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I'm currently using Google Docs, but when I try to use the keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+Alt+M it gives µ instead.

alt text

Is Chrome (9) overruling Google Docs in some way?

How can I get these shortcuts working?

I'm using Chrome dev 9 on a Dutch Windows 7 with a US-layout keyboard

SgtOJ
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Ivo Flipse
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  • See [Ctrl+Alt registering as AltGr for US International Alternate, any way to disable?](http://superuser.com/q/313369/664) for more general version of this question. – Piotr Dobrogost Sep 24 '13 at 23:25

6 Answers6

5

Here is Google's Official Shortcut Page for Google Doc. There you find that the current shortcut to insert comments is Ctrl + Alt + M and the old shortcut was Ctrl + M. I would have to assume that the old shortcut isn't supported. Which leads to this...

Check this out: (Source - Google Support)

"Originally, US PC keyboards (specifically, the US 101-key PC/AT keyboards) did not have an AltGr key, it being relevant to only non-US markets; they simply had "left" and "right" Alt keys.

As those using such US keyboards increasingly needed the specific functionality of AltGr when typing non-English text, Windows began to allow it to be emulated by pressing the Alt key together with the Control key: Ctrl + Alt ≈ AltGr -- (wiki source).

Therefore, it is recommended that this combination not be used as a modifier in Windows keyboard shortcuts as, depending on the keyboard layout and configuration, someone trying to type a special character with it may accidentally trigger the shortcut, or the keypresses for the shortcut may be inadvertently interpreted as the user trying to input a special character."

US International Layout: Ctrl + Alt ≈ AltGr ... which means... AltGr + M = µ

Note: To resolve this issue switch to a pure US layout, not a US International keyboard layout. See steps below on how to switch.

Windows 7: Switch Keyboard Layout to Pure US Keyboard Layout:

  • Open Start Menu
  • Type in: Region and Language
  • Hit [Enter]
  • [Click] the Change keyboards button
  • Select the General tab if not selected
  • [Click] the Add button
  • Scroll to and expand English (United States) (or another US layout - e.g. Macs using Boot Camp can use United States (Apple))
  • Expand Keyboard if not already expanded
  • [Check] the check box for US
  • [Click] the OK button
  • Select 'English (United States) - US' from the Default input language drop down menu
  • [Click] OK
Community
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SgtOJ
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  • Ok, this explains why it doesn't work, but Ctrl + M (as listed in the link) doesn't work. So how can I make it work? – Ivo Flipse Dec 01 '10 at 09:58
  • Updated the answer. `Ctrl-M` is an old shortcut. Also Google's doesn't have a more universal shortcut option either. – SgtOJ Dec 01 '10 at 10:18
  • I see that you are from the Netherlands. So are you using a non-standard US keyboard layout? If not, which keyboard layout are you using? Are you using Windows 7 or XP or another OS? – SgtOJ Dec 01 '10 at 10:19
  • It's an Azerty USB keyboard, but I have switched it to the US layout and deleted all the other layouts. – Ivo Flipse Dec 01 '10 at 10:22
  • Do you get the same result when typing `Ctrl + ALt + M` other applications? Like in MS Word or Notepad? – SgtOJ Dec 01 '10 at 10:33
  • I get it in Google Search and Notepad too, yes @Brian – Ivo Flipse Dec 01 '10 at 10:37
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    The reason is, you are using a US **International** layout. You need to switch to a pure US layout. Proof is found [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout). – SgtOJ Dec 01 '10 at 10:46
  • Strange, I've change my layout to US and it still doesn't work :-S – Ivo Flipse Dec 01 '10 at 10:53
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    So, I want to double check that you have done the steps I just added. BTW, I didnt break it down because I don't think you knew. Instead I did it for future use of the question by someone who might not know. – SgtOJ Dec 01 '10 at 11:11
  • It's working now :-) Though I hope my GF doesn't get angry when all of sudden some keys respond differently ;-) – Ivo Flipse Dec 01 '10 at 11:32
  • That is great news. Thank you for the update and good luck with her. – SgtOJ Dec 01 '10 at 11:33
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    it is still a shame that one has to change KB layout to make shortcuts working... – törzsmókus Jan 06 '13 at 18:31
  • @törzsmókus maybe, except it's probably hard to define shortcuts that will work in all browsers on all systems. It's easy to set my KB config in Windows 7 – Fuhrmanator Feb 20 '13 at 16:11
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    @Fuhrmanator that might be a solution for you, but for people working on non-English texts this is definitely a no-go. – törzsmókus Feb 22 '13 at 10:01
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    is google seriously ignoring the rest of the world?! – Schiavini Apr 24 '14 at 15:54
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    you'd think that one of the major world tech players' attempts to create a text-storage system could figure out a shortcut scheme that didn't disallow the convenient use of certain characters. – c.. Jul 30 '15 at 11:54
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    Downvoted because, as @törzsmókus explained, changing a keyboard layout to different language is NOT a solution. I cannot use US layout to work on Central European text. I appreciate the explanation of this Google bug though. – LuH Jun 23 '22 at 08:45
  • Yes, I find this not a good answer, because personally I need the AltGr combos. The problem here is that we need to find a way to wipe Alt+Ctrl = AltGr There seems to be some solutions proposed here https://superuser.com/questions/592970/can-i-make-ctrlalt-not-act-like-altgr-on-windows AutoHotKey seems to be the best way to override Windows default behaviour – SirLouen Jul 05 '23 at 09:44
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You can solve this problem by making sure that Ctrl+Alt+M (or AltGr+M) doesn't yield µ. You can disable µ but keep the rest of your keyboard layout intact.

