MacBook – Left Command + Z isn’t working anymore

keyboardmacbook pro

I have a full size Apple keyboard attached to my MacBook Pro. The left ⌘ + Z key combination isn't working since a while.

The problem only occurs when using the left Command key. ⌘ + Z is working fine.
The left Command key works fine with other combinations, such as left ⌘ + X.
The problem only occurs when using the external keyboard. Left ⌘ + Z is working fine on the MacBook itself.

I tried restoring the keyboard settings to its defaults, to no avail. This could be a hardware problem, but I can't understand why the left Command key works fine in combination with other keys.

I'm clearly lost here. Any ideas?

Edit: Tested the keyboard on another MacBook and it's having the same issues. So, it's most likely a hardware issue. Can this be fixed?

Best Answer

Fixed it! Cleaned the area underneath the Z key and everything is working again. :-)

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MacOS – Left Shift and Left Command combination yields only Left Command; other shift command combos work fine

I'm posting the non-answer of "I reinstalled OSX and upgraded to Maverick from Lion, and it now works" because, well, it now works. Unfortunately I don't know what were the actual reasons it broken and then un-broken. I am sorry to anyone whom this question didn't help at all.

If anyone else comes up with a reasonable explanation I'll mark them as the answer instead.

MacOS – Command+C (copy) with the left command key does not work

Make sure when you press CMD+C your Edit menu in the top flashes, this indicates it works as expected.

If it doesn't, go to Keyboard settings in System Preferences and:

Restore defaults Modifier Keys...,
Restore defaults in Shortcuts tab,
In App Shortcuts click the + button and test if Keyboard Shortcut input box will react on your combination.

If Edit menu flashes and it still doesn't work, then the first thing to do is to restart pasteboard service by the following commands:

launchctl stop com.apple.pboard
launchctl start com.apple.pboard

If still doesn't work, here are some other suggestions to troubleshoot the problem:

Re-test in different applications just in case.
Re-test if works when using contextual menu (without using the shortcut).
Re-test alternative combination such as CMD+X for Cut instead.
Run Console to see your System log queries if something obvious is happening.
Test if the Clipboard works from the terminal via:
```
$ echo test | pbcopy
$ pbpaste
```
If Paste menu item is no more greyed out, then maybe it's a problem with Paste command.

If you're advanced user, use dtruss or fs_usage to debug it, for instance:
```
$ sudo fs_usage | grep -C4 MyAppWhereCopyDoesntWork
```
and then notice other apps which appearing exactly when you press the shortcut which potentially you could consider quitting for testing purposes.
Disable any recent programs that you run or restart your computer.
Disable VoiceOver as suggested here.
Force quit the Finder (e.g.: killall -HUP Finder).
If still doesn't work, consider rebooting the system, especially in Recovery or Safe mode to re-test.

As for a workaround, you can install Karabiner app and remap your shortcuts by configuring private.xml file (see Misc tab). For more suggestion, please check the following posts:

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MacOS – Left Shift and Left Command combination yields only Left Command; other shift command combos work fine

MacOS – Command+C (copy) with the left command key does not work

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