Microsoft KB Archive/186971

= OFF98: Shortcut Keys May Not Be Available =

Article ID: 186971

Article Last Modified on 11/13/2003

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 98 for Macintosh

-



This article was previously published under Q186971



SYMPTOMS
When a dialog box is open in one of the Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition programs, shortcut keys may not work. For example, pressing COMMAND+C to copy, pressing COMMAND+V to paste, or pressing COMMAND+X to cut selected text does not work.



CAUSE
This problem may occur when one of the following conditions is true:


 * The keys are shortcut keys that are assigned to other commands in the dialog box. -or-


 * The shortcut keys are not available at all in the dialog box.



WORKAROUND
In some cases, you can work around this problem by using the appropriate command on the Edit menu. However, the Edit menu commands may not be available in all dialog boxes. To see an example of a dialog box in which the commands are not available, follow these steps:


 * 1) Start Microsoft Excel 98.
 * 2) On the Tools menu, click Preferences.
 * 3) Click the General tab.
 * 4) Select the name in the User Name box.
 * 5) On the menu bar, click Edit.

Note that all the menu commands are unavailable (dimmed).
 * 1) Select the user name again. Press COMMAND+C. Move the insertion point to the Default File Location box. Press COMMAND+V.

Note that nothing is pasted in the Default File Location box.

There are some dialog boxes in which you cannot use the shortcut keys that are in the "Symptoms" section in this article. However, you can use the Edit menu commands. For example, to use the Copy and Paste commands in a dialog box, follow these steps:


 * 1) Start Microsoft Excel 98.
 * 2) On the File menu, click Page Setup.
 * 3) Click the Sheet tab. In the Print Area box, type test . Select "test." Press COMMAND+C. Move the insertion point to the "Rows to repeat at top" box. Press COMMAND+V.

"Test" is not pasted into the "Rows to repeat at top" box.
 * 1) Select "test" in the Print Area box.
 * 2) On the Edit menu, click Copy.
 * 3) Move the insertion point to the "Rows to repeat at top" box.
 * 4) On the Edit menu, click Paste.

This pastes "test" into the "Rows to repeat at top" box.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
When a dialog box first appears, there is no indication of which keys you can use as shortcut keys. However, if you hold the COMMAND key down for a few seconds, the labels for the commands in the dialog box appear with an underlined letter. The shortcut key combination for the command is the COMMAND key and the underlined letter

