Forum Discussion

misdrugos's avatar
misdrugos
Occasional Reader
Jun 30, 2026

Issue: numbered labels appear over the Excel ribbon when pressing Option

Description

When I press the Option (⌥) key in Excel for Mac, numbered/lettered labels appear overlaid on every tab and button of the ribbon. The pattern is:

  • Over the ribbon tabs (Home, Insert, Draw, Page Layout, Formulas, Data, Review, View): numbers 1 through 9.
  • Over the Quick Access Toolbar icons: a descending then ascending sequence: 09, 08, 07, 06, 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 0A, 0B, 0C, 0D.

The labels disappear instantly when I press Esc.

This does not happen in any other application (tested in TextEdit and Finder by pressing Option: nothing appears).

Version information

  • Excel version: 16.77.1 (Build 23091703)
  • When checking for updates from Excel (Help > Check for Updates), I get the message: "This product is no longer supported. Support for this product has ended, and in-product help is no longer available or maintained."

Troubleshooting steps already taken (no success)

I have methodically ruled out the following causes:

  1. System Accessibility (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility): only Google Drive is listed, and it's toggled off.
  2. Input Monitoring: no items listed.
  3. Screen & System Audio Recording: no items listed.
  4. Switch Control: disabled.
  5. Excel KeyTips (Excel > Preferences > Accessibility): this section does not exist in my version of Excel — only the "Accessibility Checker" appears, with no KeyTips option or "Activation keystroke" setting.
  6. Excel Add-ins (Tools > Excel Add-ins): only "Analysis ToolPak" and "Solver Add-In" appear, both unchecked/inactive.
  7. Third-party automation apps (Keyboard Maestro, BetterTouchTool, Alfred, Raycast, Hammerspoon, Kutools, etc.): none installed on the Mac.
  8. Background processes (Activity Monitor): no suspicious process is running at the time the issue occurs, aside from normal system/Office processes.
  9. Office's internal preference files via Terminal (defaults read com.microsoft.Excel, com.microsoft.shared, com.microsoft.office): no key related to "KeyTips", "AccessKey", "Alt", "Option", or "Hint" was found.

Question for support

Is this a known behavior in older/unsupported builds of Excel for Mac (build 23091703)? Is there any way to disable this feature — whether through a hidden preference, a corrupted configuration file — or would a full reinstall of Excel be the only solution?

Thank you in advance for your help.

excel
Excel on Mac

1 Reply

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Platinum Contributor
    Jul 01, 2026

    The numbered labels you see when pressing Option are highly consistent with Excel’s KeyTips (ribbon keyboard navigation), consistent with the Alt‑key based KeyTips behavior in Windows Excel. Microsoft does not document Option as the trigger for this feature in your specific build (16.77.1), and there is no documented or officially supported method to disable it in that version.

     

    A preference key (DisableOptionKeyRibbonAccess) has been mentioned in some Mac Office community discussions as a possible workaround. It is not documented by Microsoft and has not been verified to work consistently in your exact build, so it should be treated as an unverified test—not a confirmed fix.

     

    If you wish to try it (fully reversible):

    1. Quit Excel.
    2. In Terminal, run:
      defaults write com.microsoft.Excel DisableOptionKeyRibbonAccess -bool true
    3. Reopen Excel and press Option.

     

    If the overlay disappears, the setting may be affecting behavior; if it remains, the key is likely ignored.

    Remove it at any time with:
    defaults delete com.microsoft.Excel DisableOptionKeyRibbonAccess

     

    A full reinstall of the same version is unlikely to change this behavior if it is built into the application’s defaults (though it can help rule out configuration corruption). The only documented user-facing way to control this behavior is to use a current Microsoft 365 version, which includes an Accessibility checkbox to turn off KeyTips triggered by Option.

     

    My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

     

    Hope this will help you.

     

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