ctrl z not working

[jw100]

ive checked the language settings in control panel and everything.  that doesnt work., for some reason my ctr z go back button is not working. please help.

[jw100]

by the way there is nothing wrong with my keyboard or my language settings because i have photoshop also and ctrl alt z works. but in illustrator ctrl z does not work.

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

jw

If things that should work simply refuse to (all possibilities exhausted including the A) - C) below (and carefully making sure you are performing (all) the needed things)), you may try (the relevant part(s) of) the list 1) - 6) below.

Sometimes, (certain) things may fail or stop working for no apparent reason. When the (other) possible reasons/cures fail to work, it may be some kind of (temporay or permanent) corruption, or even some inconvenient preference setting(s), which may be cured with something on the following list set up in an attempt to provide a catchall solution for otherwise unsolvable cases. It starts with a few easy and harmless suggestions 1) and 2) for milder cases, and goes on with two alternative ways 3) and 4) of resetting preferences to the defaults (easily but irreversibly and more laboriously but more thoroughly and also reversibly), then follows a list 5) of various other possibilities, and it ends with a full reinstallation 6). If no other suggestions work, or if no other suggestions appear, you may start on the list and decide how far to go and/or which may be relevant.

The following is a general list of things you may try when

A) The issue is not in a specific file,

B) You have a printer correctly installed, connected, and turned on if it is physical printer (you may use Adobe PDF/Acrobat Distiller as the default printer with no need to have a printer turned on, obviously you will need to specify when you actually need to print on paper), and

C) It is not caused by issues with opening a file from external media.

You may have tried/done some of them already; 1) and 2) are the easy ones for temporary strangenesses, and 3) and 4) are specifically aimed at possibly corrupt/inconvenient preferences); 5) is a list in itself, and 6) is the last resort.

If possible/applicable, you should save current artwork first, of course.

1) Close down Illy and open again;

2) Restart the computer (you may do that up to at least 5 times);

3) Close down Illy and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift/Cmd+Option+Shift during startup (easy but irreversible);

4) Move the folder (follow the link with that name) with Illy closed (more tedious but also more thorough and reversible), for CS3 - CC you may find the folder here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/preference-file-location-illustrator.html

5) Look through and try out the relevant among the Other options (follow the link with that name, Item 7) is a list of usual suspects among other applications that may disturb and confuse Illy, Item 15) applies to CC, CS6, and maybe CS5);

Even more seriously (this may be serious because you may need to restore plugins and whatnot afterwards if you have customized things), you may:

6) A) Uninstall (ticking the box to delete the preferences if applicable), B) run the Cleaner Tool (if you have CS3/CS4/CS5/CS6/CC), and C) reinstall. You may try without step B), but sometimes it is needed, because otherwise things may linger.

As it appears from this thread, it may be worth repeating this if it fails to help the first time:

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2283530

To uninstall:

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/search/index.cfm?loc=en_us&term=uninstall&cat=support&product=illustra...

Cleaner Tool:

http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html

[jane-e]

For the purposes of troubleshooting:

• Did you try both Control keys?

• Does Edit menu > Undo work?
  
  
• When did this start?

[jw100]

thanks for the help you guys.. I re downloaded the program since nothing else worked.

[Jacob Bugge]

For my part you are welcome, jw.

[Cameron SB]

Yeah I did this as well, Reinstalled and everything and nothing.

Still giving me the same issues

[Monika Gause]

Which version, which system?

Is it just the shortcut that is not working? Or the function?

Did you already reboot the computer?

Check the shortcuts in the Edit menu?

Which other apps are running? Several are interfering with modifier keys.

[designer_london]

it's April 2022 and I'm using Adobe Illustartor 2022 v26.2 in Monterey.

When it seems the Mac is tired, I will end up typing ZZZZZZZZ into my artwork when attempting a Command Z

[Monika Gause]

So this happens after wake up from sleep?

Or fter using the Mac for days without end?

Your Mac is not designed for 24/7 30 days a month. It needs to be rebooted regularly.

Apart from that several applications interfere with the modifier keys.

Infamous is Chrome, but it also happens with Outlook, several banking apps, screensharing, Tiemviewer, antivirus and whatnot ...

[designer_london]

Yes that is correct, it's a combination of both - I have been caning the mac for last few months however it has just had a replacement 2TB SSD installed however Monterey is a strange OS and in hindsight should have stayed with Catalina (long story and won't bore you to death!!).
But yes, will aim to shutdown the mac rather them send to sleep, even if it is 4am and I have to start again at 9am 😛

Thanks!