Restoring Ctrl-F as "Search" initiator

B

BruceDLimber

Friends, thanks for your help in the past! :)

I have a rather nasty situation: in both Word 2007 (at home) and Word 2003
(at work) a file I've been editing has somehow managed to delete the
association of Ctrl-F with the "search" function so that I have to use
annoying alternatives like Alt-E [edit] / Search to get the same thing.

I've gone into what in 2003 is the Tools/Customize/Keyboard area (it's
called something else & accessed differently in 2007 but is essentially the
same place) and tried to restore Ctrl-F to what's called "EditFind" there,
and indeed this function does show up as having "Ctrl-F" assigned to it!

But when I then try to USE Ctrl-F, it still does nothing whatever,
essentially ignoring this keyboard association. :-(

Can anyone please tell me how to make this work correctly? There's
apparently some additional step neeeded that I don't know about.

Thanks in advance!

Bruce
 
P

Pesach Shelnitz

Hi Bruce,

Do you have a macro called EditFind? To check for this, open a file in which
Ctrl+F does not open the Search dialog box and press Alt+F8. In the Macro
Commands dialog box that opens, look down the list for EditFind. If you find
EditFind, select it, click Delete, and then click Close.

You may need to repeat this procedure in other files for which Ctrl+F does
not open the Search dialog box. If the solution works, but the problem comes
back, we may need to dig deeper to find what is creating these macros.
 
H

Herb Tyson [MVP]

Is the problem happening just in that one file? If so, then perhaps the
association in that file or the underlying template has been zapped, while
the association in Word more generally is still okay.

With that file onscreen in Word 2007, try the following:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Plus sign on number pad. This should turn the mouse
pointer into a cloverleaf.

2. Click on the Find button (in the Home tab). This should summon the
Customize Keyboard dialog with the EditFind command highlighted. From what
you're saying Ctrl+F should appear under current keys.

3. Under Save Changes in:, drop down the arrow and set it to the current
document (or document template). The Ctrl+F should disappear from Current
Keys.

4. Click in Press new shortcut key:, and press Ctrl+F.

5. Click Assign, then click Close.

Now see if all is restored? If so... then saving the document will save the
change to it.




Start Word in Safe mode (hold Ctrl key as Word starts, and click Yes to
starting in Safe mode). Open a new document--does Ctrl+F work now? If so,
the usual culprits are:

1. Corrupted registry entry.

2. Corrupted Normal.dot (or Normal.dotm in Word 2007)

--

Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com
 
H

Herb Tyson [MVP]

I neglected to trim away bits from when I first started drafting the reply.
If the reassignment works, then ignore the stuff about starting Word in Safe
Mode. That's only for if the reassignment in that document doesn't work...
and I didn't finish it, either. The root of the problem occurred to me, so I
aborted that tack... then forgot to scroll down and delete the earlier bits.

--

Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


Herb Tyson said:
Is the problem happening just in that one file? If so, then perhaps the
association in that file or the underlying template has been zapped, while
the association in Word more generally is still okay.

With that file onscreen in Word 2007, try the following:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Plus sign on number pad. This should turn the mouse
pointer into a cloverleaf.

2. Click on the Find button (in the Home tab). This should summon the
Customize Keyboard dialog with the EditFind command highlighted. From what
you're saying Ctrl+F should appear under current keys.

3. Under Save Changes in:, drop down the arrow and set it to the current
document (or document template). The Ctrl+F should disappear from Current
Keys.

4. Click in Press new shortcut key:, and press Ctrl+F.

5. Click Assign, then click Close.

Now see if all is restored? If so... then saving the document will save
the change to it.




Start Word in Safe mode (hold Ctrl key as Word starts, and click Yes to
starting in Safe mode). Open a new document--does Ctrl+F work now? If so,
the usual culprits are:

1. Corrupted registry entry.

2. Corrupted Normal.dot (or Normal.dotm in Word 2007)

--

Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


BruceDLimber said:
Friends, thanks for your help in the past! :)

I have a rather nasty situation: in both Word 2007 (at home) and Word
2003
(at work) a file I've been editing has somehow managed to delete the
association of Ctrl-F with the "search" function so that I have to use
annoying alternatives like Alt-E [edit] / Search to get the same thing.

I've gone into what in 2003 is the Tools/Customize/Keyboard area (it's
called something else & accessed differently in 2007 but is essentially
the
same place) and tried to restore Ctrl-F to what's called "EditFind"
there,
and indeed this function does show up as having "Ctrl-F" assigned to it!

But when I then try to USE Ctrl-F, it still does nothing whatever,
essentially ignoring this keyboard association. :-(

Can anyone please tell me how to make this work correctly? There's
apparently some additional step neeeded that I don't know about.

Thanks in advance!

Bruce
 
B

BruceDLimber

No: I have no such macro.

Bruce

Pesach Shelnitz said:
Hi Bruce,

Do you have a macro called EditFind? To check for this, open a file in which
Ctrl+F does not open the Search dialog box and press Alt+F8. In the Macro
Commands dialog box that opens, look down the list for EditFind. If you find
EditFind, select it, click Delete, and then click Close.

You may need to repeat this procedure in other files for which Ctrl+F does
not open the Search dialog box. If the solution works, but the problem comes
back, we may need to dig deeper to find what is creating these macros.

--
Hope this helps,
Pesach Shelnitz


BruceDLimber said:
Friends, thanks for your help in the past! :)

I have a rather nasty situation: in both Word 2007 (at home) and Word 2003
(at work) a file I've been editing has somehow managed to delete the
association of Ctrl-F with the "search" function so that I have to use
annoying alternatives like Alt-E [edit] / Search to get the same thing.

I've gone into what in 2003 is the Tools/Customize/Keyboard area (it's
called something else & accessed differently in 2007 but is essentially the
same place) and tried to restore Ctrl-F to what's called "EditFind" there,
and indeed this function does show up as having "Ctrl-F" assigned to it!

But when I then try to USE Ctrl-F, it still does nothing whatever,
essentially ignoring this keyboard association. :-(

Can anyone please tell me how to make this work correctly? There's
apparently some additional step neeeded that I don't know about.

Thanks in advance!

Bruce
 

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