Word Can't Select Between Lines

Fahreza Dhia 40 Reputation points
2025-10-21T02:34:03.0866667+00:00

Its been a while since i used Word and today, i wanted to write something on Word but something changes and i did not remember changing anything since the last time i used word. So every time i press enter, shift enter, or type until making a new line, those lines acted like different document(?). I can not select using mouse drag to select between lines. I also can't even use ctrl + A to select all.

I tried using shift + arrow to select between lines and it worked but i did not see anything blocked but there are lines blocked. I tried screenshoting and it gave me a multiple selected lines.

I hope i could post videos to make my issue clearer.

Is there a way to make Word normal again?

https://imgur.com/a/zzKfRqd

Here's the example. Its like there's invisible block.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | Windows
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Answer accepted by question author
Vivian-HT 17,910 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-10-22T04:19:16.5333333+00:00

Dear @Fahreza Dhia,

Thank you for your update!

Because the problem affects all new/blank documents, shows normal ¶ markers (no frames), and text is technically selected but the selection highlight is invisible, this points to a rendering/UI issue rather than document formatting.

Therefore, I recommend you try some steps here:

Step 1: Toggle Office theme & page color

Some themes make the highlight nearly invisible.

  • File > Account > Office Theme > switch between Colorful / White / Dark Gray / Black.

Step 2: Windows Accessibility color settings

  • Settings > Accessibility > Color filters
  • Settings > Accessibility > Contrast themes
  • If you use third‑party display tools, disable them and retest.

Step 3: Update Graphics driver

Even if Office repair didn’t help, graphics drivers can. The selection highlight is drawn via GPU.

  • Identify GPU: Device Manager > Display adapters.
  • You can update your graphics driver via the Device Manager by right-clicking your graphics adapter and selecting "Update driver," or using the manufacturer’s software.

Other recommendations:

  • Caret thickness: Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor > reset defaults.
  • Create a new Windows user profile temporarily; if selection is visible there, the issue is in your current profile’s settings (Settings > Accounts > Other users > Add account). Please follow the Microsoft instruction here Manage User Accounts in Windows

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

I'm looking forward for your reply.

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Answer accepted by question author
Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2025-10-21T12:33:48.1566667+00:00

Yes, it doesn't display the select but it paste correctly. At least roughly because i can not see what's been selected.

Thanks for the follow-up. These symptoms indicate that you may need to update the video driver on your system. Try the PC manufacturer's support site.

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  2. Fahreza Dhia 40 Reputation points
    2025-10-21T09:01:46.46+00:00

    Repairing did nothing, so i guess i am going to get used to this new behavior. Sucked that they forced me to do this. Edit :

    not as long as i expected it to be.

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  3. Fahreza Dhia 40 Reputation points
    2025-10-21T08:52:27.2566667+00:00

    Was this document created from scratch in Word, or copied from another source (e.g., PDF, website, template)?

    : The Document was from scratch. I was creating another file from blank document.

    Does this happen in all Word documents or only in this specific file?

    : This happened to all document not just the one I created.

    Which version of Word are you using (e.g., Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word Online)?

    : I don't know which version but when i go to Account, it shows 365 for enterprise.

    When you enable Show/Hide (¶), do you see any markers like [Frame] or text box outlines?

    : Just a normal paragraph indicator. No [Frame] tag or anything.

    Are you using a custom template or the default Normal.dotm template?

    : I don't know what Normal.dotm is. So probably default.

    Steps :

    1. When selecting objects, no "object" was selected after i boxed everything. Nothing happens. It only has text in it.
    2. I see no [frames] tag
    3. Ran the command, then close the cmd. Opened Word and the issue still there.

    I am currently repairing my 365 Install. This should take a while because i don't know why, but downloading from Microsoft will always be slower than other downloads.

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