Option plus arrow keys no longer moves by word

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Option plus arrow keys no longer moves by word

I was using my Mac Mini normally for most of the day, then quite suddenly, option plus left and right arrow keys stopped working. Normally, they move by word, but this no longer happens. They don't make a sound. Shift plus option plus arrow also does not select by word. I first noticed the issue in Scrivener, but quickly verified that all applications are affected, including TextEdit and the Safari address bar.

I found an older discussion describing this same problem. Following the advice in that article, I tried another user account, where option plus arrow worked normally. The article advised me to try safe mode, but unfortunately VoiceOver doesn't work in safe mode, so it's impossible for me, as a blind user, to try safe mode. If I understand correctly, the fact that the problem is limited to my specific user account indicates that reinstalling MacOS would not help.

Because This happened rather suddenly in the course of normal web browsing and word processing, it seems unlikely that some new login item has caused the issue, as I was not installing software.

Given that I can't try safe mode due to VoiceOver limitations, what other steps can I take to troubleshoot this issue?

My Mac is up-to-date with Sonoma 14.4.1.

Mac mini, macOS 14.4

Posted on May 15, 2024 2:33 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BlindGrampaDrummer Author

Level 1

18 points

May 15, 2024 3:34 PM in response to BlindGrampaDrummer

Solution: Months ago, I had enabled Unicode as a keyboard text input. As a test, I removed it, leaving only the US keyboard, and voila! The problem went away.

I'm pretty stumped that the Unicode input worked fine literally for months, then caused this obscure and unrelated issue completely out of nowhere on an entirely random collection of applications. But, there you go.

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Answer 2

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

116,312 points

May 16, 2024 2:24 AM in response to BlindGrampaDrummer

BlindGrampaDrummer wrote:

I'm pretty stumped that the Unicode input worked fine literally for months, then caused this obscure and unrelated issue completely out of nowhere on an entirely random collection of applications. But, there you go.

I wonder if perhaps you were switching between Unicode Hex and US accidentally, which is very easy to do. Unicode Hex uses option for a special purpose, to type 4 digit hex numbers, and other option features often don't work.

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Answer 3

May 15, 2024 2:50 PM in response to BlindGrampaDrummer

I just discovered that, mysteriously, option plus arrow keys works fine in this reply text box, as used through the Mac Google Chrome browser. However, as I noted, these keys do not work in the Chrome address bar. Now I'm really baffled. Any idea what's going on? All advice appreciated.

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Answer 4

May 16, 2024 9:00 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Thanks for your reply. What you suggest is a good explanation. I've added the Unicode keyboard back as a text input, as I use it for some special symbols. Things work normally when US is selected. But if I switch to Unicode, Option+Arrow fails as before.

I'm unsure how I could have selected Unicode by accident. Normally, I would select it from the extras Menu bar, enter the hex code for the symbol I need, and switch back to US. I haven't needed to do that for several days.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to switch text inputs? If so, maybe I fumble-fingered it.

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Answer 5

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

116,312 points

May 16, 2024 9:12 AM in response to BlindGrampaDrummer

BlindGrampaDrummer wrote:

Is there a keyboard shortcut to switch text inputs? If so, maybe I fumble-fingered it.

yes, fn/globe and control space can switch keyboards if settings are right. I usually advise people to just have one item on the list, and use option keys shortcuts or text replacements for special symbols, which is also easier typing hex codes. Which ones do you need?

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