Shortcut keys don't work in MS-Word on Win8

I've just upgraded to Windows 8 (from XP) and re-installed my copy of Office 2007. Now the common shortcuts (Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V etc) don't work in Word, however other shortcuts (Ctrl-P) are fine.

These shortcuts do work in other applications (such as Chrome) and they even work in other office applications (PowerPoint).

When I go into the customize shortcuts option in Word I see that EditPaste command has Shift-Insert shortcut and I can add Ctrl-V but I can't find Undo and Redo.

BTW I'm using a Hebrew version of Office (I don't know if this is relevant).

Note: The accepted answer was edited after I accepted it. I didn't check that the modified answer is correct so be aware that the original answer (and the one that solved my problem) was to do with the currently selected input language when Word was launched, not the default keyboard language.

Solution 1:

At last after a lot of searching on the Internet I found the solution:

You must select English as the default keyboard language (control panel -> regional settings -> keyboard).

If you select a non-English language as the default keyboard language and open Microsoft Word a lot of shortcuts will change to IBM Common User Access mode (e.g. Ctrl+C will change to Ctrl+Ins and Ctrl+V will change to Shift+Ins)

Note that if you set English as the default keyboard language everything will still work even while you're switching your keyboard language to type non-English text.

This problem appears in all Office versions from 2003 to 2013. It also appears in all versions of Windows since Windows 2000 and at least with Hebrew, Greek and Arabic languages but I guess with many (all?) others as well.

Note: For Windows 10 the above option is found under Control Panel -> Clock, Language, and Region -> Change input methods (under Language) -> Advanced Settings (on the left) -> Override for default input method.

Solution 2:

Go to Word options → Customize → Keyboard shortcuts (customize) → Categories → All commands.

At EditCopy or EditRedo or others Press new shortcut key and press Assign.

Solution 3:

Motti, I'm having the EXACT same issue with Hebrew Word 2010 and my newly installed Windows 8 (installed during the snow day!). When I went into the customized shortcuts, I chose to save these settings for THIS file (rather than for Normal, which always seems to give me trouble). Then it worked, and not just in that file!

Solution 4:

The post Is it possible to make a custom shortcut to “undo” in Word 2013? has this answer (that I didn't test and in any case I don't have your version of Word):

• Right click on the ribbon menu. Select Customize the Ribbon.
• Select the Customize Ribbon category on the left side column.
• Go to the right side column (main tabs) then select a tabs category of your choice (e.g. Home) and click on the New Group button
• Use Rename to name it Undo Redo, then in the drop-down menu Choose commands on the left, select All commands.
• Find the command named Undo and click on the button Add.
• Do the same for the Redo command.
• DON'T CLICK on the Customize button yet. Just hit the OK button of the window
• Again right-click on the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon.
• Now you can click the Customize button next to the title Keyboard shortcuts, then select the Home tab (left column) and find the EditUndo command on the right column.
• Select it and click on the text area under the "Press new shortcut key" title. Press Ctrl+Z on your keyboard and then click the assign button. Click the Close button on this window, then the OK button.
• Do the same for the EditRedo command and assign the Ctrl+Y shortcut.

This answer can also be extended to other problematic shortcuts.