Word 2003, Cannot highlight text with mouse.

[MoeMan]

Hi all,

I've seen a few threads about this problem but none led to a solution.
Lets try again.......

Office Pro 2003 sp2, XP-pro sp2.

I can start a new document in word. If I try to highlight some text by
left click drag,
the cursor doesn't move or highlight. I get the same in Outlook when
word is
selected as my email editor.

The left and right click mouse functions normally in all other programs
and
editors. Only the main text area in word 2003 is affected.

I can press Shift/left arrow and get the text highlighted.

I reloaded the mouse drivers, and also tried a different mouse, no joy.

Uninstalled Office and reinstalled twice, still no joy.

I deleted and recreated a new normal.dot, no joy.

I checked addins and scripts, but none are loaded.

So far, out of approx 1500 PC's, only two users have reported this
problem.
One user has a Compaq nc6220 laptop and the other has a HP desktop.

Thanks,

MoeMan

 

[Cindy M.]

Hi MoeMan,

Weird...

If you hold down CTRL when starting Word (go into Safe Mode) does the
problem persist?

How about booting Windows in Safe Mode?

I've seen a few threads about this problem but none led to a solution.
Lets try again.......

Office Pro 2003 sp2, XP-pro sp2.

I can start a new document in word. If I try to highlight some text by
left click drag,
the cursor doesn't move or highlight. I get the same in Outlook when
word is
selected as my email editor.

The left and right click mouse functions normally in all other programs
and
editors. Only the main text area in word 2003 is affected.

I can press Shift/left arrow and get the text highlighted.

I reloaded the mouse drivers, and also tried a different mouse, no joy.

Uninstalled Office and reinstalled twice, still no joy.

I deleted and recreated a new normal.dot, no joy.

I checked addins and scripts, but none are loaded.

So far, out of approx 1500 PC's, only two users have reported this
problem.
One user has a Compaq nc6220 laptop and the other has a HP desktop.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17 2005)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or
reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[MoeMan]

Hi Cindy,

Sorry for the slow response. I just tried it in safe mode and I can now
highlight text with the mouse. I restarted Word in normal mode and now
cannot highlight any text with the mouse.

I've got a work order to wipe and reload the machine. I would still
like to find the real cause/fix to this problem.

I'll try booting windows in safe mode to see if that changes anything.

MoeMan

 

[Cindy M.]

Hi MoeMan,

I just tried it in safe mode and I can now
highlight text with the mouse. I restarted Word in normal mode and now
cannot highlight any text with the mouse.

This sounds like an Add-in...

<<I checked addins and scripts, but none are loaded.>>

Did you check Tools/COM Add-ins (this has to be added from
Tools/Customize from the Tools category)?

If that's also empty, then this may be a COM Add-in that was installed
for the entire machine (rather than the individual user). See

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en;307479

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17 2005)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question
or reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[MoeMan]

Hello Cindy,

I believe you are probably right about a add-in causing this problem.
I did manage to correct the problem. I renamed the users profile and
built a new profile. The user has a few apps to load and is going to
test the mouse/word issue in between each setup. If the problem
resurfaces we will know which was the offending application.

Thanks for your help.

Moe