CODEWITHSUNDEEP
visual-studio-2010
Sachin Kainth
Sachin Kainth

Reputation: 46750

Backspace doesn't work in Visual Studio

I keep getting a very annoying problem in Visual Studio. When I try to delete some text by pressing backspace it doesn't work. Why is this? What is going on? Sometimes I have to close and open Visual Studio to make this problem go away but I just tried that right now and it didn't work. Backspace works in Notepad in case you are wondering.

Upvotes: 114

Views: 126941

Answers (22)

Francis Anyuru
Francis Anyuru

Reputation: 21

Had Vim extension installed without my consent and had to press I to get to edit mode

Upvotes: 1

shanaka prince
shanaka prince

Reputation: 549

go settings > keyboard shortcuts

then you will see this kind of interface there type "deleteleft" in my case that has been assigned to shift + backspace you can edit that one with selecting edit icon and pressing the key you need. check this image.

enter image description here

enter image description here

Upvotes: 0

Alex D
Alex D

Reputation: 366

Just had this exact issue (along with 'Enter', 'Ctrl+X', 'Ctrl+C', 'Ctrl+V', 'Ctrl+Z' keyboard mappings seemingly doing nothing) in the latest VS preview version below:

Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 (64-bit) - Preview Version 17.2.0 Preview 6.0

The fix for me was to move to another tab (I had multiple open) use the backspace key which worked fine, then move back to the original tab with which it wasn't working, save the file (as it had outstanding changes) and then I found backspace and all other shortcuts then worked!

I can only think that VS got in a locked (to keyboard mappings) state for that particular tab.

A few notes on this:

  • I knew it wasn't a keyboard issue as I was able to use those keys/mappings fine in other apps.
  • I found closing and reopening VS didn't work.
  • Also resetting the keyboard mappings (through Options menu as others have described) didn't work.
  • I had multiple tabs open.
  • Resharper was disabled.

Upvotes: 4

Bellash
Bellash

Reputation: 8184

You can reset keyboard mapping scheme like this

Options => Environment => Keyboard then select (Default) in the comboBox and click Reset button and then Ok button to confirm

enter image description here Visual studio 2019 : Keyboard mapping sheme

Tested in Visual Studio 2019

Upvotes: 2

Tridus
Tridus

Reputation: 5081

I just had this happen in one instance of Visual Studio 2022, caused by the debug settings editor window being open in another instance of Visual Studio 2022 in the background where I couldn't see it.

Closing that window resolved it.

Upvotes: 1

Christopher Robert Brech
Christopher Robert Brech

Reputation: 11

Using Visual Studio Community 2019 (16.4.3)

I just searched this issue because I could click in my document, type, et cetera, but I could not use backspace, delete, ctrl+z, or the arrow keys.

Opening the "File" menu, I noticed the Save option referred to a different file. I checked that file and found that all of the keys that seemed not to work were actually editing that other file.

Switching between the file in half-focus and the file I intended to edit worked and, luckily, undo was able to fix the file I unknowingly butchered.

If you wound up here, check your "File" menu to make sure the correct file is referenced, since the fix is quick and easy to try.

Upvotes: 1

Frank
Frank

Reputation: 1249

Except for the above methods.

You should also check the shortcut key settings:

File -> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> 'Then check the item: deleteLeft'.

enter image description here

Upvotes: 10

user15141932
user15141932

Reputation: 231

A quick fix for me is to simply open any menu from the menu bar. Once the menu is closed the non-character keys start to work again.

Upvotes: 23

Gabe
Gabe

Reputation: 955

Odd that this is still an issue even in VS 2019. Both the backspace and delete keys didn't work. Quick fix, I just ran the project and it seemed to give it the kick it needed.

Upvotes: 4

Soufiane Boutahlil
Soufiane Boutahlil

Reputation: 2604

This method is working at 100%. Go to "File-> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts" and search for deleteLeft and add keybinding "Backspace".

Upvotes: 5

Wyvar
Wyvar

Reputation: 11

When this issue has happened to me, I've found that hitting delete or backspace is unresponsive only within a portion of my code. This portion happened to be some code that I've pasted in from the internet somewhere.

To fix this issue, I cut out the recently pasted problematic code and then pasted it into a text editor like Notepad++. Then copying and pasting that same code out of the text editor and back into Visual Studio fixed the problem.

Upvotes: 1

Dumisani
Dumisani

Reputation: 3038

A quick work-around for me is locking the pc (Windows+L) and logging in again.

Upvotes: 2

weinni2000
weinni2000

Reputation: 51

In my case the problem was the "When" Condition in "File-> Preferences -> Keyboard Shortcuts".

I removed "textInputFocus && !editorReadonly" and it works now as expected. I'm looking forward to the side effects ;).

Upvotes: 3

Xianpeng Shen
Xianpeng Shen

Reputation: 21

I have this problem after I install Vim, uninstall Vim Backspace works fine.

Upvotes: 1

Sibusiso Mashita
Sibusiso Mashita

Reputation: 71

Try resetting your Visual Studio Settings

enter image description here

Go to :

All Program > Visual Studio 20xx > Visual Studio Tools

Run Developer Command Prompt for VS20xx as Administrator and this command:

devenv.exe /resetsettings

Upvotes: 2

Eyoael Yemer
Eyoael Yemer

Reputation: 41

All I did was exit visual studio and restart it.None of the above options worked for me.

Upvotes: 3

Daniel Reis
Daniel Reis

Reputation: 960

I solved this issue resetting keyboard mapping scheme.

Tools -> Options -> Environment -> Keyboard -> Reset.

Upvotes: 51

Dennis Gorelik
Dennis Gorelik

Reputation: 1316

In Visual Studio go to:

Tools 
Options
Environment
Keyboard
  1. Find "Edit.DeleteBackwards" command.
  2. In "Use new shortcut in:" dropdown select "Text Editor".
  3. In "Press shortcut keys:" click backspace so it would show "Bkspce"
  4. Click "OK".

Backspace should start working for you again.

Upvotes: 88

Brad
Brad

Reputation: 11

This problem happened for me when I used a different version of resharper at home and then took that project to my employment. Backspace works for me now after I deleted the bin and obj and resharper directories.

Upvotes: 1

JonK
JonK

Reputation: 11

I've had this issue for a long time. I'm not sure what causes it, but Alt + Enter works. The extensions that I'm running include AnkhSVN, MySQL Tools, and Productivity Power Tools.

Upvotes: -2

johntrepreneur
johntrepreneur

Reputation: 4694

I get this from time to time in VS2010 as well and simply just using the mouse to change tabs/files seems to always fix it now. Nothing more.

Upvotes: 9

Romil Kumar Jain
Romil Kumar Jain

Reputation: 20745

This seems to happen to me when I open a solution and there are files already open. I used to close the files, then close and re-open the solution to fix it, but now I just hit Alt + Enter.

Here is the blog where I found this trick.

Upvotes: 68

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