Windows

Maybe they have change the keyboard settings.

Go to start, settings , control panel, keyboard.
if you live in the states ( and most likely all standard install) it should be US standard or US 101.

Leopold

If it's not your language settings:
Try turning off auto correct. (Options - Spelling/Grammar)
Make sure there are no entries in your custom.dic.
Check the other file compatibility settings.

All these are in the Options menu.

Good luck...

i take it you have checked to see if anyone has clobbered your keyboard combinations settings? sounds like you will need to reprogram them. I set my Spanish authors up with macros to put those characters in. then I place the macros on a toolbar. then I save the toolbar. it is easier to preserve against users changing it than programming keystroke combinations. look in Word help for specifics steps but here is the overall:
1) record a macro for each symbol
2) create a new toolbard
3) right-click on a blank are of the new toolbar, pick customize.
4) pick Macros, select your macro. drag it to the toolbar. once you do that, you can rename it...
if it asks to save the changes to normal.dot, do it....

i take it you have checked to see if anyone has clobbered your keyboard combinations settings? sounds like you will need to reprogram them. I set my Spanish authors up with macros to put those characters in. then I place the macros on a toolbar. then I save the toolbar. it is easier to preserve against users changing it than programming keystroke combinations. look in Word help for specifics steps but here is the overall:
1) record a macro for each symbol
2) create a new toolbard
3) right-click on a blank are of the new toolbar, pick customize.
4) pick Macros, select your macro. drag it to the toolbar. once you do that, you can rename it...
if it asks to save the changes to normal.dot, do it....