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Finding the insertion point in Word and Excel on Mac

Anonymous
2019-02-14T10:49:02+00:00

In a much earlier version of Word, you could press a key (option I think) and it caused ripples to show you where the insertion point is.  I notice that a lot pf people have trouble finding/seeing the insertion point. How can you make it  bigger, change its blinking speed, change its colour etc to make it more obvious?  I already have a big cursor; but finding where the insertion point is is a problem.

Isn't it about time Microsoft fixed this very basic problem?  More important than making very fancy documents that most of us don't need anyway!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-02-19T22:15:02+00:00

    Dianne

    The ripples effect I have seen is a windows option to find the mouse position. That option is set in the Control Panel > Mouse > Point options. I haven't seen a similar Word option to show the insertion point with ripples. It would be problematic though because the cursor position might be off screen if you scrolled the document away from the insertion point.

    You can make the i beam larger and more noticeable by going to Control Panel > Mouse > Pointers > Text Select and finding a bigger icon with the Browse button.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-02-14T14:16:56+00:00

    Hi Dianne,

    Thanks for posting on our forum.

    There is no option to change the insertion point size, blinking speed or color.

    About the key to find the insertion point, there is no the option on Office, you may create it via VBA.

    To better help you, I have searched it on network, here are some threads for your reference:

    Word - Cursor Position

    Word: How to you determine the current cursor position

    Given the situation, to get the option on Office, we welcome and encourage you to share your ideas through User Voice. It can perfect our products and services. Many features have been developed or upgraded directly from your ideas:

    Could we please have the option of a coloured insertion point because the thin lack one is very difficult to find on a page full of text.

    Thanks for your understanding.

    Qing

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-02-19T20:31:27+00:00

    No the two articles are incomprehensible to a non-tech person!  I want Microsoft themselves to put back into Word the capacity that they removed!  Why does every upgrade spoil something that worked well in the first place?

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-02-20T06:02:12+00:00

    Thanks for that.  I am working on a Mac and I had forgotten that the ripples were on my old Windows computer.  I think the next best thing is to use the Mac Command down to get the point to the end of the document and then I will know where it is!

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-02-20T06:31:03+00:00

    Whoops, I missed the fact you were on a Mac.

    Try the suggestions on this thread for the equivalent on a mac https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/150354/is-there-an-osx-shortcut-to-highlight-the-cursor-position

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