Magnifier tool shortcut (alt to change) not working

[Graphic Squirrel]

Is anyone else finding, in Ai 2017, that their magnifier tool doesn't work frequently?  On Windows 10, I hold the alt key down to zoom out, but I'm finding that instead of the "-" in the magnifier, I'm getting the hand tool, which should happen when I hold the shift key.  If I click off of the magnifier and then back on, it will start working again.  This seems like a bug, but since Adobe doesn't have a great track record of fixing little things like this, I thought I would check with the forum before reporting it.  This happens every few minutes, so it is very inconvenient.  Thanks for any input!

GS

[Monika Gause]

This kind of irritations with modifier keys tends to happen as some incompatibilities with certain browser add-ons and some other apps. Can you please and shut down all other apps, launch only Illustrator and then check your alt key?

Also: in case you haven't restarted the computer for more than a day: do that as well.

[Graphic Squirrel]

Thanks for the reply, Monika.  The problem is that I use 3 of my programs (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign) at the same time, going back and forth between the three.  I do not have any add-ons on Illustrator.  So would it help if, when this happens again, I closed the other adobe programs?  Or are there others you are referring to? 

Thanks for your help!

[Monika Gause]

Other Adobe apps should not be an issue.

What else is open? Browser? E-Mail? Banking software? Which antivirus? Something else? Those small apps are known to cause issues.

[Graphic Squirrel]

I do appreciate your advice, but I cannot close everything just to work in Illustrator.  The other things I have open, like Firefox or Excel, must remain open when I work.  It has never happened before, so it must be the 2017 version that is misbehaving.  Because it only happens occasionally, I will try closing things when it happens to see if that solves the problem.  However, I can't change my entire way of working just because there is a problem with ai.  That is what needs to be fixed.   

[Monika Gause]

Graphic Squirrel schrieb:

That is what needs to be fixed.

As long as it's not clear what is causing the issue, it will be difficult to fix it.

[Graphic Squirrel]

LOL - I can't argue with that logic!

I will report it to Adobe so they can work on locating the issue, and if I discover it myself, I'll pass that along so hopefully it will help them fix the issue. 

[SomeScreenNameOrOther · Accepted solution]

I realise that this is an old post, but I found that the unticking the ​Zoom with Scroll Wheel​ option under ​Preferences > General seemed to do the trick for me, though I can't guarantee that it'll work for everything.

[gila23284373j1jk]

2022 update.  This sudenly started happening to me too, where the magnifiying glass becomes the hand when you press alt, instead of being the minus-glass (zoom out) as it should be.  BUT, in experimenting, it's only happening if TEXT is involved.  So, if I zoom in on text with the magnifying glass, then mess around with the text some, and then try and zoom out, I get the hand instead of the minus-glass.  BUT if I change my tool and click anywhere in the artboard, then switch back to the magnifying glass, there is the correct alt: the zoom-out minus glass.  So this is a glitch, seemingly triggered by some interaction of zoom and text.  

[kellyv11057691]

Brilliant. Works for me and will save so much time. I had been closing our of Ilustrator for the past year to solve this issue.

[gila23284373j1jk]

Glad it helped. That glitch was driving me insane too. I wish Adobe would fix this, though.