Cannot Select Objects using mouse cursor (Word 2010)

Question

Hi

I recently upgraded from Office 2007 Pro to 2010 Pro+. I inserted some shapes and when to select them - prior to grouping. I did the 'normal' thing: click the arrow shape on the ribbon, clicked Select Objects, brought my cursor on the page again and left-click and hold while I lasooed the objects. The lasooe part didn't happen. Nothing was captured by moving the cursor over the area where the objects were.

Can anyone suggest what's happening, and how it can be put right?

Thanks

Answer 1

Lasso selection works as long as the document is in Word 97-2003 format (in Compatibility Mode). When it's converted to Word 2010 format (or created new in Word 2010), dragging doesn't even show the lasso outline.

This is not true in Word 2007, which does lasso selection in both formats.

I assume this has something to do with the change in the graphics engine between 20007 and 2010, but it's a bug whether Microsoft classifies it that way or not. Ctrl+click is not a usable substitute when there are a large number of small pieces to be grouped.

As a sort-of-workaround, try using the Selection Pane (on the dropdown from the Select button). Unfortunately, that doesn't support Shift+click to select a lot of items in one click.

Answer 2

[perhaps inappropriate thread, apologies]

Using Word 2016to edit Compatibility Mode docs for client who has pre-2010 Office:

wow, same issues as described variously in thread all these years!

Background: lot of Drawing Objects, Images, and Textboxes in 30+ original documents; created fresh/new docs in my Word16, and due to hassles encountered with select & copy/paste, quickly opted to create new Objects and Textboxes (e.g. "Figure" captions).

Heavy Google Docs user, but really enjoying '16 learning several new features & functions! Alas...

After client experienced haywire formatting due to "Compatibility Occurrences" in every doc (opening on their PC), I saved "down" to file-format 97-2003 document; alternative versions for every file.

[credit where due: Compatibility Checker feature in 16, as well as various Version Save-As options. good on MS]

So, hard to say whether these objects are '16 or pre-2010 in the new docs I'm editing.

Fixing the haywire formatting yesterday (to match beautiful PDFs created from my '16 files) and banging my head against wall like everyone in this thread and surely thousands more users. 

Select functionality not working at all**,**for images nor objects nor textboxes!!

Not Cntrl+click. Nor using Select Objects button, which I've added to toolbar (and which previously worked to Adobe-level standards in '16 files). Forget Groupingor Order functions (greyed-out unavailable). Essentially non-functional, "dead" objects.

Learned the "lasso" trick from this thread; trying feels like transported to alien time & place. Lassodoesn't work either, at first...

[and yes, Word 97-2003 format (Compatibility Mode); but no lasso, or at least limited I've come to learn]

**"Findings"**after several hours yesterday and today: incredibly inefficient and imprecise, but I've noticed at least a repeatable pattern for selecting in order to move and resize.

A. Select button (toolbar) -- click (left and/or right, seriously) repeatedly on image/object/textbox; on various points, randomly (no discernible pattern on images even in same doc!) Eventually clickable border Points appear. swiftly, somewhat fleeting; watch closely. But then selected as object to Move (keyboard arrows) or Resize!

B. Select button-- "lasso" the object/image/textbox, particularly by overestimating size and position of selection (the "dashed lines"). In other words, if not "grabbed" first attempt, try expanding selection or even "overshooting" its position.  Might need to click Select button again before trying next lasso attempt. When successful, clickable border Points appear. Able now to move or resize (and reformat textbox, like alignment).

Might take multiple tries. Slightly more efficient, better repeatable success rate than "Method A"; particularly for textbox.

Seemingly helps also to clear any text "out of the way" temporarily for this.

I'd create screencast if time and if this weren't thoroughly embarrassing, level of imprecision and inefficiency!

Tempted to try Google Docs for re-positioning images, and maybe deleting textboxes and objects (to then create anew); but expecting "unexpected" positioning of all these upon re-opening in '16 Word. Anyone had relative success this way? 

Other "workarounds" for this issue in Word 2016?

Conclusion: seems infeasible to say "only use old pre-16 or pre-13 Office installs to edit Compatibility Mode docs!" but hard not to determine this is only recourse. Of course, unacceptable to tell clients/employers and unfathomable in 2017.

Hope this helps someone increase efficiency even slightly, with this halt-grinding compatibility roadblock!!

Answer 3

Since you're replying to a very old thread that has reached 78 replies and eight pages, it can be difficult to know what "the same problem" even is. The "answer" to which you replied (and which I have unmarked as the answer) refers to a solution for a ThinkPad problem with Word 2007, not Word 2010, which is the subject of the original post. The answer for Word 2010 is that "lasso" selection is no longer available in that version. That's what Jay Freedman's Most Helpful Reply (which I am going to mark as the answer) says.

Answer 4

We have a problem with several files in our office where we mostly use Thinkpads. We had someone without a Thinkpad attempt to select the shape, and she was still unable to. I don't think this issue is specifically a Thinkpad issue.