Alt key nor Command key nor Shift key working

[tsturm]

This is a very bizarre issue.

I cannot draw a flat line. I cannot grab attributes of objects. I cannot inject an object with the current settings.

See for some reason I cannot use the Shift key when drawing a line to toggle on the constrain so the line comes out flat or vertical. When I try to grab the settings of an object, I do not get the eye dropper when holding down the Alt key.

Now for the bizarre part.. This is happening in AC 9, AC 10 and AC 11. Yes I have a tried all three versions. I have projects in all three. I have opened each one. I have tried to draw lines and walls. I have tried to grab settings. I have tried to push settings on to objects.

This appears to be system wide function. The keys do work in other applications. They just to not activate the toggle here in AC.

I have deleted the mouse driver I am using on a Kensington Pocket Pro Wireless. I have searched out preferences for this mouse and another wireless I had before. I have trashed them all. I have repaired the drive permissions. I am using a Powerbook running MAC OS X 10.4.11.

I am at my wits end on this. I thought this was limited to just AC 11.. Now am very confused as to why this is also going on in AC 10 and AC 9.

These functions were running fine not that long ago. I am not fully sure what has been installed since the last time I ran my home AC. Most of the time I use is at work on a PC..

I saw the thread on the Leopard repair. I am running Tiger so I did not try that repair. Any help on this very bizarre bug would be great. I am sure I made a change to some keyboard or mouse setting. I just cannot find out where it would be.

I have also tried to run AC 9-11 without the mouse attached to make a flat line. No difference. The line is straight but very hard to draw level. The constraint function makes this process very fast.

any suggestions shall be tried. I really want to find the culprit.

regards

[tsturm]

It has been about a week since i posted my issue.

I was hoping someone out there using a Mac could offer a direction to search in finding a solution.

Lots of lookers. Yet no morsels.

I still have no idea where the culprit is. Yet I did find a work around till I can find the true problem.

If anyone at GS has an insight as to why all three versions of ArchiCAD could be affected, I sure would like to hear from them.

Till then, Happy CADDing.

[Dwight]

After all this time it looks like you are the only guy with the problem.

Have you substituted another keyboard?
Have you restarted your machine?

What else have you done?

[Thomas Holm]

Check using any cheap USB cable mouse without any special drivers, just the OS built-in. And as Dwight said. if possible check with another keyboard.

You might also try to download (from Apple) and re-apply the last OSX10.4.11 Combo update.

[tsturm]

Thomas

How do you re-apply a downloaded update?

I was using OS X 10.4.11 when the problem occurred.

I am using a laptop, so my keyboard is not swappable.
I did connect two other types of keyboards to test them. I had the same problem. The Alt, Command, Shift keys did not function as modifier keys.

I removed the drivers for the wireless mice I use. No change to AC.

I attached a wired mouse. No change to AC.

The trouble lies somewhere in the User's Library. This is not the AC library. This is the User's Library where all the system preferences and such are stored for each user on the machine. There is an unique Library for each user on a machine.

Thank you Dwight for highlighting that I am unique. Bummer to find it out in the process of a project.

Where the true culprit really is has not been found. Still am wondering. The solution to this dilemma is straight forward and time consuming. My most expedient suggestion to prevent this would be, Keep a bootable back up around and up-to-date.

[Thomas Holm]

tsturm wrote:
Thomas

How do you re-apply a downloaded update?

I think you just run it. It should work without problems, but you should use the most recent Combo update (it updates all versions of 10.4 to 10.4.11). This is the most thorough update of the system you can do short of re-installing.

Did you check your System prefs? In Leopard, in the Keyboard pane, there is a button at the bottom that says "Special keys". There, for each or for all keyboards, you can set the actions wanted for each modifier key. I'm not sure where this is located in Tiger anymore, but it's there somewhere.

[David Maudlin]

Thomas wrote:
Did you check your System prefs? In Leopard, in the Keyboard pane, there is a button at the bottom that says "Special keys". There, for each or for all keyboards, you can set the actions wanted for each modifier key. I'm not sure where this is located in Tiger anymore, but it's there somewhere.

Same place, but the button is called "Modifier Keys...", there is nothing application specific here, so that would not explain why they work in other applications, also the Shift key is not shown here.

David

[Anonymous]

You're not alone: I occasionally have the same problem with locking the cursor (to draw horizontal or vertical ). I can usually cure the hiccup by switching to another running program (such as Firefox), then switching back. With that, it's only a small problem.

I do not have the issues of grabbing/injecting attributes, but I do have the problem of selecting a placed external drawing (and only the drawing) on a trace reference level. I put the placed drawing on a locked layer, so I don't move it around anymore. This is a real pain, since the cursor grabs the locked drawing below, unless it's exactly on the item I want to grab, (IE: a window).

[Anonymous]

tsturm,

Do you use the Opera web browser?

We had similar issues to yours with loss of modifier key operation in ArchiCAD when Opera was open, closing Opera resolved the issue instantly.

[tsturm]

Thank you everyone for your cointinuing efforts in this saga..

I would like to say the situation was cured by a fresh system install. Nope.

I would like to say the problem was limited to Tiger 10.4.x. Nope. I am now having the same problems in Leopard 10.5.x.

I may be able to offer up that there may be an application which is interfering with these keys. But which I am not sure. See I did a fresh install (reformat hard drive). Then installed just ArchiCAD 11 build 1201. And things went fine.

Then as I have been installing the other applications which I need. LIke Office and Quicken. Then the problem of the modifier keys came back.

I also know the problem exists somewhere in the system folder (Library folder). As when I create a new user on my computer and run ArchiCAD from here I no longer have any problems injecting picking up or constraining. So somewhere in the few applications I have installed since insalling a clean system and only ArchiCAD is the problem. And it lies somewhere in the preferences. Some app is listening to those modifier keys and preventing them from working.

Can someone from GS respond.. I would like to know how the functions of the modifier keys work with regards to the OS.