Not sure if this is a MS Office specific issue or not, but I'll start here anyway.
When I try to highlight text, it doesn't stay put or it jumps around. I have to drag the mouse over the text to highlight it several times before it 'sticks' so I can copy it!
Is my mouse coming unglued or what???
Marci
Hi Marci,
Have you tested your mouse in other, non MS Office/ Word, applications? Have you noticed this 'jumping around' mouse behavior at any other time?
What kind of mouse do you have and how old/ used is it?
From my personal experience, when the mouse pointer starts to jump around when trying to use left click, it's usually a sign that the mouse is reaching the end of its life cycle and it's time to replace it.
I am human
That happens to me too. Pretty sure FD is right and it's most likely a symptom of a very tired mouse. The little contacts which instigate left and right mouse clicks are very susceptible to wear and tear.
Often works better for me when I start at the end (bottom) of the text and drag to the beginning.....frack to bunt!
[quote:2jtrnb2q]Often works better for me when I start at the end (bottom) of the text and drag to the beginning[/quote:2jtrnb2q]
In text editors, like Word and notepad, you can always highlight text doing the following:
1. Put your mouse pointer at the beginning of the text portion you want to select.
2. Hold down the Shift key.
3. Put your mouse pointer at the end of the text portion.
You can select text this way in PDF-XChange Viewer after you've clicked on the "Select Tool".
This also works with Internet browsers (as long as the text is not "locked"), only difference is that you won't see your cursor flickering.
This way, you stress your mouse less and it'll live longer. Copy/ paste via the keyboard shortcuts also helps your mouse to live longer.
In general, if your mouse shows signs of ... disobedience to your commands, it's telling you it wants to retire, so make plans to replace it.
I am human
Thanks guys. Yeah, I think my 5-year-old ball mouse is probably croaking! I do a lot of editing and it's SO annoying to have the highlighting jump all over, often moving text around so I have to UNDO. Yeah, starting from end to beginning does work better, oddly enough. I'll try that SHIFT trick too.
Meanwhile, guess it's time to shop around for a new mouse!!!
Marci
Ouch Marci....a[i:bircpwla] ball[/i:bircpwla] mouse!! And five years old!! It's a wonder it's still working at all!! LOL
The old ball mouses are notoriously unreliable. The trouble with then is; as the little ball is rolling around it picks up dust, lint and hairs which then accumulates on the four directional contacts and the rollers, which seriously degrades performance. Not a good system!!
Hope you are going to look at the newer [b:bircpwla]Optical[/b:bircpwla] variety. They are a lot more reliable. Come to think of it, I doubt the old ball type mouses (mice??) are even still available.
Cheers.....Jim
I agree with Jim, go for an optical mouse. It is going to be a completely new adventure with ur editing..
The mouse may be dying, but it could also be your mousepad. If there is dirt, like sand or COOKIE CRUMBS..., on the pad it cause the ball to jerk.
I also have had a couple of problems with my optical mouse. Right out of the box, my first optical mouse would suddenly zoom across the screen. I though it was a defective mouse. I was ready to return the whole computer. Then I figured out it was a "defective" mousepad. The brand new pad they gave me had a plastic, pebbled surface. When the light hit it just right it would bounce the pointer across the screen. I dug out an old cloth mousepad and everything was fine.
Later the track ball on the mouse would "automatically" scroll back when I scrolled forward. Very annoying! Turns out the track ball was picking up lint off of my sweater and depositing on the rollers inside. Now I have to open up the mouse weekly, pop its ball out and clean the rollers with a pair of tweasers.
Instead of using the mouse to select, use the keyboard:
< CTL + UP or DOWN Arrow> moves the cursor one whole para at a time
<CTL + Left or Right arrow> moves the cursor one whole word at a time
using those key combinations, get the cursor to the start (or end) of what you want to select.
Adding <SHF> to the <Arrow> or <CLT + Arrow>, ie <SHF Arrow> or <CTL SHF Arrow> will select text.
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