Selecting text in Word 2007

[Guest]

I cannot select text with the cursor/pointer in Word 2007. I am able to
select text with the cursor in Excel and other programs, so I know my mouse
is working. I have a laptop with a built-in mouse-pad.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Tom Ferguson]

Is it possible for you to select text in Notepad or WordPad?

Tom
MSMVP 1998-2007

 

[Terry Farrell]

Presuming that you can still edit and save the document and it is only
selection that is the problem (?), then this is usually an incompatible
third party add-in. Start Word in Safe Mode and test. From Start, Run
(Winkey+R) type in

winword /a

and press enter. Open a document and test selection now. If it works, then
look to see what add-ins are present and remove them one at a time until
Word works normally again.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestion. I can edit and save documents. I started Word in
safe mode, and as you said, I WAS able to select text then. I'm not sure how
to go about checking and eliminating "add-ons." Can you give me a little
more direction on how to do that? Thanks much!

 

[Terry Farrell]

Many third party add-ins are accomplished by installing a dot file in the
Word Start-up folder. Find the folder and temporarily remove any contents.
Test that Word is OK now. If it is OK, replace the dot files one at a time,
testing Word until you find the culprit. (Note that you must close and
restart Word as you add or remove the files from the Start-up folder.)

Terry

Thanks for the suggestion. I can edit and save documents. I started Word
in
safe mode, and as you said, I WAS able to select text then. I'm not sure
how
to go about checking and eliminating "add-ons." Can you give me a little
more direction on how to do that? Thanks much!

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Terry. I've looked for the Word Start-up folder, but can't locate
it. Can you tell me where it would be and/or the name of the folder?

 

[Terry Farrell]

The path may be found under Word Options, Advanced, File Locations button.

Terry

Thanks, Terry. I've looked for the Word Start-up folder, but can't locate
it. Can you tell me where it would be and/or the name of the folder?

 

[Guest]

I am not able to access the Advanced button under Word Options. When I click
on that button, nothing happens. I think my version of Word may be
corrupted. In addition to the problem with selecting text, I always receive
a message that "word has stopped working and Microsoft is seeking a solution"
each time I attempt to close out.

Unfortunately, I am now away from my home, and I do not have the original
program disks to reinstall Word. Do you know if I can do reinstall it by
accessing the Microsoft website for downloads?

Thanks,

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Reinstalling almost never fixes problems. I would try a repair, instead, and
you don't usually need the disk for that. You can access the Repair option
from the Programs section of the Control Panel.

If Repair doesn't work, next steps would be to try renaming/deleting
Normal.dotm and/or deleting the Data key. See the following for more
information about the Data key:

http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/DataKeySettings.htm



--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com

I am not able to access the Advanced button under Word Options. When I
click
on that button, nothing happens. I think my version of Word may be
corrupted. In addition to the problem with selecting text, I always
receive
a message that "word has stopped working and Microsoft is seeking a
solution"
each time I attempt to close out.

Unfortunately, I am now away from my home, and I do not have the original
program disks to reinstall Word. Do you know if I can do reinstall it by
accessing the Microsoft website for downloads?

Thanks,