Control Right/Left Arrow doesn't work in Mission Control (Catalina)

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Control Right/Left Arrow doesn't work in Mission Control (Catalina)

I'm trying to set up Mission Control for multiple desktops, a feature I just discovered and love, but I can't get the shortcut Control + right arrow or left arrow to move between desktops. I've tried lots of things but nothing seems to resolve the issue. At the moment, I've disabled "move left a space" and "move right a space" in keyboard preferences but that has had no impact.

The shortcuts "Switch to Desktop 1, 2, 3, etc. are supposed to work with Control +1, 2, 3, etc. are enabled, but they don't work either.

I've searched in vain for tutorials on how to enable Control + Right Arrow (Left Arrow). Any suggestions? Thanks!

iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 23, 2020 11:11 AM

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Answer 1

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Digital Gee Author

Level 1

7 points

Jun 23, 2020 2:23 PM in response to Barney-15E

Genius!

I booted in Safe Mode, created a couple of desktops, and Control Right/Left worked perfectly. Rebooted in my normal way, and the problem is GONE!

I can't thank you enough, although I have no idea why this fixed it. (Above my pay grade, I think). Thanks again!!!

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,770 points

Jun 23, 2020 11:41 AM in response to Digital Gee

At the moment, I've disabled "move left a space" and "move right a space" in keyboard preferences but that has had no impact.

Why would you do that? That is the shortcut you are trying to use.

If turning the shortcut back on doesn't work, try setting your keyboard shortcuts back to defaults and see what happens.

You are using the control key and not the command key, correct?

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Answer 3

Digital Gee Author

Level 1

7 points

Jun 23, 2020 12:04 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you so much for responding so quickly!

I reverted to defaults, with no success. So, I've changed the keyboard shortcuts for "move left a space" to control left arrow and "move right a space" to control right arrow (and reenabled them, of course). Again, it's not doing anything. I made sure I'm pressing "control" and not option or command. But it still doesn't want to cooperate!

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,770 points

Jun 23, 2020 12:12 PM in response to Digital Gee

Have you installed anything that can affect the keyboard layout like Karabiner?

1) Try booting into Safe Mode and see if it works.

2) Then, restart normally and try in another user account (even Guest).

1) will determine if some startup item is interfering and 2) will determine if it is system-wide or confined to your account. That will give us somewhere to start looking.

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

116,770 points

Jun 23, 2020 3:08 PM in response to Digital Gee

Safe Mode clears some system caches. That was likely what fixed it.

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Control Right/Left Arrow doesn't work in Mission Control (Catalina)

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