Have you ever encountered the trouble of “Windows keyboard opening shortcuts instead of typing”? In this post from MiniTool, you will learn how to fix this issue.
Windows Keyboard Opening Shortcuts Instead of Typing
The keyboard is an essential part of a computer. Through the keyboard, you can input text, letters, characters, etc., and you can also run specific programs, create files, and switch windows… by using keyboard shortcuts. However, sometimes the keyboard activates shortcuts rather than typing letters when pressing any key.
This is an annoying issue that bothers lots of users. Now, we will walk you through how to get rid of the “keyboard doing shortcuts instead of typing” issue.
How to Fix Windows Keyboard Opening Shortcuts Instead of Typing
Fix 1. Check the Keyboard for Hardware Problems
When the Windows keyboard opens shortcuts instead of typing, the first thing you need to do is to rule out problems related to the keyboard hardware.
- Clean the dust and foreign matter inside the keyboard, and make sure that no keys are stuck on the keyboard. Here this post may be helpful: How to Clean Laptop Keyboard.
- Disconnect and reconnect the keyboard to your computer.
- Change a keyboard. If you are a laptop user, try to use an external keyboard.
Fix 2. Turn off the Filter and Sticky Keys
Sticky keys and filter keys help you use keyboard combinations more conveniently, and adjust keyboard response speed to ignore wrong keystrokes. However, sometimes they cause the keyboard to open for shortcuts instead of typing text.
Follow the steps below to disable the filter and sticky keys.
Step 1. Press Windows + I key combination to open Windows Settings. Then select the Ease of Access option.
Step 2. Move on to the Keyboard tab in the left panel, and switch the Use Sticky Keys & Use Filter Keys options to Off.

Step 3. Restart your computer and check if the “Windows keyboard opening shortcuts instead of typing” issue still exists.
Fix 3. Run the Keyboard Troubleshooter
Windows built-in keyboard troubleshooter is designed to solve many basic keyboard-related issues, such as keyboard typing in all caps, keyboard not working in Google Chrome, and so on. Here, to fix the “keyboard doing shortcuts instead of typing” problem, you can run the keyboard troubleshooter as well.
Step 1. Press the Windows + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings. Select Update & Security.
Step 2. Move on to the Troubleshoot tab. In the right panel, click Additional troubleshooters.
Step 3. In the new window, click Keyboard > Run the troubleshooter.

Step 4. Wait for the troubleshooting process to complete. Then try to type again and check whether the keyboard input is back to normal.
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See Also: 5 Ways to Fix Some Keys on Keyboard Not Working.
Fix 4. Update the Keyboard Driver
An outdated or corrupted keyboard driver can also be responsible for the keyboard input issue. In this case, you need to update the keyboard driver.
Step 1. Right-click the Windows logo button to select Device Manager.
Step 2. Expand the Keyboard device list.
Step 3. Right-click the target keyboard device to select Update driver.

Step 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the necessary actions.
Fix 5. Disable Windows Ink Workspace
According to user experience, disabling the Windows Ink Workspace is also an effective solution to fix the matter of “keyboard activates shortcuts rather than typing letters”. To do so, follow the steps below to tweak the Windows registries.
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Step 1. Press Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run window.
Step 2. Type regedit and press Enter. When the UAC window appears, select the Yes button.
Step 3. In the new window, navigate to the following location:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
Step 4. Check if there is a subkey “WindowsInkWorkspace” under Microsoft. If not, right-click Microsoft to select New > Key. Name the newly created key to WindowsInkWorkspace.

Step 5. Right-click the WindowsInkWorkspace key to select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value to AllowWindowsInkWorkspace.
Step 6. Double-click AllowWindowsInkWorkspace. In the pop-up window, set up its value data to 0. After that, click OK to save the change.

Step 7. Restart your computer to make sure the keyboard input issue has been resolved.
Wrapping Things Up
Windows keyboard opening shortcuts instead of typing? Try the ways listed above to get rid of it.
If you have found any other good solutions to this topic, welcome to share them with us in the following comment zone.
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