Stop the beeping!!!

[MicahBurke]

Seems like if I have something selected and use the keyboard shortcut to zoom in, the hold space bar to get the Hand tool, Illustrator CS 5 beeps. There seems to be so much beeping in the app that I've turned my sound off.

Any way to stop the beeping aside from not using the tools Illustrator gave us!?

[canzter]

Thank you, your tip helped me. Now i can use Alt key without hearing annoying sound, disabling system sound or pressing ESC key.

[karenskelly]

I am using CS5 standard edition on windows vista 64 bit.  I get beeping when I use keyboard shortcuts for things like enlarging and reducing the size of brushes using the bracket keys, when I use the x key to change from black to white and back again, and on other things like that.  How do I stop that?

Thanks, Karen

[anse1208]

My solution is just hold the spacebar down 1st while pressing the alt key problem solved, I know it is different then what we all are use to doing but it work's and it's a heck of alot faster than reaching over to press the ESC key all the time.( that kills productivity time.) LOL

[Guest]

there is a program  http://www.autohotkey.com/download/AutoHotkeyInstall.exe

i ve tried to add this line  ~LAlt::~LAlt but it didn't work perfectly.

maybe you can solve this program (because it is english i couldn't) to help the solution.

[hotLunch2000]

I just tried installing Photoshop CS5 today and have been getting this error.  It's incredibly annoying to not be able to move and zoom using alt, spacebar, and the mousewheel without hearing that crazy ding sound.  I like to listen to music while I work, so I'm not about to mute all sound just because of this one thing.  I know it's nothing wrong on my end, as I'm a Maya user first and foremost, and I have to use alt and other keys to navigate the UI in there all the time.

I'll just stick with CS4 for now I guess... It's a shame, I really like some of the new features (paste in place should have been implemented years ago), but I can't stand the constant dinging sound.  It's so stupid that a bug like this could make it all the way to retail.  

[oranjeguice]

This issue is still plaguing me. So annoying.

Maybe everyone can fill out an "Adobe Wish" request below, and who knows, maybe it'll catch someone's eye.

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

[Paevo_Kelley]

Beep be bee beep beep beep be beep...

[MatthewLaun]

I may not fully understand the steps users are doing here, so I appologize if this doesn't work. I find that if I simply press the space bar first, then press alt, I can operate the hand tool without any issues. Likewise for most every other function. Also, checking to see if the menu bar has a menu activated allows me to hit alt to deactivate it then press other key combinations and avoid the beeping. I'd have to say this is hard to call a bug when it's matching the behavior of every Microsoft application I've tested. I think some change to be more in compliance with using standard MS APIs may explain the change from CS4 to CS5.

[oranjeguice]

What the majority of people complaining in this thread are doing is using ALT + Scrollwheel as their primary way of zooming in and out of documents. After scrolling, they use the Spacebar to re-position the document.

Pressing the Spacebar first unfortunately is not an option--after "ALT + Scrolling", the document needs to be repositioned again.

What's nice about this is that the user does not have to switch tools when wanting to zoom in/out of a doc. It's a timesaver. Now, unfortunately, you have to click on the pasteboard, or like you said, press ALT once again to avoid the beeping.

While this happens in many other Windows programs, it was awesome that this didn't occur in CS3 and CS4 (possibly even CS2 and earlier). I can see that Adobe would want their programs to be as compliant with MS APIs as possible--but then why even leave the ALT + Scrollwheel functionality if it is clearly annoying to use? Nobody wants to hear a "ding" every time they use an actual feature of the software. Regardless if this is common in other Windows software--this was a good feature and now it is difficult to use.

Nothing like this occurs on the OSX version of CS5. I often switch between both systems, and it's annoying that I will have to use the two differently, or disrupt my workflow and get used to a different way of zooming.

I would just like an official explanation. I would absolutely LOVE if they could fix this issue.

[MatthewLaun]

I see. A quick fix would be to always hit alt twice before using the scroll wheel to zoom. I'm installing CS4 on my windows box to take a look and better understand what changed. More soon...

Matthew

[hotLunch2000]

oranjeguice hit the nail on the head with his description here.  It is possible to not hear the beep if you double tap alt every time, but that shouldn't be necessary in the fist place, it's still an extra annoying step to circumvent a problem that wasn't there before. 

Also, Paevo Kelley, is... is that some Architecture in Helsinki?

[oranjeguice]

And also, I'd like to ask what the benefits of standardizing the ALT functionality are. Why even change it? Did Adobe have no choice? Were there users complaining about ALT NOT accessing the menus?

