Problems when using contractions such as I'm, I'll, etc. Any help?

Anonymous
2012-07-04T04:34:34+00:00

I'm having a problem whenever I try to use contractions that begin with "I" - such as I'm, I'll, etc. When I type "I'm", I get "I'  M" followed by a beep. Same thing with "I'll" - Outlook will type it as "I' L" and beep, not allowing me to enter any new characters until I delete the old and I have to type "I am" or "I will". "I've" is also a problem. It's seems as if the auto spell checker is just choking on any contraction beginning with "I"?

Yes, I am running the latest developer version of Mountain Lion but I've been running it for months with no problems in any Office app. This is something new and totally off the wall.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Clinton

Outlook | MacOS | Legacy Outlook for Mac | For business

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2012-07-28T04:59:25+00:00

Final update:

Update to Mavericks to resolve this issue.

The problem is related to webkit.  Webkit is a component of OS X (it is the HTML rendering engine behind Safari).  The bug was reported to Apple shortly after this thread started.  The fix was released recently in the version of webkit included with Mavericks.

===

As a temporary workaround please turn off the "Capitalize first letter of sentences" autocorrect setting.

Select the menu Outlook, Preferences, Autocorrect and uncheck "Capitalize first letter of sentences".

===

Update:

The recent Mac Office 14.2.5 release did not contain a fix for this issue.

The problem is related to webkit.  Webkit is a component of OS X (it is the HTML rendering engine behind Safari).  The bug was reported to Apple shortly after this thread started and we are eagerly waiting on a fix.

Apple released version 6.0.2 of Safari early November 2012, including a webkit update.  It is that update which is causing people to see changed, but not fixed, behavior.

The particular test case I have been using to reproduce the problem still fails with Safari 6.0.2.  Other uses are reporting that situations which were broken before now work.

There is no benefit in trying new identities or new user accounts.  The issue is well understood as being a webkit regression from when Mountain Lion was released.  It is not related to any problem with your identity, account or installation.

The above temporary workaround is still the only solution to suppress the problem until a complete webkit fix is released.  Updating to Safari 6.0.2 through Apple Software update may address some situations.

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments

90 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
  1. Anonymous
    2012-11-14T20:53:39+00:00

    It's fixed for me but it seems not for everyone.

    Could I get you to do two tests for me. Trying to locate why it's working for some not others.

    1. Test in a new Identity. This will tell us if it's your Identity.
    2. Test in a new User. This eliminates issues in your User folder.

    Verify that you are updated to the latest OS X.

    10.8.2

    10.7.4

    10.6.8

    [Added comment November-15-2012] Testing in a new Identity will not fix this issue. However it might fix other issues you are seeing that are directly related to the Identity. Scott_MSFT replied on November 14, 2012 that the issue is with Safari's WebKit.. See his post for more details.]

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  2. Anonymous
    2012-11-14T19:27:11+00:00

    A partial fix in my case. Reverting to automatic capitalization of the first letter of the first word works for new sentences subsequent to the first one in a new document. Entering a lower case first word in a new Outlook plain text email has the following result:

    > non-contraction: upon depressing the space bar or adding punctuation, the first letter is capitalized and the cursor is sent to the bottom of the document (end of email signature in my case). This behaviour doesn't occur in subsequent sentences.

    > contractions (excluding those starting with I'): upon entering the apostrophe, the first letter is capitalized and the cursor is sent to the bottom of the document.

    > lowercase contractions without an apostrophe are auto-corrected, but the first letter is not capitalized.

    Close, but not quite there. Too bad.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2012-11-14T01:43:38+00:00

    Fixed in 14.2.5

    Released 11/13/2012.

    Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.2.5 Update

    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35601

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  4. Anonymous
    2012-11-10T16:37:26+00:00

    I am also having this problem, it started when I upgraded to Mountain Lion. Dying for a fix!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments