Can't highight and copy text in websites

[Steve Hawkins]

I am finding fewer and fewer instances where I can highlight and copy text
etc from websites, and have to use various strategies to click into boxes
and search boxes, which seem to ignore the left mouse button and only have
select all on the right (if I'm lucky). I am often having to select all to
get into a message panel to write in on-line news groups for example.

I can understand this if it is material that might be copyright but this
includes threads in news groups which is most inconvenient.

The only way I have at present of getting round this problem is to add sites
to my 'trusted sites group'.

What might be the IE setting which is preventing me from using this basic
functionality, so that I can add it to my 'internet zone' settings without
having to go the whole hog and 'trust' the whole internet?

Thanks in advance,

Steve_H

 

[PA Bear]

IE version?

 

[Steve Hawkins]

6

IE version?

 

[Steve Hawkins]

Actually that may read a little abrupt: not sure how much info you were
fishing for.

In system info the iexplore.exe file says 6.0.2900.2180 (IE properties sheet
does not seem to provide version info?)

Various of the dll files have different numbers but many are the same. The
prog has been kept up to date until the latest insistant messages to
'upgrade' to IE7... so far being avoided!

S

 

[PA Bear]

Please cite a few URLs where you're encountering the inability to highlight
and copy text.

Also tell us what anti-virus and/or security suite(s) are installed, loading
at boot and/or running in the background.

 

[Steve Hawkins]

In microsoft.public I cannot click into the signing in box with a left
click: I have to right click to get a cursor bar into the box and then esc
the pop up to be able to write. Even when signed in, not even the right
click will get into the message panel, and the popup only gives the option
to select all, which does the whole web page and will not let me cut out the
bit I want. A shift right click does highlight the odd word in the message
panel, but not so that you can extend the selection or copy it.

Similar behaviour takes place in the Google groups. This makes
communicating with yourselves and other 'community people' rather difficult
at times, because every time I hop out of a message I'm composing, to look
something up, firstly, I can't always actually copy the info I want to
include, and secondly I have trouble getting back into the message box.

There is on occasion a similar problem in Google searches. This used to be
much more severe than currently, and would involve the whole google search
page becoming gradually unintelligible with multilanguages occurring at
once. Nowadays it does not seem to get so advanced, but one tends to
gradually lose the ability to click: right click goes; then a bit later left
click esc; then left click select all.

I had the same problem on Wikipedia and at the BBC until I added them to my
trusted sites. I do not want to have to add all the web to trusted sites!

I suspect that one of the custom/advanced settings in IE is probably 'too
secure' but am not sure which would be the one to cause this. I do like to
have security as high as will still give me reasonable functionality without
killing off basic functions such as the ones here described.

I tend to have settings to 'ask me first', and am used to clicking 'yes'
quite a few times on occasion, but is there perhaps a setting that is
completely off which should be on?

We have McAfee running (but not scanning e-mail as this forum has advised
that this is unnecessary), and the normal XP firewall.

I just tried from another user account and from there can get into the msp
boxes and highlight and copy, but I would rather not have to reset all my
own settings to default to find out which is causing my problem. Even on
this other user account I now recall we had difficulty copying data from
Word, into an online form at Friends of the Earth (UK). Again, getting into
the boxes was the main problem.

Thanks for your continuing advice,

Steve_H

 

[PA Bear]

Try Clean Boot troubleshooting to see if you can identify what's loading at
boot/running in the background that may be causing this behavior:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310353

 

[Steve Hawkins]

Thanks PA,

That looks to be rather a drastic step for now, but I'm glad you made me
aware of the procedure. For now I think I'll try comparing the IE settings
between users (though I vaguely recall doing this before and finding it very
tedious!)

Cheers,

Steve