Why are Backspace, Enter, Navigation keys not working while editing any file in Visual Studio?

Question

Why are Backspace, Enter, Navigation keys not working while editing any file in Visual Studio?

Apurva Kamshetty 30

I am using Visual Studio Extensions, while creating a new solution through extension for the first time, we are only able to type alphabets. Backspace, Enter, Navigation keys are not working while editing any file.
But when we force close the solution, and reopen the editing is working as expected. I've tried various solutions from various forums, but nothing works. Please help me find a solution.

Karen Payne MVP 35,566 Reputation points

2024-02-06T00:36:37.2533333+00:00

Consider viewing the activity log
D.D.K-2637 966 Reputation points

2024-03-18T05:16:55.5066667+00:00

same problem here VS 2022 v17.9.3

.NET project. I can press every other key normally except these key (enter, backspace,..). Restarting does not solve the problem.

Sean Houghton 0

I had this problem (all keys except backspace and enter work). I noticed it was only happening with .rst files. I disabled the restructuredText plugin and restarted vscode and all the keys worked again. When I re-enable the plugin the keys stopped working, even without restarting vscode.

I see this exception in the "window" error log, and nothing in the "restructuredText" error log.

024-05-28 08:10:36.439 [error] [ExtensionListenerError] Extension 'Arjun.swagger-viewer' FAILED to handle event: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'document'): Error: [ExtensionListenerError] Extension 'Arjun.swagger-viewer' FAILED to handle event: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'document')
    at a.value (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:163:20680)
    at o.y (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:660)
    at o.z (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:730)
    at o.fire (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:946)
    at P.$acceptModelChanged (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:153:75620)
    at c.S (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:150:5505)
    at c.Q (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:150:5271)
    at c.M (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:150:4361)
    at c.L (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:150:3440)
    at a.value (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:150:2227)
    at o.y (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:660)
    at o.fire (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:877)
    at u.fire (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:107:14175)
    at a.value (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:176:8023)
    at o.y (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:660)
    at o.fire (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:82:877)
    at u.fire (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:107:14175)
    at MessagePortMain.<anonymous> (/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:176:6303)
    at MessagePortMain.emit (node:events:517:28)
    at Object.MessagePortMain._internalPort.emit (node:electron/js2c/utility_init:2:2285)

Bogdan Suster 0 Reputation points

2025-02-12T04:04:58.18+00:00

anyone got a fix for this? reseting from tools options keyboard, doesnt work.
טיישר אפרים 0 Reputation points

2025-03-11T12:57:36.24+00:00

Same problem here with VS 2022 17.13.2 after using postsharp of MetaLama.

Backspace, Delete and Arrows didn't work.
Reset of keyboard did not solve the problem.

Only closing VS and reopening fixed.

6 answers

Your answer

Karen Payne MVP 35,566 Reputation points

2024-02-06T00:36:37.2533333+00:00

Consider viewing the activity log
D.D.K-2637 966 Reputation points

2024-03-18T05:16:55.5066667+00:00

same problem here VS 2022 v17.9.3

.NET project. I can press every other key normally except these key (enter, backspace,..). Restarting does not solve the problem.
Bogdan Suster 0 Reputation points

2025-02-12T04:04:58.18+00:00

anyone got a fix for this? reseting from tools options keyboard, doesnt work.
טיישר אפרים 0 Reputation points

2025-03-11T12:57:36.24+00:00

Same problem here with VS 2022 17.13.2 after using postsharp of MetaLama.

Backspace, Delete and Arrows didn't work.
Reset of keyboard did not solve the problem.

Only closing VS and reopening fixed.

Answer 1

Anna Xiu-MSFT 30,966 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Apurva Kamshetty,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

Which version of Visual Studio are you using? Does it occur in other projects?

Please reset keyboard mapping scheme by going to Tools > Options > Environment > Keyboard > click on ‘Reset’ > OK.

Meanwhile, you can try to repair your Visual Studio.

Sincerely,

Anna

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Apurva Kamshetty 30 Reputation points

2023-02-24T04:28:11.31+00:00

I am using Visual Studio 2019. I have already tried 'Reset' and it doesn't work.
Yes it occurs in other projects as well. And we have seen a same behaviour on all the machines in our team.
Anna Xiu-MSFT 30,966 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-02-24T07:25:52.67+00:00

Hello, does it occur in other programs on your PC?

Please run a virus scan and check if there are some malware applications prevent Keyboard from working.

