Lee,

So the search tool was open and you were typing in the file name
when it started misbehaving?

I'm sorry, I see I was not too clear there. I just typed the filename while
the focus was on the explorer window on the right (containing all the
files). It behaves as a kind of auto-complete (jumping to the first file
matching the first typed char, than on typing the second char to the file
matching that one, and so on).

To sum up those ramblings, it appears to be a random firing off
of CTRL-TAB. ALT after that goes straight to the tool bar then.
Does that sound feasible to you?

I have no idea if its feasable. But I think its simpler: when you hold ALT
down your keystrokes are regarded as "shortcut keys" and are send to the
toolbar. If the ALT key "sticks" (on the keyboard itself, or being
remembered by the OS as being down) they will (ofcourse) go to the toolbar
too.

But while that works for the ALT key, the problem that I'm having seems to
be related to the SHIFT key (holding ALT down while selecting a file in
explorer does not seem to do anything special).

And that makes me realize that I seem to have (at least) *two* keys that act
funny: SHIFT and ALT ...

I suggest you try to find a forum for your make and model of confuser
and see if anyone in there also has your problem

But I did ! :-) I was/am assuming that its a Win98 OS related problem
(probably something in the line of the ALT-TAB not always working properly
when switching to/from a full-screen CLI), so I posted it here.

Perhaps someone has such a thing along the lines of a keyboard
initializer, set it to go off when the focus changes every single time
might possibly work.

I did something like it: I found a windows build-in function which informs
you when another program receives focus. I build a small program with which,
when that happens, checks if the shift, control and/or alt keys are (still)
down. If so, it pops up a message telling me so. Now lets see if it
catches the problem situation (I already had it appear when pressing ALT-F4
:-) ) ...

Regards,
Rudy Wieser


-- Origional message:
Lee schreef in berichtnieuws
...
On Friday, April 7, 2017 at 6:00:41 AM UTC-6, R.Wieser wrote:
Lee,


I was, in file explorer, trying to find a document by typing its name.
Suddenly it started to "act wierd", responding to the keystrokes by
dropping
menus from the toolbar.


Darn it, it doesn't sound like we can use that then. At least I've not a
solid clue how. Yet.

So the search tool was open and you were typing in the file name when it
started misbehaving?


Thanks. Although it doesn't solve the problem itself (and I need to be
lucky to become aware of the problem before it barfs all over my desktop),
it mightbe helpfull in making sure thats its not a physically stickey
key --
If its a keyboard-handling driver-code problem (as I'm suspecting) than
sending a single "key up" messsage (for each of the offending keyss should
release them.

Yep, if it's borked because of hot plug episodes it's still borked and I
really don't know if it is anyway.

If only the system worked that way with key up reading.

So in my knowledge of the buffers known, NONE monitor for the key up
situation, they only respond to key down. But they have vast array of
methods for insuring that it's not an old key press or a glitch lasting too
short of a time period to be physically possible to be an actual user
pressing down on a key. Then a timer is also involved for the use of held
down keys. But there is usually a memory location that is holding the
current key press which gets sent to the buffer if other processes are in
use that prevent the 'acceptance' of keys in real time and they are sent to
the buffer and they are then served back to the system Last In, First Out
order and the buffer count for total keys decremented for each key sent.
These insights aren't much help, we would need to know where to do the
hacking and I sure don't.

Perhaps someone has such a thing along the lines of a keyboard initializer,
set it to go off when the focus changes every single time might possibly
work. Just search name suggestions to maybe find a tool that will patch
over this glitch.

So a pair sent such as windows key and then ESC separately should cause the
system to exit from the mode in question, perhaps. If you are lucky enough
to have it happen again try to determine the best key(s) sent to snap it out
of this mode. Not sure what to even call this mode.

Sounds like in this particular mode, it's reading the keyboard directly then
and talk of buffers is a lot of hot air then.

When I was in the mouse troubles mode I got in the habit of uninstalling the
devices related via keyboard shortcuts and ALT was an essential key in those
methods. XP has a rather handy 'scan for hardware changes' which would
detect the removed devices and reinstall them without rebooting. And this
did give vast amounts of relief although now I can't imagine how.

To get into keyboard input mood (pun on mode), the magic combo is CTRL-TAB,
and I recall reading something about some settings that allows one to switch
ALT-TAB for CTRL-TAB or both/either. Something along those lines but I
wasn't looking for that then so I didn't really pay much attention, just the
concept that these combos can be flipped by a setting. And others
complaining of trying to use one and the other happens. It may yet be a
setting. And perhaps one of the DOS mode shortcut properties where your
options were cut back to only two legal combos IIRC - these settings may be
a player in the issue. One can also swap mouse buttons around so it seems
like this might have been a read on the accessibility options and there are
several.

So after CTRL-TAB sets the mood, then Windows Key will kill it and then ESC
to get away from the Start menu pop up. But then the focus is lost, it is
what it is, at least something works for some kind of control.

To sum up those ramblings, it appears to be a random firing off of CTRL-TAB.
ALT after that goes straight to the tool bar then. Does that sound feasible
to you?

Fixing cars because I can and there seems to be a need for that, I often
find others having the exact same problem with theirs that I have just run
head first into. A forum search on that make, model and even year will often
be my first move and it's saved me entire days of misery. I suggest you try
to find a forum for your make and model of confuser and see if anyone in
there also has your problem, rarely they actually come back with a solution
too.


You will have to have Scripting Host installed,

It is. Can't even remember when it wasn't ... And thanks for the links.

Regards
Rudy Wieser


Sure. Some site I was reading from seemed to have the position that WSH was
not a default install which kind of was a new angle for me as I had never
heard that position taken before. But you've got it, great. Be sure to get
that documentation for it though - I gave a link to in last post because
that is never the default install, I'm quite sure of that part.