Office Watch reader Steve G is having a problem in Word. The F9 key is starting Cortana instead of updating fields in a Word document. He suspects a buggy patch of Windows or Office. Here’s how to find the source of the Function key problem and fix it. Hint – it’s probably not a bug or virus!
F9 is the most common problem with redirecting to different commands. That’s probably because F9 is the most common Office function key. It’s the Recalculation button in Excel, Send/Receive in Outlook and Update Fields in Word.
We don’t blame Steve for thinking Microsoft patches are at fault. He’s not the first person to have this is, or similar, problem and suspect buggy patches. Microsoft’s poor-quality updates and slow public admission of bugs makes it hard for their customers.
Office Watch went looking for this problem and found a history of similar complaints over the years with different versions of Windows and Office.
What’s stopping F9 or Fn?
All the online reports have one thing in common, the problem is NOT caused by either Office or Windows.
Recent Office/Windows updates have not resulted in a lot of F9 bug complaints appearing online, which is what you’d expect. Microsoft won’t quickly admit to patch bugs but, if the patch was to blame, various online forums would ‘light up’ with complaints.
A hardware problem
The past F9 etc troubles usually include suspecting a Windows / Office bug … but it turned out to be the hardware.
In one case it was a BIOS setting for the Function keys which reset the Fn keys on startup.
Another person discovered the ‘Alt Fn’ was locked on, pressing F9 was actually sending Alt+F9 or some other unexpected combination.
Some keyboards have a Function/Fn shift which could be locked on without your knowledge.
Another possibility is some utility/ software that is hijacking the F keys.
Test your keyboard and keys
Test your keyboard and the F keys using a key tester site or utility.
A traditional tester lets you type keys or key combinations to see the key or key code that Windows is detecting.
Web site key testing
These days there are web sites like http://keyboardchecker.com/ and https://www.keyboardtester.com/ that will do the basic job online. Press a key and check that the matching key appears online.
The sites are quick way to check a keyboard but have limitations. The key you press goes through many layers of Windows and browser software before being ‘seen’ by the site. That might interfere with the result, depending on the specific problem you’re having.
Software key testers
Some free software utilities have nerdy features not available on the web sites. That can help with more complex problems or hardware issues.
Keyboard Test Utility, among several, will display the hardware key scan code (list) which is the number value sent by the keyboard for each keystroke.
Update – Steve solves the problem
The reader who inspired this article found a solution using a keyboard tester.
“It turned out that Function Lock was enabled, which is done by pressing Fn+Esc. I have no recollection of ever pressing this improbable combination – I didn’t even know you could!
The problem is exacerbated by the absence of status indication. This particular laptop keyboard has an LED to indicate that Caps Lock is enabled, but there are no lights for NumLock or Function Lock.
The keyboard tester application was very helpful in tracking down the problem.“
Complete Function Keys in Microsoft Word
Why are Microsoft Keyboards so damn annoying?
