Word Can't Select Between Lines

Fahreza Dhia 40

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.

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Answer accepted by question author

Vivian-HT 17,910 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

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 MVP Volunteer Moderator

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.

Fahreza Dhia 40 Reputation points

2025-10-22T13:42:52.21+00:00

Ok apparently, it was a driver issue or something else(?) i was using AMD 25.8.1 ( if i remember correctly ) and updated it to optional driver 25.9.2. And it worked again. I was able to see selected text between lines.

Thanks for the assist. Did not expect it to be a driver issue tbh.
Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-10-22T13:44:24.8166667+00:00

Thanks for the follow-up. I'm glad you got it sorted.

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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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Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-10-21T09:13:15.3866667+00:00

Having a File tab on the ribbon and having a Mailings tab are signs that you have the full Windows version.

Are you able to select a text range if you click at the start of the range you want to select and then hold the Shift key as you click where the selection should end?

To rule out a display issue, try copying (Ctrl+C), even if the selection seems not to be correct. Open a new document and paste. Does that include everything you intended to select, even though the selection didn't display properly?
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Fahreza Dhia 40 Reputation points

2025-10-21T10:40:55.7633333+00:00

i was able to shift select from start of the line to the end but when i keep selecting until next line, the block indicator was missing even though the next line is selected. I hope I could upload a video to make things easier to understand.

Its basically like what i shared on Imgur. The lines are actually selected but the block indicator is transparent. it was there but not displayed.

Stefan Blom 357.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2025-10-21T11:39:36.21+00:00

I did look at your shared image but it wasn't clear to me what it was meant to illustrate.

However, I think you are saying that the selection is correct but it doesn't display properly?

If you copy and paste the range elsewhere, is all the text included which you intended to include?

Fahreza Dhia 40 Reputation points

2025-10-21T12:07:43.56+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.
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Word Can't Select Between Lines

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