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Mike285024292f2u
New Participant
February 20, 2023
Answered

InDesign Tools shortcut Keys Not Working

  • February 20, 2023
  • 8 replies
  • 26823 views

My Adobe InDesign shortcut keys no longer work! (very useful when toggling between Preview and Normal View, etc.) The shortcut keys do, however work fine in Photoshop. Uninstalled and reinstalled etc to no avail.

Also, is there a way to set the InDesign Default Workspace? I used to open InDesign all the time and it would open to my preferred Workspace (Advanced), but not it opens to what appears to by no workspace enabled )(not even essentials) meaning I need to go and select Advanced every time I open an ID document.

Correct answer JohnAT

There has to be another program that you are using that is overriding your keyboard commands. The issue I was having was that I was using Webex. Once I disabled the shortcuts in Webex my commands worked again in my Adobe products. 

8 replies

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taya_0466
New Participant
October 16, 2024

For me, it was LastPass. In settings I deleted all the hot keys and command+' toggles the grid as expected.

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MikeAllan
New Participant
November 18, 2024

For me, I had to close Adobe Illustrator. I've really got to point out the fact that this problem has existed for Adobe for a good 15+ years now. I came back to InDesign today after a long time, and I'm so shocked how bloated this software is now.

 

There are a few bugs this old that I'm thoroughly shocked still exists, and Adobe ignores. If they use their own product, they would see them. I don't have time to detail all of them.

 

Adobe used to be great. I'll leave the rest to everyone's imagination.

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Reed26468743w3qo
New Participant
April 15, 2025

You have to close illsutrator to get inDesign shortcuts to work?

Sounds like a bigger issue - as I've worked on every itteration of Adobe since 2004 and never had this issue, across multiple computers, platforms (mac and windows). 

 

I wouldn't say the software is bloated - there are things I use daily that others don't - and there are things there others use daily and I don't - that doesn't mean it's bloated.

 

I've no idea what bugs you're referring to - if there's so many then maybe pick 1 that is problematic the most for you and report it.

 

You can report bugs 

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs

 

Reporting things here is not going to get much traction - it's a user to user forum - where users like all of us help each other out when needed.

 

Bugs need to be logged to be looked at. 

 


Hi Eugene, I don't understand why you felt the need to discredit MikeAllen. You basically told him to shutup. Problems exist and not having had to deal with them doesn't mean they don't. And thank you for defining bloated for us. You of course are not bloated. Thank you for being so very very helpful with your solutions to problems that you have never experienced oh gracious grayshie boy.

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jenniferl2400
New Participant
March 19, 2024

This is happening to me, too. I've tried all the results suggested here. Some shortcuts work, others do not. For example, I can't use Ctrl+T to open the Character dialog box (to access fonts / font size, etc.). It's really annoying.

JohnAT
JohnAT
New Participant
March 19, 2024

You have another program that the keyboard shorts are overriding your Adobe apps. My program was Webex. Once I turned off the keyboard commands for that mine all worked fine. 

 

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jenniferl2400
New Participant
March 19, 2024

Thank you! I can't figure out what that might be. I don't use Webex. The only other thing open is Chrome with the same tabs I always have open. Nothing changed on my end. I haven't added software. 

JohnAT
JohnATCorrect answer
New Participant
March 13, 2024

There has to be another program that you are using that is overriding your keyboard commands. The issue I was having was that I was using Webex. Once I disabled the shortcuts in Webex my commands worked again in my Adobe products. 

    R
    Robin34281236l0vh
    New Participant
    December 15, 2023

    Hi, I just updated my Indesign about 20 minutes ago and my shortcuts are also not working. I have tried all tips in this post, but nothing seems to do the job. 

     

    Help is very appreciated! 

      Barb Binder
      Barb Binder
      Community Expert
      December 15, 2023

      Hi Robin:

       

      The first thing I would do is restart your computer. Have you done that yet?

       

      ~Barb

      ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
      S
      Shanpub
      Inspiring
      August 27, 2023

      @Mike285024292f2u 

      Choose a different set from the Keyboard set options, then select the proper set once more to remedy the problem.

       

      I go through this approach and it solves my problem.

        C
        Chris30956429edrz
        New Participant
        July 10, 2023

        I am having this issue too...

         

        Barb Binder
        Barb Binder
        Community Expert
        August 26, 2023

        Which of the troubleshooting steps listed above have you tried so far, Chris?

         

        ~Barb

        ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
        Steve Werner
        Steve Werner
        Community Expert
        March 2, 2023

        Here's another thing which can cause a problem with keyboard shortcuts:

         

        There could be an application or extension which is grabbing your keyboard shortcuts like Command or Shift. It's easy to test this: Quit out of InDesign and restart your computer. As you're starting up, hold down the Shift key to disable startup applications. Then IMMEDIATELY open InDesign and see if the keyboard shortcut which was the problem is now working. If it is, they there is some app or extension which is interfering. Open apps one at a time, and test whether the keyboard shortcut is working to find the culprit.

          Rishabh_Tiwari
          Community Manager
          Rishabh_TiwariCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          February 21, 2023

          Hi @Mike285024292f2u ,

           

          Sorry to hear that you're experiencing issues with InDesign shortcut keys and workspace. Here are some troubleshooting steps that you can try to resolve these issues:


          For shortcut keys:

          • Ensure that the shortcuts are still assigned in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts to check.
          • Reset your InDesign preferences. Press and hold down Shift + Ctrl + Alt (Windows) or Shift + Control + Option + Command (Mac OS) while InDesign is starting up. When prompted to delete InDesign preferences, click Yes.
          • Check if there are any conflicting third-party keyboard shortcut programs that might interfere with InDesign's shortcut keys.

          For workspace:

          • Reset your InDesign preferences as mentioned above. This should reset your default workspace to "Essentials".
          • Go to Window > Workspace > New Workspace to set your preferred workspace. Customize your preferred workspace and save it with a name of your choice. You can set this as your default workspace by going to Window > Workspace > Save Workspace as Default.

           

          I hope this helps resolve your issues with InDesign. Let me know if you have any further questions. 

           

          Thanks

          Rishabh

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            Mike285024292f2uAuthor
            New Participant
            February 21, 2023

            Shortcuts are still assigned yes.
            Because my shortcut keys are meesed up, Resetting the ID preferences with the Shift + Control + Option + Command (Mac OS) does nothing. actually ends up brining up my Office 365 Home page (no prompt comes up asking if I want to delete ID preferences)

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            Mike285024292f2uAuthor
            New Participant
            February 21, 2023

            ok this is odd - the Normal > Preview toggle works when I hold the W key AND the ESC key . . . 

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