How to stop alt-key activating the menu in Illustrator CS6?

Hi Talk Graphics Community,

I would like to tap into your collective wisdom and experience.

I've just bought Illustrator CS6 and I'm encountering a very irritating behaviour related to the alt key.
The alt key is a vital shortcut key in Illustrator, but in Windows 7 (64bit) it is apparently also designated as a shortcut to activate the menu bar in all programs. As a result there is a conflict between the actions of the alt key in Illustrator and in Windows 7. Whenever I use the alt key in Illustrator CS6 it activates the menu bar and takes the focus of the arrow keys (and all other keys) away from the drawing tools. This results in the menu items being scrolled instead of the art object being manipulated, as one intended. Very irritating (especially when you hit the space bar, which results in a beeping sound). There is a work around for the alt-mouse wheel zoom action, one has to learn to press ctrl-alt-mouse wheel to avoid activating the menu bar. Nevertheless, sometimes I still press the alt key to zoom in... a reflex from long use of my previous version of Illustrator.

Is there a way of preventing Illustrator CS6 from activating the menu bar when the alt key is pressed?

I notice in Gimp (also on Windows 7) that the alt key does not activate the menu bar, instead it performs the normal Gimp functions that it is supposed to perform.

I'm also experiencing the odd crash in Illustrator CS6 every now and then. Is that normal behaviour for Illy CS6?

Thanks in advance,
MUD

The space bar will always make a beeping noise when you activate it the first time on a blank drawing area. As for the Alt key press it activate the top menu but it doesn't scroll through them only highlights the "File Menu" but once your drawing no. You have to remember therefore that tools have been added so shortcuts have been added also but most commands that I use haven't change since CS since I started using Illy. You can do a search for a printable card but here are the main ones for CS6: http://jetsetcom.net/images/download...2012_08_03.pdf

I find that CS6 is the most stable version that I have owned, never crashed, so maybe you might need to re-install and run as admin. to get the best install.

Hi Albacore,

Thanks for your feedback.

I don't find the spacebar making a noise when I activate it on a blank drawing area. Pressing the space bar only beeps after I've pressed the alt key (by pressing the alt key on its own the menu bar gets activated). But, it's not a problem now that I've learned to press cntrl-alt-mouse wheel to zoom in and out. As for other alt actions, I now realize they don't activate the main menu as long as you combine the alt key with a recognised alt-key command such as changing the pen tool to the convert anchor point tool. It's only when you press the alt-key on its own that the main menu is activated.

Thanks also for the link to the handy shortcuts chart.

I did install as the administrator, but perhaps placing some templates, symbol libraries, etc. that I'd created with CS4 into the CS6 folders is causing the problem. When I find time I will remove these files and perhaps do a re-install.

Regards,
MUD