Share via

why isn't my cursor working to select text in Word?

Michelle Shoemaker 5 Reputation points
2026-01-31T06:47:14.0133333+00:00

Word: I cannot select any type with the cursor. I can only type and delete. Why? I have restarted software twice.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | MacOS
0 comments

4 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435.9K Reputation points
    2026-01-31T14:41:54.04+00:00

    #1 & #2 are unrelated.

    #3 is on the right track but restarting the Mac, not just Word is necessary.

    #4 is possible but quite unlikely if only Word is affected.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Fick Mocrisift 0 Reputation points
    2026-03-20T09:11:26.98+00:00

    I have been struggling with this issue for a while until i found the answer. In my case: I work with two monitors. I always use word on monitor 2. I tried selecting text and it looked like it didn't show the selected text. It was frustrating and i tried every possible solution i could find without any success. Then one day I pulled Word from monitor 2 to monitor 1 and what did i see...... I WAS selecting text, but it just wasn't visible on my second monitor for some odd reason. It was working all this time. Not sure if it's the visual settings on that monitor or something else, but it might be the problem for more Word-users and this solution is nowhere to be found in the answers to this problem. I hope it helps some users that are having the same issue.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. John Korchok 232.6K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-01-31T17:12:55.28+00:00

    There have been quite a few similar reports, so this sounds like a bug in a recent update. Please choose Help>Feedback>Report a problem to submit a bug report to the Word for Mac team.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments

  4. AI answer

    2026-01-31T06:47:18.9633333+00:00

    If your cursor is not working to select text in Word, there are a few potential reasons and solutions you can try:

    1. Enable Drag-and-Drop: Make sure that the "Allow text to be dragged and dropped" option is checked. You can find this in the settings under File.
    2. Check Smart Paragraph Selection: Uncheck the "Use smart paragraph selection" option in the same settings area. This can sometimes interfere with text selection.
    3. Restart and Check for Updates: Since you have already restarted the software, ensure that your Word application is up to date, as updates can fix bugs that may cause selection issues.
    4. Check for Other Applications: Sometimes, other applications running in the background (like Discord) can interfere with Word's functionality. Make sure to close any unnecessary applications and see if that resolves the issue.

    If these steps do not resolve the problem, consider performing an online repair of your Office installation as a last resort.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.