Selecting Text

Question

I cannot select text with my mouse in Word. I have Microst365 and the Word version is up to date.

Answer 1

See https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5387559/ .

Answer 2

In Word on Microsoft 365 for Mac, inability to select text with the mouse or trackpad is commonly due to how drag-select is working at the OS/application level. When dragging fails, use alternative selection methods that do not rely on drag-and-drop.

Use these built-in selection techniques instead of dragging:

1. Keyboard-based selection
   • Place the cursor where selection should start.
   • Hold Shift and use the Arrow keys to extend the selection.
   • To select by larger units:
     • Shift + Down Arrow: select the next line.
     • Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow: select to the end of the paragraph.
2. Click-based selection with the mouse/trackpad
   • Double-click a word to select that word.
   • Triple-click within a paragraph to select the entire paragraph.
3. Select all content
   • Press Ctrl+A (or Cmd+A on Mac keyboards) to select the entire document.
4. Select non-contiguous items (when drag works again)
   • Select the first text or object.
   • Hold Ctrl while clicking additional, separate text or objects to add them to the selection.

If drag-select used to work and suddenly stopped, rely on the above methods while investigating macOS input/trackpad settings or any third-party utilities that may interfere with mouse/trackpad dragging.

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References:

• Select text
• Keyboard shortcuts in Word
• How to select items that are not next to each other
• Cursor no longer working on Mac to highlight text in Word - Microsoft Q&A
• How do I select text with a trackpad? - Microsoft Q&A
• Block Text - Microsoft Q&A

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