Meanwhile, check for your Windows Update and ensure that all updates are installed.
Apurva Kamshetty 30 Reputation points

2023-02-27T06:43:00.5166667+00:00

Hi, everything looks good in the virus scan and Windows is up-to-date.
Anna Xiu-MSFT 30,966 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-02-28T09:43:55.1933333+00:00

Hello, does it occur in other programs on your PC?
Rob Fea 0 Reputation points

2023-07-13T03:18:05.3+00:00

This worked for me. Thanks!
Josh 0 Reputation points

2024-02-05T17:09:52.3+00:00

Apurva did you ever find a solution? I'm still struggling with the same problem. Resetting did not help.

Answer 2

Fred Klein 10

I am experiencing the same issue (VS 17.8.2). When it happens, any other app is still responding correctly to those keystrokes. Quitting VS and starting over solves the issue temporarily.

Answer 3

Christopher Brown 6

I've been using Visual Studio for a very long time, and this problem has popped up multiple times for me with various versions. It's very aggravating, and seems specific to VS (other running apps work fine). It's happened with different machines, different Windows versions, different keyboards. It's very specific to VS. I'm currently running 2022 Pro V.17.14.0 Preview 2.0. And yep, it just happened.

In this case, today, it was right after I clicked off an install reminder for NVIDIA Nsight. Right after I clicked the "Yes, remind me again" option in the message box, my backspace, enter, and navigation arrows went dead. But my experience is that various things can cause this.

How I fixed it... I clicked the Find edit box in the Find and Replace window. Typed a couple of characters in the Find edit box, backspaced to delete them (hey, backspace works), clicked back on my Edit window and... backspace, enter, etc. are all working again!

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but the problem seems specific to the Edit window in VS. Click on another window, like Find and Replace, and it seems to fix the problem. A similar thing often happens for me with the mouse pointer in the Edit window, getting stuck as a pointer instead of reverting back to an I-beam. Slide it over to another window, like Find and Replace, and it starts working properly again.

So before you restart VS, or reinstall, just try typing something quick in Find and Replace, and see if that fixes the issue. Hope this helps!

Melyssa St-Hilaire 0 Reputation points

2025-03-30T11:17:03.3466667+00:00

Well, I'll be darned! That worked! (Granted, you have to click outside the editor window to be able ot summon the quick search with CTRL+F).

I used to get this when working with asp.net aspx pages a while ago, and back then the fix was something like ctrl+enter, or shift+enter... but none of those were working. So glad I found your answer! Thank you!
Christopher Brown 6 Reputation points

2025-03-30T17:34:46.5+00:00

Great, I'm glad it worked for you! Happy to help.

I always have my Find & Replace window open, docked on the lower left below my Solution Explorer window, which is docked on the upper left (the two things I use most frequently). That avoids my need to do the Ctrl+F. I can just click the Find edit box and then click back to my Edit window.
Christopher Brown 6 Reputation points

2025-03-30T17:47:21.6566667+00:00

One other thing I have noticed, on occasion, this fix doesn't work immediately. I mean, usually it does. But just now, because I wanted to try it using Ctrl+F, I caused the problem to occur by clicking off an install reminder that popped up when I launched VS. And my "fix" failed to work, at first. I could type, backspace, and enter in the Find edit box; but, the in the Edit window, backspace and enter failed. So I let it sit for about 15 seconds while I angrily chastised it, and the fix worked. But I think any window outside the Edit window that you click to get Ctrl+F to work, will also achieve the same result, because backspace, ctrl, enter, etc. all seem to be affected equally when this happens.

Answer 4

Lisarte Barbosa 0

I have VS 17.8.3, and it also happens to me. Te restart fix presented previously only endures for one use of space or one enter. Visual Studio is completely unusable now. The reset Keyboard fix provided by @Anna Xiu-MSFT didn't do anything at all.

Steven Leffew 0 Reputation points

2024-03-12T14:48:33.62+00:00

Been having the same issue with backspace and return not working and the reset keyboard fix didn't do anything for me either. The only tolerable solution I've found so far is that switching tabs brings the return and backspace keys back into focus. I hope they fix this sometime soon as it's really annoying.

Answer 5

Johan Heyvaert 0

Same problem here with VS 2022 v17.8.2..

When closing VS I get this confirmation dialog (cf. attached screenshot. So some operation is blocking user input. But I don't see any open dialogs or task.
The only thing I did in this VS session is connect and authenticate to GIT (Azure Devops), which happens in a dialog. Oh and now I remember that this dialog was showing javascript error messages (at least 3 times). Sorry, didn't take a screenshot of those. Maybe it's related to this keyboard issue.

Johan Heyvaert 0 Reputation points

2023-12-20T08:14:21.15+00:00

Screenshot seems to have disappeared, so new attempt.
Johan Heyvaert 0 Reputation points

2023-12-20T08:20:39.8733333+00:00

After restarting VS the keyboard seems to work fine again.
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Why are Backspace, Enter, Navigation keys not working while editing any file in Visual Studio?

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