Calling all Wizards!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

There is some setting activated on my system that I cannot locate.
Situation: I am editing extant text. I click at the beginning of a passage
that I want to select. I depress the shift key. I read on ahead, to find
the end of what I want to select. I intend to click at the end, and expect
the intervening passage to be selected. As I am reading, the mouse cursor
unintentionally moves to some arbitrary position – perhaps above, perhaps
below the blinking cursor.

What happens: Suddenly, all the text from the blinking cursor to the mouse
cursor is selected.

What is this feature called, and how do I turn it off?

Note: I have delved deeply into all of the accessibility features, but
cannot find this there.
 
G'Day Stephanie,

I cannot reproduce your problem, but would suspect your Mouse or
keyboard. If either is wireless, replace the battery.

However, in general.....
Click where you want to start the selection. Do NOT hold down Shift.
Read on (and on and on) until your cursor is at the spot where you wish
to end - maybe dozens of pages further on. Do NOT click in the
Document (you can click the Scrollbar).
NOW hold down Shift, and Click!
 
Another possibility: Are you using a laptop with a touchpad below the
spacebar? If so, it's common to brush one's thumbs unintentionally on
the touchpad, which moves the mouse cursor. Besides being careful to
stay clear of the touchpad, you may be able to find a utility on the
computer to reduce the pad's sensitivity (look in the Control Panel),
or use an external mouse and shut off the touchpad.
 
Thanks, Jay.
Yes, it is a touchpad, and the highlighting follows the mouse cursor,
wherever I move it, whether up or down from the blinking cursor. I am
comfortable with the sensitivity setting I have set. While I can appreciate
the utility of this feature, I would really like to turn it off.
 
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