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Using Alt-Tab to toggle between programs causes Microsoft Word to work incorrectly

Anonymous
2020-05-16T19:13:59+00:00

My HP spectre x360 recently installed some Windows updates and since then, I have had problems with Microsoft Word. I have a subscription to Office 365 Enterprise through school. I checked, and there are no new updates for Office to install.

Here is a description of my issue. I am writing a research paper, so I often need to toggle between OneNote, a web browser, and Word as I check notes, confirm research, and write. I use Alt+TAB or Alt+Esc to cycle through the programs.

After I toggle back to Word, I cannot scroll through the document with my mouse wheel or use the cursor to scroll through the document using the vertical scroll bar. The ruler on the left moves as if something is happening, but nothing is happening. The cursor is no where to be seen and I cannot type. Left-clicking the document brings up the right-click menu or does nothing. 

The thing that seems to do the trick is pressing page-up and page down manically and then using the mouse, or some combination thereof. This manic activity eventually registers and Word then realizes I am trying to scroll or move the cursor.

I have never had this problem before. Seeing as I just updated the OS and there are no updates for Office, is there anything else to do besides wait for a new update? I updated Norton and ran a virus scan, and my computer is clean (or so it says).

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2020-05-18T18:05:32+00:00

Hello again,

Someone solved the problem on my thread, just thought I would let you know. Here's NotHappyINeedToDoThis's solution:

"I was strangely able to maybe fix my issue (or so it seems) when I went into Word's Options>Save and then

(1) un-selected "AutoSave OneDrive and SharePoint Online files by default on Word" and

(2) un-selected "Show additional places for saving, even if sign-in may be required"

Then I closed and re-opened word and now it works in both new and existing word documents!

It works even with my external mouse/keyboard and external monitor... 

I'll update the thread if my issue returns. 

Hope this can help!"

Hope it works for you too!

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-05-19T02:20:13+00:00

    It worked! Thanks for copying the answer here.

    What an odd bug.

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  2. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2020-05-17T13:32:10+00:00

    I assume the problem doesn't occur if you instead click on the Taskbar buttons for the various open apps?

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-05-17T04:41:23+00:00

    Here is a screenshot of my Word account:

    I am running Windows 10 Home Version 1909 OS Build 18363.836

    On May 14, my OS was updated with KB4552931 and KB4556799

    I restarted my computer and reopened Chrome, Edge, OneNote, and Word, toggled back and forth, and the same issue happened but it doesn't seem to be consistent. The first time I toggled back and forth the issue did not happen. The second time I stayed in the browser longer and did a search, toggled back to Word, and the issue *did* happen. I did it with both Chrome and Edge, and it was an issue from both.

    I tried toggling between just OneNote and Word. The first time I did not have the problem. Then after that, I consistently had the problem. 

    I have toggled back and forth a few times in different combinations using both my touchpad and my bluetooth mouse, and mostly it is a problem. It seems if I toggle to another program and immediately toggle back, then Word is fine. If I toggle out of Word and stay in the browser or OneNote for some amount of time before toggling back to Word, then I have a problem. I just tested toggling back and forth between Word and Adobe Acrobat as well, since I'm often reading papers in that program. Staying in Acrobat a few seconds doesn't seem to affect Word, but staying longer triggered the same issue when I toggled back to Word.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-05-16T21:04:06+00:00

    Hi Juanita,

    Could you upload a full screenshot of the Account page in the Word application you are using for our reference? You can access the page via clicking on File>Account.

    Note: Remove any private information before uploading the screenshots.

    Meanwhile, what operating system are you using? Could you also provide the version number?

    Currently, I'd like you to restart the computer and close some other applications and anti-virus software and only open the OneNote application, the web browser and the Word application to do a test to see if the issue goes away in your environment.

    Best Regards,

    Cliff

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