How do I debug why an OSX key binding stopped working?

Question

Recently, I've realized that my ^A key binding has stopped working in OSX.

My assumption is that some application has registered ^A as a hotkey, but I don't know that for certain. I don't recall installing anything new lately, but it's certainly possible that I did and just forgot.

Some other pertinent info:

• ^A doesn't work in any application -- this isn't just a Terminal.app issue
• Other control combos (eg: ^E) still work as expected
• Looking through the Keyboard System Preferences pane shows nothing bound to ^A
• A reboot doesn't help
  • However, logging into under a freshly made account does cause the issue to go away (i.e.: ^A works for the test account)
• My StandardKeyBinding.dict has the correct value for ^A
  • Note: I don't have a DefaultKeyBinding.dict in /Library/KeyBindings or ~/Library/KeyBindings

Any ideas on how to debug this?

Answer 1

I'd still like comments on how to debug this kind of thing in general, but the answer to this point problem is answered here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1172355

You can fix this problem by deleting the following plist file, which will reset all your keyboard shortcuts: com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist in ~/Library/Preferences, and then logging out and back in again.