Random periods being added....

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Level 1

9 points

Random periods being added....

I have just recently started having the issue of random periods being placed while typing. It has happened in Microsoft Word, Blackboard, and while using email (mostly Gmail). I have noticed it in both Safari and Chrome and while off the internet as well. I am currently running 11.0.1 and it looks like from a little research that this problem was occurring for some people last year in earlier versions of the OS. Any suggestions or additional information anyone has been able to find on this?

Thank you in advance.

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Dec 29, 2020 1:44 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Old Toad

Level 10

216,406 points

Dec 29, 2020 2:04 PM in response to Molly74TJ

Boot into Safe Mode by booting with the Shift key held down and check there to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,882 points

Dec 29, 2020 1:57 PM in response to Molly74TJ

Are you typing two spaces when that happens? Two spaces get replaced with a period.

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Answer 3

VikingOSX

Level 10

124,244 points

Dec 29, 2020 2:32 PM in response to Molly74TJ

I am running macOS Big Sur 11.1 on a new M1 Mac mini. I have observed the random period appearing in text that I type in the Safari browser (14.0.2) when replying to posts in these communities. This is not the automatic period at the end of a sentence when double-spacing, but a period being injected between two words of normal spacing.

Yes, this has been occurring for several major revisions of macOS as it was occurring on Mojave. I have yet to see a fix posted for this problem, and have none to offer.

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