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

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.

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.

Sorry about the quality: I couldn't figure out how to take a screen capture with the menus pulled down so I took pix with my phone.

The evidence below was not the result of insert a photo or working with a table, so my clues to what causes this may be misleading. It's hard to know, because I don't know anything has happened until I go to copy and paste something -- the transformation might have happened some time earlier! No other programs are affected.

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.