using Word's macro feature.

Re your #4: Not just "add-ons for Word", but any OS X utilities/apps

Re your #6: Not a new Office Identity, a new User Account on your Mac. Testing in a new User Account is a standard OS X troubleshooting practice which helps identify possible sources of issues.

Re your #7: Do not delete your present Normal.dotm, just rename it & move it to a different folder or to the Desktop. [I wouldn't do that just yet, but note that no Office programs should be running when you do.] Do you mean that you've assigned keyboard shortcuts to Macros you've recorded? If so, macros can be copied from one template to another using Word's Organizer feature. Kybd shortcuts assigned to macros remain assigned. Other kybd customization cannot be retained.

It might be helpful to know more about this... especially if you had other versions of Office (2008? 2004?) installed on the same Mac.

Having the exact same problem as Madeline.

Sorry to reply to my own post, but as I started down the road of trouble-shooting this, I suddenly realized that I would be facing hours and hours of testing with no assurance of getting an answer!

Aha! There is someone out there with the same experience! I have not yet gone through all the steps above (new account, reinstalling, moving normal.dotm). I wouldn't say I'm using Word out of the box, though: I have over the years assigned keyboard shortcuts to menus. I too have been using the program for hundreds of years, and no longer know what are the default built-in shortcuts and what are my own (a problem when I'm trying to help others!). I think that moving my customized normal template out of the templates folder will make the program revert to its original **** state, right? Interesting that relaunching the program doesn't fix anything for JThurber. That's the only way I've found to make it work. A PITA when you've got multiple windows open. (I often have the same program open in two windows, for example.)

Appreciate your reply!

I crash far less frequently when I save files in docx, I've found.

Thanks for the tip on how to take screenshots of menus! 

As for backups, I'm well covered on that front, having both Time Capsule and a wonderful off-site backup system called Carbonite copying everything, all the time. Another thing I would hate to lose is my decades' worth of autocorrections, which I've been carrying forward from one generation to the next.

I've stopped working on the file that had lots of tables and figures in it and am not likely to have the reassigning problem for a little while. However, I've decided to create a new Normal.dotm template. I did the following:

1. Quit Word

2. Rename Normal.dotm

3. Move it out of the Templates folder

4. Launch Word

5. Figure out how to open the Organizer without my old keyboard shortcuts

6. Copy over my custom toolbars and macros and save them in the Normal template.

7. Quit Word, clicking on "yes, save changes to Normal.dotm"

When I relaunch Word, my keyboard shortcuts have not carried over, although the two gizmos show up in the organizer, and one customized menu does not show up. If I go to Tools > Macro > Macros, my macros are all there intact.

Any idea what magic incantation I need to mutter?