Spacebar not working on Word/OneNote (iPad)

Anonymous
2020-05-05T23:52:09+00:00

Hello. I am using an iPad Pro with an external Magic Keyboard, and I came to notice (quite quickly) that on the Microsoft Office suite the spacebar is not working when pressed/clicked on the keyboard. So, I come to ask, is there a way to solve this? Because currently it is kind of useless to use Word/OneNote and not be able to press the spacebar and have a space between words.

I think its possible that the problem is present since the Magic Keyboard is brand new hardware and Microsoft Office Suite may not recognize it yet. And it is a big deal and problem for note taking or word processing in general.

EDIT: Spacebar works properly only when pressing Option + Spacebar, quite annoying to have to do a command just to correctly use the spacebar, seems like a bug to me.

The problem is present on an iPad Pro 2020 11” with the Apple Magic Keybard (Spanish - ISO) running iPad OS 13.4.1and the latest OneNote/Word version.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | iOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-06-25T18:54:32+00:00

    Hi Daniel,

    So you know and other community admins know, this is most definitely bug in OneNote and the “solutions” posted here over the past year have all be workarounds make OneNote work at the expense of hobbling other fundamental IOS features most external keyboard users rely upon more than they realize. Since it has been over a year since this problem was reported here do you know if there is there any way to see if MS is actually working on a fix for this problem? If not, is there a way for corporate users to make support requests directly or do we need to go through our site’s O365 administrator?

    To be clear, iOS apps are supposed to confirm to the behavior that keyboard shortcuts are active until text entry is active (like a web form or a app text box). As I understand it, this is the UI standard for all IOS apps and I have yet to see another IOS app with this problem other than OneNote. Finally, If there is some fundamental issue with OneNote that makes this iOS paradigm to hard for MS engineers to make OneNote conform to it, at least swap the effect of toggling behavior using the option key so that holding it enables shortcuts, not standard text entry. Holding down option just to type a space is a bit ridiculous.

    I realize that you’re not a support engineer, but if there is any way this could be reported as a defect if it hasn’t already it would be a godsend as this a huge headache.

    Thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-06-25T18:07:05+00:00

    While this does address the space bar issue within the context of OneNote’s failure to context switch between keyboard shortcuts, it’s just are more targeted workaround. MS still needs to fix it as the “activate” shortcut the space bar invokes when not in a text box is one of the most well-used shortcuts!

    Still, thanks for showing people who to work around the specific space bar issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-04-09T04:07:53+00:00

    Settings: Accessibility: Keyboards: Full Keyboard Access: Commands: Activate: and then press "Clear"

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-03-23T16:59:25+00:00

    Hello, 

    So sorry, but where are the settings for the keyboard? 

    THANK YOU!

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-03-21T04:58:32+00:00

    Hi

    I have exactly the same issue even I use OneNote through the external Bluetooth keyboard. (iPAD Pro III + iOS 14.4.1 + Logitech K380 keyboard)

    for example: when I type characters and Space bar, the cursor jumping to "search" at outbound of input space.

    ---> resolved

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