[Architrion]

Two things to consider:

1.- Adobe can't use windows standards for one thing, and forget about them for others. I mean, standard zoom keys for windows apps is Ctrl + Mouse wheel, not Alt + Mouse wheel. I had to remap my brain to use the later in each and every adobe app (although whole windows maps uses Ctrl + Wheel). And now I found I need to remap again to go around what is not but a bug from Adobe.

2.- Zoom worked nice and clean on CS4. No need to change a coma. What I'm doing now is clicking an empty space on the work area after the Alt+Wheel zoom. But I'm pretty sure that to program a patch to bring back previous Alt+key, or either, use windows standard Ctrl + key is not a great challenge for those fantastics genius under Adobe headquarters.

[MicahBurke]

I would still call this a bug, even if it's not the Windows standard. Adobe has used this configuration for years and now there's a change in how it works? This is still the most annoying issue since I installed CS5.

[Architrion]

My english is not the perfect stuff I would like, so maybe I said it badly, I call it a bug. But I read up there that it was done to adjust CS5 to windows standards. Not, my lord. Windows standard for zooming is Ctrl + Wheel. I'm already adjusted to CS4 and previous Alt + Wheel zoom, and it's perfect for me, even though when I go to Office, Openoffice or whatever stuff I have to switch back to windows standards.

[unique_jb]

I just wanted to chime in here and say I'm having exactly the same problem. I use alt scroll-wheel all the time to zoom in/out and now, what happens is when I'm done, it activates the file menu. When I go to use other keyboard shortcuts, it activates file menus rather than the tools which I want, which either beeps, or does the wrong thing, which indeed is quite annoying.

the best solution I've seen here is to hit alt twice when using the scrole wheel, so that the "state" of the keyboard menu activation is always off. The essential problem is that the alt key toggles the state of the menu activation, but then when you use the scroll wheel without using the menus, the state is still toggled, so hitting alt again (or hitting esc) is necessary to toggle back to the non file menu state.

It'd be great (and I think still windows compatible) if there was an option to say something like "never activate keyboard menu mode and only allow keystrokes to correspond to tools".

In the mean time, I think the double alt solution is the best I've heard for now.

[Pacoan-wZPMMm]

Using Illustrator in Fullscreen mode disables the beeping. Although, it also disables any menu access through the alt key. I wonder if actual Illustrator users develop the software, this is no brainer stuff.

[MicahBurke]

Full-screen mode?   You must be talking about Mac version.  In Windows this is a pain in the munchkin.

[CarlosCanto]

the number 1 reason I hate CS5, I agree with others, AI Developers don't use Illustrator.

[Pacoan-wZPMMm]

Windows, actually. Don't you ever double tap "f"? It get's rid of the interface and menu bars, if you know how to use illustrator/photoshop with a keyboard and mouse it's a great way to work.

[MicahBurke]

Ah, gotcha... no dont usually work that way, always headed into the menus for something, but might try it now.

[ufoldager]

Just in case this hasn't been answered yet (havent read all pages through), this sound can be cancelled by accessing your Windows Sound Control Panel. The sound is called "Default Beep" and can easily be deactivated.

[CarlosCanto]

in that case, muting the speakers works as well...the sound itself is not the issue.

[hotLunch2000]

OK, so at least in Photoshop CS5, I have managed to solve this aggravating problem.

The solution was to enable "Zoom with Scroll Wheel" in the general preferences, which makes is unnecessary to hold a button while zooming with the mouse wheel in the first place.  Then the spacebar can be pressed and depressed for the hand tool with no error beep.

[Mellifluous-Irony]

Three options for everyone until they fix this:

This first suggestion is what I have always used, as I find it the fastest and most accurate method,

for my needs.

1)

→ [Ctrl] + (Space) + Drag the exact size square you want to zoom into.

→ To zoom out: set up a hotkey for: "Fit Artboard in Window" (I use [Ctrl] + (S).)

So instead of zooming out in increments, and using the hand tool;

you come back to the "Fit Artboard in Window" view and then simply refine your

"zoom vision square" using [Ctrl] + Space + {Dragging}

2)

→ Set up more efficient zoom out and in hotkeys.

Default is [Ctrl] (-) and [Ctrl] (+)

Maybe you would like to use say: [Ctrl] + (S) and [Ctrl] + (D)

Or maybe use Ctrl + Space + {Drag} to zoom in and [Ctrl] + (D) to zoom out.

3)

→ Get in the habit of noticing if the menu has been activated by Alt, and then press Alt again.