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ochstl
Participant
August 20, 2022
Answered

Cannot select by dragging with my mouse

  • August 20, 2022
  • 7 replies
  • 16209 views

I cannot select text with my mouse.   The mouse works in other software such as Word, but not in Acrobat DC.   I even switched mouses and it has the same problem.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

    Correct answer dttlaw

    the Correct answer is as follows: In the new versions of Adobe, the default setting under security default to "enable Protected Mode at startup". go to Edit/Preferences/security and uncheck the box. then restart the program.

    7 replies

    K
    KATHERIN5C37
    Participant
    June 30, 2023

    Thank you dttlaw. 

    Your answer immediately solved my problem!

    D
    dttlawCorrect answer
    Participant
    May 3, 2023

    the Correct answer is as follows: In the new versions of Adobe, the default setting under security default to "enable Protected Mode at startup". go to Edit/Preferences/security and uncheck the box. then restart the program.

      D
      DebDobson
      Participant
      June 13, 2023
      1. In the new versions of Adobe, the default setting under security default to "enable Protected Mode at startup". go to Edit/Preferences/security and uncheck the box. then restart the program.
      2. Something to try: Go to Edit - Preferences - General and make sure that Touch Mode is set to Never.

       

      Both helped to make it work for me, however I did not try it individually. (don't have the time to do Adobe testing - very disappointing they update their program and change the settings, I've lost all kinds of time not realising this is an Adobe Update problem!

        B
        Bossom5C48
        Participating Frequently
        May 14, 2024

        This did not work for me ,, it works fione for me in adbe reader. But does not work in Adobe pro.

         

          S
          Sergio28734400eokl
          Participant
          March 7, 2023

          I guess this setting has been moved.  It was working for me until something happened and settings weren't taking effect anymore.  Deleting the temp folder files didn't help but I found and renamed this registry setting from DC to DC1 which did the trick for me.

           

          Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC

            try67
            Community Expert
            try67Community Expert
            Community Expert
            August 21, 2022

            The text is most likely a part of an image, then. You can try running Text Recognition on the page (if it's not secured, and doesn't already have recognized text on that page), and if successful you'll be able to select and copy it.

            T
            traciw76215733
            Participant
            January 31, 2023

            I am having the same issue and the text is most definitely NOT part of an image. I cannot grab anything and drag it while in Adobe Acrobat Pro, cannot drag to highlight anything.  This was working just fine yesterday and now it is suddenly not working in documents that I have done it 100 times before. There are no security limitations on the file. I can't even grab a tab when I have multiple documents open in Acrobat and I can usually grab one tab and drag it out into it's own window....not anymore. Something has changed with the Acrobat program. I can do all of these things in my web browser and other programs. I can type my own text comment in a PDF and then not be able to drag and highlight that text that I just put in myself.

              try67
              Community Expert
              try67Community Expert
              Community Expert
              February 1, 2023

              Something to try: Go to Edit - Preferences - General and make sure that Touch Mode is set to Never.

                maxwithdax
                Community Expert
                maxwithdaxCommunity Expert
                Community Expert
                August 21, 2022

                Just stating the obvious first, you are selecting the arrow tool (selection tool) before trying to select right?

                 

                 

                And when you go to the document properties you can see Content copying is allowed?

                 

                 

                  Bernd Alheit
                  Community Expert
                  Bernd AlheitCommunity Expert
                  Community Expert
                  August 21, 2022

                  What happens when you try it?

                  O
                  ochstlAuthor
                  Participant
                  August 22, 2022

                  Nothing happens when I try it.  It will not select.   I can select in outher packages suich as Word.  I have used the OCR feature to turn it into text.   I can still click on a piece of the text and it turns blue and I can then copy that.   But I can't drag it to select it.   The text is not an image.   I also looked at the properties and is not secure and all actions are allowed.  

                   

                  O
                  ochstlAuthor
                  Participant
                  August 20, 2022

                  To expand, I am using Windows 11 64 bit pro and I have tried this with both a USB mouse and a bluetooth mouse.

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