To do this you can use Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator. Load your current keyboard layout from the 'File' menu ('Load Existing Keyboard...') and shift state to 'Alt+Ctrl (AltGr)'. Then you can remove µ from the keyboard by clicking it and deleting the character in the popup. Next, build your new keyboard from the 'Project' menu. Lastly, install the keyboard layout from the created setup file and select it under the keyboard layout settings of Windows.

Journeyman Geek
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Jens Jacob
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If you are using Windows 10/11, another option is to use PowerToys > Keyboard Manager. Create the mapping as in the screenshot below:

PowerToys settings

For Chrome, whenever you press Ctrl + Alt + 1, it will send 1 as if it was pressed from a keyboard that has a numpad. Works well on Windows 11 with US INTL keyboard layout.

Destroy666
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Srđan Matijević
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    Question was asked in 2010. – Toto Jun 01 '23 at 13:45
  • And yet here we are in 2023, and this is a useful workaround for some visitors today; perhaps it will help others for a while into the future, as superuser/SE communities are living resources subject to substantial change and improvement with time. (Not an ideal solution for me personally, unfortunately; my keyboard is en-us already, and my Alt key problems are limited to Google Sheets regardless of whether Ctrl is being held.) – bburhans Aug 11 '23 at 00:07
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The only easy workaround to "disable" Alt+Ctrl becoming AltGr, without disabling AltGr (a missing feature of Windows, as non-libre OS maybe forever, because minorities are irrelevants to M$), is: to use numpad (with numlock on, as any normal human being XD).

At least, this work for me on Google Docs on Chrome on W10 with Spanish layout.

The other "solutions" does not worked for me (I need AltGr+2 to @).

Eloy
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  • Nice one!, I've been trying to solve this for ages There is another solution in the bottom, that basically does the same (remapping to numpad) which works equally good if you don't want to use the numlock but the numbers on top. But personally I don't care to use numlock. – SirLouen Jul 05 '23 at 09:40
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Another thing you can do is load another keyboard layout and use a keyboard shortcut to temporarily switch to that one, in order to get rid of the µ and other conflicts.

áine
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For windows 10 , this is how I managed to work :

​From language preferences > preferred languages > click on 'English(United States' > Options > in Keyboards list : it should be US (Qwerty) first, then(or maybe not needed) United States-International (Qwerty)

BurakY
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