Reader Properties Bar failure

I regularly use the highlight feature in Reader (20.20..006.20042) but the past couple days when I right click on the icon so I can open the Properties Bar, it tells me that there is "No current selection" and I am not able to change the color of the highlight.  Why???  I have tried all sorts of things, none with any success.  Why is Adobe Reader so inconsistent with features to mark up PDF documents?  How do I change colors on the highlight bar, or actually, how do I make the Properties Bar functional again?