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Excel: Number pad gone haywire
#10827 07/03/10 08:50 PM
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Gregg Online OP
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Office for Mac 2004 - Excel 11.5.8 - OS 10.5.8

All of a sudden, the number keys in the number pad move the active cell around in an unpredictable manner instead of entering data in the active cell. Further, an older anomaly is related, and that is the Enter key in the number pad moves the active cell to the right instead of down.

I could not find anything in Excel Preferences that addresses this, nor do I see anything on the keyboard that might trigger this change. However, the num lock light does not come on, so I'll have to figure out if it's active or not somehow. But that can't be the problem...

I opened a black document, the number keys entered numbers. I then reopened a document it was misbehaving on, and the number keys entered numbers! Does anybody know what was going on, and how I can fix it permanently?

In an unrelated glitch, Excel quit unexpectedly while I was working on a problem file. When I relaunched, the problems were still present.

Re: Excel: Number pad gone haywire
Gregg #10829 07/04/10 01:01 AM
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When the NumLock key was replaced with the Clear key on Apple Keyboards, the old NumLock function was still available in some applications as Shift-Clear.

This was on an application-by-application (and sometimes document-by-document) basis. The OS does not itself support a global NumLock function. Indeed, Apple dropped support for the NumLock light, even when the keyboard has one and the application supports toggling the state.

I don't have Excel to test with, but you might want to try shift-clear while the problem document is frontmost.

Re: Excel: Number pad gone haywire
ganbustein #10831 07/04/10 03:48 PM
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shift-clear?
clear = backspace?

Re: Excel: Number pad gone haywire
Gregg #10846 07/06/10 12:13 AM
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Too late to edit above...

I should have pointed out that I do not have an Apple keyboard. Perhaps this is also a part of the problem.

Re: Excel: Number pad gone haywire
Gregg #10873 07/06/10 11:53 PM
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Today, one of the files that was frustrating me is working fine. Number pad strokes produce data entry. I've only the time to check that one file now...

Re: Excel: Number pad gone haywire
Gregg #10878 07/07/10 07:48 AM
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Originally Posted By: Gregg
shift-clear?
clear = backspace?

The key on the numeric keypad that is traditionally labeled NumLock is renamed "clear" on Apple keyboards. Thus, try typing shift-NumLock if you that's how your key is labeled.

Re: Excel: Number pad gone haywire
ganbustein #10885 07/09/10 12:07 AM
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Gregg Online OP
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Originally Posted By: ganbustein

try typing shift-NumLock if you that's how your key is labeled.


Thanks. Tried that, then tried entering data and hitting the Enter key in the number pad area. The data entry went fine, but the Enter key cause a third cell to the right jump (skipping two columns). Still haywire, but, in this case, the two skipped cells had data in them and the third one did not. So it skipped to the next column with no data in that row.


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