Error sound when doing Alt +/- adjustments

[exuberant_mountain6671]

It's working as intended but it's doing a beep sound.

Any possible solution other than muting the volume of the PC or muting the beep sound in control panel?

Lightroom version 14.3.1
Windows 11

[dj_paige]

I also get a sound using Alt - or Alt + in the Develop Module. I don't think there is a way to turn it off other than the control panel.

[johnrellis · Accepted solution]

This is caused by Windows and LR not playing nicely together in the sandbox.

On Windows, you can invoke program menus using the Alt key followed by additional keystrokes. For example, in LR, Alt F E opens the File menu and then invokes the Export menu item.  In general, when you hold down the Alt key, the letter that opens a menu item is underlined.

LR has assigned many shortcuts that are Alt + <letter or number>.  But when you use that shortcut, Windows beeps at you, because it thinks you're trying to type a menu accelerator that doesn't exist. E.g. when you type Alt = to adjust a slider, Windows sees there is no menu accelerator for Alt =, so it nags you with a beep.

I don't know if it's possible for an app like LR to tell Windows to shut up when there is a valid keyboard shortcut starting with Alt. I'm pretty sure that Adobe considers this LR behavior "as designed".

[jonathonwatkins]

Issue: Using Alt key for fine slider adjustments works in Windows, but gives system error sound.

1) Open Lightroom, select a photo and go into Develop mode.
2) Click on "Exposure" in the Develop Module and click the "+" key,  the exposure goes up by 0.1, as expected.
3) Click the "Alt" key and then "+".  The title "Tone" changes to "Reset Tone", a Windows warning sounds and the exposure is increased 0.02. The Windows warning sound is unexpected. Could the warning sound please be removed when using the Alt key for fine grained slider adjustments. 

(There is a workaround, which is less than idea.  To stop the Windows warning sounds, go to Sound, Open Volume Mixer and mute "System Sounds". There will be no warning sound when using the Alt key. However the users needs to remember to re-enable System sounds after using Lightroom).

Lightroom Classic version: 13.1 [ 202312111226-41a494e8 ]

License: Creative Cloud

Language setting: en

Operating system: Windows 10 - Business Edition

Version: 10.0.19045

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this thread, where I explain why Windows nags you with an alert sound when you use a LR shortcut starting with Alt:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/error-sound-when-doing-alt-adjustments/...

[johanb70094125]

The keyboard shortcut for viewing Before vs After in the develop module used to be Shift + S - up until a recent update. Now it seems to be Alt + X - but every time I use this, I also get an annoying Windows alert sound.

Is it supposed to be like this? Is there any way of at least getting rid of the Windows alert sound?

[Jim Wilde]

Unless you are using a different language, the Before/After shortcut is simply the "Y" key. Alt+Y gives you the top/bottom view, and Shift+Y gives you the split-screen view.

[johanb70094125]

The shortcut in question is for "Before only". With the Swedish keyboard layout, this used to be Shift-S, now it seems to have changed to Alt-X.

My main question remains: is there a way of getting rid of the annoying Windows alert sound?

[Jim Wilde]

I've tried setting LrC to Swedish, and the Alt+X key works but also give the Windows alert sound (and I don't know how to stop that). But I also note that the more typical Before/After keyboard shortcut of the "Back-slash" key - \ - when using the English language also works when set to Swedish (without the alert sound). Do you have that key on your keyboard, and if so does it work?

[johanb70094125]

No, backslash on a Swedish keyboard is written using Alt Gr - +, so then I'd have to switch to English keyboard first.

[Rob_Cullen]

FYI- A good resource for Keyboard Shortcuts - Other languages, is- https://www.lightroomqueen.com/keyboard-shortcuts/languages/

My Windows-10 also gives a sound with [Alt+X] and one way to turn it off is to set [Default Beep] to "None". Acccess 'Sounds' from Control Panel. [Type "Control Panel" on the Start desktop.]

What else this affects I do not know!

[johanb70094125]

Yes, turning off the sounds in Windows is my current workaround, but obviously I don't want to have to change settings that affects everything I do in the operating system just to get rid of one annoying sound in one particular program.

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this thread, where I explain why Windows nags you with an alert sound when you use a LR shortcut starting with Alt:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/error-sound-when-doing-alt-adjustments/...