Ctrl+Wheel and Marquee Zoom don't work, and even select text with Hand Tool

Report · Apr 30, 2021

Hello everybody, I'm having a lot of problems that I don't understand.

I have just installed Acrobat Reader DC in 2 PCs, Win10, and I get the same problems on both.

I don't get the same problems with any other software.
I have other PCs with Windows 10, same version of Acrobat, which work fine.

1) if I press Ctrl and I rotate the wheel, Acrobat simply scrolls. "Make Hand tool use mouse-wheel zooming" actually zooms when I use the Hand tool and I rotate the wheel, but ...

2) ... the Hand tool doesn't move the page

3) if I select Marquee Zoom it doesn't let me select any region, it zooms immediately as I click the mouse button

4) I set "Make Hand tool select text & images" but it doesn't select anything

5) the Selection tool doesn't work: it doesn't select anything as well

I have uninstalled Acrobat and installed again with no success.

I have replaced the mouse and the keyboard with no success.

Thanks for your help, best regards.

Report · May 01, 2021

solved: I updated to the last version, and now it's working properly. It's strange because I downloaded Acrobat a few days ago, anyway it works.

Best regards

Report · May 03, 2021

today is not working again 😞

Report · May 03, 2021

Hmmm... If you change the magnification of the view, does it change the way it's behaving? If you zoom way in, can you move around a single page using the hand tool?

My best,

Dave

Report · May 04, 2021

hello Dave, today everything worked fine for some minutes, but now I have the same problems.

I think the fault is in catching the command from the keyboard and from the mouse. It's a problem I have only inside Acrobat, because even Note Pad works properly.

If I zoom in/out by pressing +/- it works, but if I try to zoom in/out by pressing Ctrl and rotating the mouse wheel it doesn't.

The hand tool doesn't work: I can't move anything.

I repaired Acrobat 2 times without any success.

Thank you

Report · May 10, 2021

the problem was due to the HP Display Assistant. I have just quitted it, and after some days Acrobat not working properly, now it works.

Best regards

Report · Sep 16, 2022

I had a similar issue - mouse commands for Ctrl+Scroll Wheell to zoom, highlighting, dragging the size of comment text boxes were not working, but I could zoom using Ctrl + or Ctrl - on the keyboard, and I could highlight using Ctrl + Shift on the keyboard. As soon as I ended task for HP Display Assistant in the task manager, Adobe started working again. Does anyone have any ideas of why this is happening?

Report · Sep 16, 2022

Thank you, Minos!

Report · May 22, 2023

OMG - this fixed mine too
What a pain in the ass!

How did you ever figure this out?

Report · May 23, 2023

I had a similar issue w/ Photoshop & HP... an export command shortcut (ctrl/alt/shift S) would also bring up an HP system dialog box each time - very annoying.

Dave

Report · Aug 22, 2023

I have just had Acrobat DC installed on my computer and I'm losing my mind, trying to figure out how to get the hand tool to actually work and mouse wheel/ctrl zoom in/out to work. The hand will not grab the page in order to move it around and the zoom in/out with the mouse wheel/ctrl is non existant as far as I can see. Please let me know if there is a fix for this, or one planned. I love all the signing features so far and want to keep the program but these other features are key to navigating documents. I shouldn't have to switch to Reader in order to use those.

Report · Aug 22, 2023

Visit your Preferences, click on General on the left, and see how you have these settings. See if altering anything here gives you what you need,

My best,

Dave

Report · Aug 22, 2023

Thanks! All those boxes are checked but it has made no difference.

Report · Aug 22, 2023

I should have added that I do not see this 'HP Display Assistant' running in my task manager. Could it be called something else?

Report · Aug 22, 2023

Just to close this out, after 2 solid days of trying everything, the problem appears to be fixed after a reboot of my computer. The check boxes work properly now and I have been able to toggle the different options off and on successfully. The hand and pointer tools, as well as the mouse wheel/ctrl zoom, are both working like they once did.

Not sure who or what to give credit to.....but thanks! 🙂

Report · Aug 22, 2023

Wow - glad you have a good outcome... but man, what a path to get there!

Dave

Report · Aug 25, 2023

I was just today having a similar issue and it was solved when I closed the Grammerly application running in the background. I wasn't able to scroll with the wheel or select text.

Report · Mar 07, 2025

I'm having the same issues, ctrl + scroll not zooming and text not being selected. Does anyone have a permanent fix? It's very dissapointing considering this is a "premium" software and these are basic funcions.

Report · Apr 08, 2025

Hi the_gab,

Thank you for reaching out, and sorry about the delay in response.

We have checked, and the feature works fine on our end. Please try repairing the installation of the application. In Acrobat, go to Menu > Help > Repair Installation (on a Windows machine). If that does not make any changes, try reinstalling the application using the following steps:

-Remove the application and run the cleaner tool (https://adobe.ly/3FXYyff).
-Reboot the machine
-Install Adobe Acrobat from the following page: https://adobe.ly/3R8cDcl.

If the issue still occurs, we might need logs to get this checked. Please share the Acrobat and OS version numbers on the machine.

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

Report · May 21, 2025

For me CTRL-wheel zoom stops working on and off and it's been like this forever. Seems to me this is another feature from Adobe.

Report · Jun 04, 2025

Hello @magical_walrus!

I hope you're doing well, and we apologize for the delayed response and the trouble.

Please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20521 Planned update, Jun 02, 2025. Check for any pending updates from the Menu > help > check for updates, install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

In Windows Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mouse, try toggling off “Scroll inactive windows when I hover over them.”
Temporarily disable any third-party mouse/touchpad utility (Logitech Options, Synaptics, etc.) and test again.

If you still can’t get Ctrl + Wheel zoom to behave, switch to the Zoom tool:

Press Z to activate the Zoom tool, then click or drag on the document to zoom in and out.

If the issue continues, please provide the following information: the current version of the operating system on your device and the logs from the affected machine. To collect the logs, download the Log Collector tool and run it. Make sure to select all log options and attempt to reproduce the issue. After that, close the Log Collector tool; it will generate the logs along with a log ID. Please share this log ID with us for further investigation.

Thanks,

Anand sri.

Report · Jun 04, 2025

Thanks. But the point is this feature should just work. It usually gets corrected by closing and reopening app, but this is just lost time. We are triing to work here and adobe get's paid for this software. Just make it work, not find workarounds. Nothing personal.
Thanks.

Report · Jun 18, 2025

This is exactly what happens for me, and has done for as long as I've been using the software. I zoom in and out of documents all day, and yes, closing and reopening fixes the problem, it means I have to close and reopen multiple files every time. This is a paid software, and glitches like this should be resolved.

Report · Jun 19, 2025

Lost time should be deducted from our bill every time... Wouldn't be much left anyway. : )
Adobe ist probably not even listening. It's been so long we've gotten "used". Ridiculous!
I've use Bluebeam with much less inconveniences and I heard there are now free softwares doing better...

Report · Aug 29, 2025

Hello @magical_walrus

I hope you're doing well, and we apologize for the delayed response and the trouble.

I am following up to check if you are still experiencing the issue with the latest build of Acrobat: 25.001.20643, Optional update, Aug 25, 2025? If the issue continues, please collect the logs from the affected machine and share them with us for further investigation. Share the current version of the OS installed. To collect the logs, download and run the Log Collector tool. Make sure to select all log options and attempt to reproduce the issue. After that, close the Log Collector tool; it will generate the logs along with a log ID. Please share this log ID with us.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.