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Hello.
I am unable to (already for a while) to make text selection / highlight using the mouse or trackpad.
It doesn't work when using 'three finger drag' option
It doesn't work when clicking with the button and moving the cursor over the text
It doesn't work when pressing the trackpad hardly and moving the cursor over the text
The only way I can select the text is using the keyboard. I put the cursor where I want and I have to use my arrows on the keyboard and shift to select text, including the command button to select more at once.
I tried erasing the Preferences from Library, I tried to erase other things from Library also related to Word. Nothing seems to be working.
Anyone has experienced this issue?
MacBook Pro M1 Max on Tahoe OS, latest updates from Microsoft Updater, licensed software.
I could use some help to resolve this issue please!
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
Hi Gabriel,
Thanks a lot for your support with this.
I have updated MacOS to Tahoe and since, Word is now allowing me to select text with the mouse click or three finger drag.
Everything is running smoothly now.
Best wishes to you and the entire team at Microsoft .
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Thank you for sharing the update, I’m glad to hear that the issue has been resolved. I’ll recommend your answer as a helpful reference for other users who may encounter the same issue.
Thank you as well for contributing to the forum. If you ever need further assistance, feel free to post your questions here. It’s not just me, the whole community is always happy to help and support you.
Does your installation of Tahoe precede 26.3.1 or 26.3.2? Any earlier release — including the 25.4 Beta — Is likely to present the issue.
Have you recently restarted the Mac, itself? This is also addressed in the thread I provided the link to earlier.
Please clarify: Is the problem only with text boxes? Is dragging effective in body text?
BTW: Moving an object is done with a standard dragging technique which requires only one finger on a trackpad unless the Accessibility features have been modified & activated.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(80, 85%, 17%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EMV%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I can confirm this issue on MacOS (still Sequoia) with version 16.104 and (after updating) also with version 16.107.
It does happen in each and every document.
It does happen even in a newly created document from scratch.
It doesn't happen when I use the same document in online Word, in the browser.
So something mysterious is happening with the app itself, locally that is preventing me to select text.
I have just created a text box now, to see if I can use Three finger drag or mouse buttons to move around the text box over the word page.
Upon creating the text box, using three fingers, it doesn't create it initially, unless I release the trackpad, making it look like it was already created and then remaining the 'adjusting size' things locked, like I would keep holding the trackpad touched when I don't.
After I created the textbox, I am able to move the textbox normally using three finger drag or the mouse button. I still, cannot select the text written inside the textbox.
Maybe it helps.
Thank you for the update. Please allow me a bit of time to test this behavior on my side. In the meantime, please try using Word Online as a temporary workaround while we continue troubleshooting.
Thank you so much for your understanding and patience.
Hi Vladimir Neagu, it’s been a while since our last discussion via private message. I hope you’re doing well. I just wanted to check in and see if you’ve had a chance to try the suggestions we discussed. Any updates would be greatly appreciated.
I have managed to update Word to a newer version even than suggested. I attached the screenshot.
Still, text selection is not working.
I don't see this being resolved, probably I will uninstall it completely and reinstall it back on the laptop.
Nothing I was told is working. Sorry.
Dear Vladimir Neagu
Sorry for my late reply, and thank you for taking the time to try the suggested steps and update Word to an even newer version. I’m sorry those steps still didn’t work on your side.
To help narrow this down, could you please confirm whether the text selection issue happens in every Word document, or only in one specific file? If it’s only happening with a particular document, it may be related to that file’s settings or content. If you’re comfortable, you can send the affected file to me via private message so I can test it on my side.
Also, when you create a brand‑new Word document from scratch, do you see the same behavior there?
Before doing a full Office uninstall, could you try uninstalling only Word first, then reinstall Word version 16.103.4 and test again? If you do this, please also disable AutoUpdate temporarily so the app doesn’t immediately move to another build.
Thank you again for your patience.
It does happen in each and every document.
It does happen even in a newly created document from scratch.
It doesn't happen when I use the same document in online Word, in the browser.
So something mysterious is happening with the app itself, locally that is preventing me to select text.
I have just created a text box now, to see if I can use Three finger drag or mouse buttons to move around the text box over the word page.
Upon creating the text box, using three fingers, it doesn't create it initially, unless I release the trackpad, making it look like it was already created and then remaining the 'adjusting size' things locked, like I would keep holding the trackpad touched when I don't.
After I created the textbox, I am able to move the textbox normally using three finger drag or the mouse button. I still, cannot select the text written inside the textbox.
Maybe it helps.