"Cmd-C" combination stops working -- linked to speakable items/voice over

A few users have reported problems with the built-in key shortcuts (command-C specifically), in which the keys appear to have lost functionality.

Apple Discussions poster Pchittt writes:

"My shortcut 'command C' does not work any more (all my other shortcuts work, 2 touches work). I have already tried to put back my shortcuts by default, to make a repair of authorizations or to connect an external keyboard but nothing works!"

Users affected by this problem have tried fixing permissions on the drive, as well as ensuring the key combination is not reserved for another application in the "Keyboard and Mouse" system preferences. However, these efforts have not fixed the issue.

Despite some users' suspicions of this problem being caused by a defective keyboard, other combinations or the keys by themselves would not work if that were the case. Instead, this problem seems to be caused by a software configuration in the text-to-speech or voiceover features in OS X, which are part of the universal access aspects of the OS. It could be due to some conflict or bug in the programming, or could be due to users inadvertently setting the speakable items hotkey to the one in question.

Fixes

Turn off VoiceOver One user with this problem was able to fix it by activating and deactivating the "VoiceOver" option in the "Universal Access" system preferences. This might toggle faulty settings to be reset, resulting in the problematic hotkey sequence freeing itself.

Check Text to Speech hotkey While toggling VoiceOver might work for some users, this problem is more likely due to the "Text to Speech" hotkey being inadvertently set to the problematic hotkey sequence. Mac OS X supports a user-defined command to speak any selected text, and unfortunately this command does not double-check whether or not the supplied command is used elsewhere. As such users can easily override commands defined elsewhere. To check this, go to the "Speech" system preferences and in the "Text to Speech" tab either uncheck the "Speak selected text when the key is pressed" option, or click the "Set Key..." button to reset this command to a different hotkey sequence.

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