Shortcut key issue in VMWare Fusion 12.1.1

[jconsoles]

Running VMW 12.1.1 with Windows 10.

Suddenly yesterday, when I hit the space or tab key in any application (toad, notepad etc) it gets interpreted as a toolbar command.

So I cannot type a space or tab in any text document, as my cursor goes straight to the windows toolbar

I have looked at the keyboard preferences and don't see anything that would cause this mapping to occur.

Can anyone suggest how this could have happened and how to resolve?

Thanks

[dempson]

A possible explanation for this problem is if the VM has got out of sync with the state of one of your modifier keys, e.g. it thinks you are holding down the Option key (Alt in Windows) or Command key (Windows key in Windows). Try pressing each of those keys by themselves, then releasing them, then see if the other keys are behaving normally.

I have run into this before in a VM and in other contexts such as remote controlling computers via software like TeamViewer.

A similar issue is if you have multiple keyboards connected to your computer and something is pressing on one of the modifier keys on the keyboard you aren't using. A recent example: I was helping someone whose Mac was exhibiting random key activity, and it turned out to be the Bluetooth keyboard they forgot to turn off before putting it into their bag.