A

Anonymous

Answered

Alt key activate menu bar in Photoshop

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
December 27, 2016
10 replies
23292 views

Hi

I have an issue that is driving me crazy since I switched to Windows (now win10). When i press the alt key, using the lens or the stamp for example, the menu bar get activated and starts to open menus, or beeping! Moreover if the menu bar is activated when I press a shortcut key to change instrument i get the result of choosing a menu line!

I have this problem with every photoshop version, included the 2017

Is there a way to stop this behavior on Windows10?

Thanks

This topic has been closed for replies.

Correct answer MBorowiec

Since i dont use arrow keys when ALT key is pressed I dont bother it at all, but I just do quick research and found something like that in the web:

Create a new text file (txt, not word) and rename it with a *.ahk extension (eg: noAlt.ahk)
Right click on the *.ahk file and 'Edit'
Copy and paste into document: ~LAlt Up:: return
Save, then right click on file and select, "Compile Script"
An exe with the same name as your file (eg: notAlt.exe) should be created in the same directory.
Run the *.exe, which will appear in the notification area.
Profit!
( Note: The script must be running in the background to work. You might consider setting it as a startup item, or copying to the startup folder. )

That should work, but honestly didn't try yet.

E

ex313078440ihu

Participant

After Effects seems to handle this better. Pressing Alt and releasing won't activate the menu bar, but pressing Alt+F still opens the File menu. Also you can assign a different function to Alt+F.

In Premiere Pro, pressing Alt activates the menu bar, and although you can assign a different function to Alt+F, the File menu still opens with it.

Activating menu bar is the standard behavior of Windows programs. But Adobe software uses Alt heavily.

Alt won't activate the menu bar if you click a mouse button, scroll the mouse wheel, or press another key while holding Alt. But if you do nothing or only move the mouse, the menu bar will be triggered when Alt is released.

A

Andrew24549422ijbo

Participant

Adobe please add an option to toggle the alt key menu underline problem once and for all

Kukurykus

Legend

Moderator please assign Windows label to this thread (and delete my post).

R

robertm19457

Participant

Still looking for an answer to this 7 years later. Using photoshop on Windows has become such a hassle. I will never accept another job working in Adobe software with Windows as long as this alt key bug exists...

And no, I can't run the script because I'm on a work computer and my IT dept doesn't allow it.

J

J_Nice_withspice

Participant

I agree. This is completely infuriating. I shouldn't have to alter the code of my machine for something that should be a toggle option in the settings. Microsoft or Adobe needs to adress the issue once and for all.

E

elliotb49296336

Participant

For anyone out there that thought this should work but it frustratringly didn't I had to make this small change to the script.

~LAlt::Up
return

So basically when you hit left Alt (either on the keyboard or through something like an ExpressKey remote) the ~ makes sure the alt functions normally but then keys an up arrow to negate the menu activation effect.

No more system beeps. No more menu foibles. Pretty excited to not experience this anymore!

M

Mike5F90

Participant

Thank you, works great!

A

AlvaroLuna89

Participant

I don't have a solution for avoiding the activation of the menu bar, but if you want to shut off the beep, and are ok with making changes to your Window's settings then you can do the following:

Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound
Click on the Sounds Tab, and in the Program Events box find Windows > Default Beep
Click on Default Beep and in the lower Sounds drop-down switch "Windows Background" to "None"

While the menu activation issue is annoying, I generally just click on the canvas after zooming around in order to gain back access to the hotkeys. It avoids having to reach over for 'Esc' every time.

M

motionKraft1508

Participant

my Workflow for this stupid adobe issue is to push fast two times alt.

B

bretti66374550

Participant

Im having the same problem, and, browsing around, I see a ton of people asking the same question going back 7 years. My question is, what would it take to get Adobe developers to fix this on their end?

If a significant portion of their users need a third party workaround to fix a stupid hotkey problem, how can we get them to fix it? Photoshop is so good on hotkey customization in every other regard, it's weird that this one thing is still an issue.

A

Anonymous

Upgrade:

When I star Photoshop with the running script the menu is highlighted only while keeping the alt key pressed. Without script the menu remains highlighted even after the release of the alt key causing the involuntary selection of Items inside when an other letter key is pressed. I think this should solve the problem 99%. I test for a few days!

Many thanks and happy New Year!!!

A

Anonymous

MBorowiec

The script is running, I see it in the activity manager but the menu selection is still working

davescm

There are many occasion to press the alt key. The problem is that many times the menu maintains the selection even after releasing the alt key so the next button you press causes a selection inside the menu.

MBorowiec

Participating Frequently

It's the behavior of Windows since i suppose about version 98

A

Anonymous

Thaks MBorowiec, but I also use a lot Cinema 4D for example and it doesn't have this problem at all. I think Adobe should fix it if It's a known problem since many Windows versions, don't you?

Do you know if there is a way to disable completely this behavior in the whole system?

MBorowiecCorrect answer

Participating Frequently

Since i dont use arrow keys when ALT key is pressed I dont bother it at all, but I just do quick research and found something like that in the web:

Create a new text file (txt, not word) and rename it with a *.ahk extension (eg: noAlt.ahk)
Right click on the *.ahk file and 'Edit'
Copy and paste into document: ~LAlt Up:: return
Save, then right click on file and select, "Compile Script"
An exe with the same name as your file (eg: notAlt.exe) should be created in the same directory.
Run the *.exe, which will appear in the notification area.
Profit!
( Note: The script must be running in the background to work. You might consider setting it as a startup item, or copying to the startup folder. )

That should work, but honestly didn't try yet.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded