All keyboard shortcuts, except for "space", stopped working

[metter]

I have this very strange non-responsive keyboard issue in Photoshop. All keyboard shortcuts, except "Space" for the hand moving tool, have stopped working. Not even the CTRL- shortcuts for opening files etc respond to anything.
The shortcuts have not been deleted though. They are all still listed under "keyboard shortcuts". I already had Adobe support look at this, but after trying a few things, they abandoned me with the excuse "I will have to do some further research on this". Never heard from them again.

So, how comes my otherwise perfectly in order keyboard does not respond in Photoshop?

 

[thebestcpu]

What is your version of Photoshop and is it US based or other, type of keyboard and is it a US keyboard, and OS version and is it US based OS. There are other factors that can come into play yet this would be a start.

 

[metter]

This is V 21.1.3, but I must have had that behaviour for the last 2-3 updates already.
I am running this on a Windows 10 PC with a Microsoft Surface Bluetooth keyboard. The keyboard layout is Swiss- English.
I'll give it a quick whirl changing the keyboard layout to US-english and report back

 

[metter]

changing the keyboard layout did not change a thing. But I just realised that actually all the modifier keys like CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, TAB and caps lock work. Also the entire NUM-Pad seems to be doing its thing. Just letters and numbers are being ignored.
I have an almost identical setup In the other room and don't have this issue there.

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi Metter
Given I have a Mac instead of a PC and therefore don't use "Microsoft Surface" devices, I think this issue is beyond my knowledge and skill set. Another forum member may be able to jump in and help.

Here are some general thoughts on debugging.
The problem could be PC/Surface related, OS related, Keyboard related and the issue can be hardware or software (unlikely both). In each of these areas they can come with a different language base and/or language configuration. The keyboard in particular can have a myriad of configurations set up through settings/preferences panels.

This type of problem usually is troubleshot best by doing a divide and conquer approach to isolate which subset of components is the issue. What can be helpful is that you have another "almost identical system" in the other room.

What I infer from your posts is that this is solely a Photoshop issue and all other programs are working fine. Have you tried resetting Photoshop preferences?
You can also try this keyboard on your other system or someone elses system to see if the problem follows the keyboard or not. Also, try a different keyboard on your system other than the one you are using.

All the above should be done with the most recent versions of the OS, Application software, and drivers as well as after restarting the system from a power down condition.

The above are typically steps to narrow down the hardware/software component that is the source of the issue.

My suggestions were based on past experience with keyboard shortcut problems that were associated with either the OS or Photoshop being a non-English based version and/or the keyboard being a non-US keyboard and/or keyboard configured to a layout/language combination that did not work with the OS/Photoshop.

Your problem with big chunks of the keyboard not working gives me the impression that it is a bigger issue rather than just configuration yet hard to tell.

I hope that another forum member comes along to help that is more familiar with your hardware/software setup.
Best wishes no a quick solution
John Wheeler

 

[metter]

hey thebestcpu
Yes, that's correct, I dont have any keyboard issues whatsoever on that system, except for this very peculiar behavior in PS.
I also forgot to mention that I did even try a full Creative Suite re-installation with no effect.
doing an elimination process sounds like a good plan. Ill give that a shot next Tuesday when back in the office.

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi metter
Hope those steps help get to root cause and let us know how it goes. What you find could help others that come across the same issue. Thanks
John Wheeler

 

[metter]

I got around trying this with different keyboards and can quickly wanted to update that I figured it out.
So, it wasn't a keyboard issue. They all work fine except inside photoshop on this one machine. I have this machine set as English-Swiss-German as display language with a swiss-german keyboard layout. Changing the display language to US-english finally solved the issue. I was been able to change it back to english-swiss-german and the problem didn't come back.
So, basically it wasn't just about changing the keyboard layout, but the entire display language. Sounds like a bug in photoshop.
Having a english-swiss-german display language also seems to be a bit of a specific case. It keeps everything in English, while still displaying all localities like date and other unit formats to the local customs.

Thanks for helping everybody
M

 

[thebestcpu]

Hi metter
It does sound like it might be a Photoshop Bug. I would not be surprised if the OS/Photoshop language versions/settings in combination of keyboard type/settings don't all not get the same level of scrutiny by quality control. Even harder though as it does not sound as if it is a repeatable issue therefore hard to even submit a bug report.

Glad you got if resolved though.
John Wheeler