I am not entirely sure if this post belongs here so I am also posting it on the Apple support site. Using an iMac 1.25 with wireless keyboard and mouse. When working in several Adobe CS applications the keyboard shortcuts change erratically with no apparent cause. I have been sat working in Photoshop zooming in (cmd +) and out (cmd -) when suddenly the zoom in command no longer works. I proceed manually zooming with the magnifying glass and then perform an undo (cmd Z) – instead of undo the file changes from RGB to CMYK. I look in the edit menu and it doesn’t show a mode change as an undo option. When keying in text into InDesign the keypad types numbers but the number row on the keyboard types odd characters normally achieveable with option or alt combinations.
Is this a problem with the keyboard?, the batteries are fine and most things appear to work OK. Up till now everything has been working fine and I haven’t added any new software etc.
In 10.3.4, you can edit and change the standard Keyboard Shortcuts in System Preferences/Keyboard & Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts.
<< When keying in text into InDesign the keypad types numbers but the number row on the keyboard types odd characters normally achieveable with option or alt combinations. >>
Check that you haven’t removed vital fonts from System/Library/Fonts.
I was using 10.3.2, I’m now using 10.3.4 so I’ll see if it makes any difference. I can’t see how it can be system keyboard shortcuts though as they keep changing back and forth within a few seconds – I zoom in, then out, but when I try in again, nothing happens. I use the magnifying glass to zoom in but can still use cmd- to zoom out, then after a few seconds of using other shortcuts it starts working again! There doesn’t seem to be any pattern.
As for the fonts, no I haven’t removed any. We have 3 machines set up identically and the others are working fine (famous last words!) Again, this is an erratic problem – it doesn’t do it all the time.
Nope, neither. We don’t use Entourage and there aren’t any network aliases in the dock.
Actually, I just checked and there was a network alias in the dock. I deleted it and rebooted the software but to no avail. Testing with the zoom in/out – zoomed in then out then turned the grid on whilst highlighting the help menu whilst zooming in again! I checked the shortcut for ‘turn grid on’ which turned out to be cmd ‘. I then thought about the keyboard input and… lo and behold, I’m typing in Polish! I don’t know if one of my keyboard shortcuts is toggling between the different language selections which would explain the erratic changes, but I’ve now turned them all off except English. I’ll keep testing but I think that’s going to sort it. Thanks anyway.
Do a safe boot so that all third party software doesn’t launch automatically and see if that solves it. That way if shareware/freeware is the problem (even if it doesn’t show up in the startup items) it will be disabled.
Some software overrides app shortcuts but may do so differently.
If that doesn’t solve it…
If you have admin permissions create a new ‘user’ account and log in as that user.
Then without changing any preferences for your new user account launch the various apps and see if the same keyboard shortcut problems exist.
If they are gone then it’s a user-wide preference that is probably at fault.
If they still exist then it’s a system-wide preference that is probably at fault.
This will only begin to narrow it down (since you said that it involves several apps it’s obvious that simply trashing an app’s prefs would not solve it).
"What you describe can happen if you accidentally hit the Command key and the Space bar simultaneously"
I don’t hit it accidentally – I hit it on purpose because that’s the shortcut to zoom in! (which explains a lot). Now that I’ve deactivated the other languages it doesn’t toggle anymore – I’ll just have to remember that when I next need to reactive them!
My Option, Command, and Space Bar keys are not working correctly when I try to use them in the default keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop CS.
I am running OS X 10.3.5 on a G4 tower. and Entourage 11.0.0.
The key problems started happening soon after my Entourage was upgraded to version 11.0.0 (my system had already been upgraded to 10.3.5 before Entourage was upgraded).
I tried trashing prefs file, restarting Photoshop while resetting prefs with keys, installing new multiprocessor plugin, and restarting the computer several times. I had not yet tried reinstalling Photoshop.
The solution: I quit Entourage and the keys started working fine. I opened Entourage and the keys would not work again.
Another person in this office is running Photoshop CS on OS X 10.3.4 (as opposed to my 10.3.5) and Entourage 11.0.0 and has not yet had problems with the keys.
It turns out that one of my Entourage email accounts had asked for a password when I logged on. i entered the password and told entourage to remember it. Then I restarted entourage. after that, my shortcuts worked like they should.
I guess it’s some strange combination of entourage and osx locking the modifier keys when the password box is up? maybe?
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