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Spacebar not working right now that I've updated MS Word for Mac

Anonymous
2023-05-21T11:45:50+00:00

As soon as I updated Word my spacebar stopped working correctly. It's beyond irritating. I have a Mac and this isn't the first time Microsoft Word has become a problem in this way. Can you please tell me what I can do to rectify the situation?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | MacOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-05-21T12:36:19+00:00

    Hi Naomi R,

    I’m Gunasekar and I will be happy to help you with your question, I am a Microsoft consumer like you.

    I understand that you are having issues with Spacebar on Microsoft Word after the updates.

    1. Did you check if the space bar works in other office apps like Excel or ppt?
    2. May I please know the version of Microsoft word running on your device?

    You could try the following suggestion below and share the outcome.

    a. Disable Full Keyboard Access.

    Go to system preferences > Accessibility > Keyboard. Uncheck the box for 'enable full access keyboard' and check the outcome.

    b. Try SHIFT + Spacebar altogether and check the outcome.

    c. Uninstall the Word application on your device and install the older version from the given link below.

    https://learn.microsoft.com/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac

    I hope this information helps. If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll be glad to assist you further.

    Best regards
    Gunasekar N

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-05-22T03:56:20+00:00

    Naomi R,

    Are you still experiencing issues?

    Did you follow the instructions suggested by both the MVP's?

    If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll be glad to assist you further.

    Best regards,

    Gunasekar N

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  3. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435K Reputation points
    2023-05-22T03:02:14+00:00

    Standard keyboard mapping [alphanumeric keys, punctuation keys, modifier keys, function ["F"] keys, etc.] is provided by the operating system, not the individual programs. When any of those key behaviors seem to go haywire it's typically due to one or more of these causes:

    1. The Mac needs to be restarted. It's surprising how many gremlins can be eradicated by this simple [daily] routine, or
    2. The operating system needs to be updated, or
    3. 3rd party helpers, utilities or other background operations causing compatibility issues.

    Cures for #1 & #2 are self-evident, but #3 can be elusive if there are several of such items installed. In some cases updating them will resolve the conflict but often they need to be disabled or removed.

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  4. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-05-22T02:11:58+00:00

    You can restore the previous version using Time Machine. Restore just one file: Microsoft Word.app in the Applications folder.

    Learn how to use Time Machine to restore specific files

    This will let you know if the update is truly the problem, and if it is, should correct it. Please let us know the result.

    Thanks.

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-05-21T14:42:04+00:00

    Hi, I only have word, nothing else. It's version 16.73 and it literally started happening the moment I uploaded it. I'm in the middle of an edit and can't uninstall and reinstall now. It's a big document and one of the most irritating things is that the prompt wouldn't stop so that I couldn't work on it without updating the Word program. I'm pretty sure it's a disconnect between my Mac's spacebar setting and word.

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