Keybord Shortcuts - Big XP Bug
There is a major bug in Win XP Explorer.
WIth a folder highlighted on the left pane [folder list] try Alt-F, to pull down the File Menu or Alt-E to pull down the Edit Menu. The pull-down appears for a fraction of a second and the the highlighted folder is moved down the list and the pull-down disappears. This makes XP a real pain. I often used use Alt-F R to get file properties or Alt-F W to make a new folder. Now I must tab over to the folders listed in the right pane for this key combo to work This did not happen with any O/S before XP.
I tried to reproduce this on my Dell desktop computer and it works. I don't think this is an XP issue Jim. Have you checked to see if there is some wierd Dell laptop setting for hotkeys or anything like that. Sounds strange, but wierder things have happened.
Steps tried:
- Windows + E to launch explorer
- In left panel Expand C: drive using mouse.
- Selected folder called public using mouse.
- Press ALT + F R --> properties launch
- Press ALT + F W --> New folder created - focus placed on text in the right panel.
OS: WinXP Pro SP2 with all the latest updates.
I got to this thread searching for help for a similar problem. Perhaps they are related.
Frequently, when using the ALT+f command to access the file menu of any application, the Edit menu is instead displayed. Pressing ALT+f again shows the correct menu.
When the incorrect menu is displayed, it's after a short delay in showing the menu. The interesting thing is that while "File" on the menu bar is highlighted, it's the "Edit" menu that is displayed right where it should be (beneath the Edit command).
Here's a screen capture of the problem:
http://arcadia.net/Cruinne/dop/altfmenu.gif
I run WinXP on two machines with the same problem. They are:
- XP Home Edition on a pre-configured Compaq laptop;
- XP Pro out of the box, installed on a new hard drive, on a self-built desktop PC.
Please let me know if there is more information I could provide, or any settings I should check which could be causing this problem.
Thanks!
Only recently my computer (XP-pro SP2 with automatic update) started showing exactly the same behaviour.
Both alt-e and alt-f with a highlighted folder on the left pane cause the behaviour mentioned in the first post. With me the exact order seems to be:
1. the highlighted folder moves one down to the next folder below the highlighted one
2. the pull down appears
3. I have the sounds on, and i get a sound according to my sound settings
4. the pull down disappears
Strangely enough, when any of the other objects in the left pane are highlighted (like desktop, my computer, network, etc), the alt-e and alt-f keys work fine. And also the strange behaviour does not occur with the View, Favorites, Tools and Help menu.
There seems to be somehow a context sensitivity with just the Folder objects.
Any pointer on how to solve this would be appreciated.
Gertjan.
I know it's like a year since this was first posted, but I have this on my Sony Vaio notebook runnng Windows XP SP2 (+ latest updates), and it constantly drives me crazy! I hope someone can tell me how / if it will get fixed. Thank you!
