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mvheim
Inspiring
March 17, 2022
Answered

Green symbol on cursor prevents drag copying...???

  • March 17, 2022
  • 9 replies
  • 4311 views

I recently updated to Illustrator 26.1 on an Intel iMac running OS 10.15.7, and this new problem cropped up. Frequently, when I am attempting to drag copy an object (mouse select + option key), a strange symbol consisting of a bright green circle containing a white "+" (plus sign) appears on the cursor. When this symbol is present, on releasing the mouse button at a new position, the object snaps back to its original postion — it is neither copied nor moved. This occurs frequently, but not always. It makes it extremely frustrating to work when one has to repeat the same operation 6 or 8 times to get it to stick.

 

BTW I have been using Illustrator regularly since version 3.0, so my muscle memory is pretty deeply entrenched.

    Correct answer Anshul_Saini

    Hi @Jonathan5ECF,

     

    We are sorry for this experience and trouble. I would like to inform you this issue has been completely addressed in v26.5 and above. Please update and let us know if the issue persists. Also, this issue was associated with the magic mouse only.

     

    Thanks & Regards,

    Anshul Saini

    9 replies

    C
    calvary_chapel_brum
    Participant
    March 26, 2025

    Mine is still doing it!!! I have the most updated version of Illustrator and Photoshop as of 26th March 2025! Please help!

    Anubhav M
    Community Manager
    Anubhav MCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    March 27, 2025

    Hello @calvary_chapel_brum,

    Could you share more details, like the exact OS/Illustrator version, if Illustrator behaves this way with all files/ or when working with certain peripherals (mouse/tablet/display) and a small screen recording of the problem, so I can better assist you?

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Anubhav

    J
    Jonathan5ECF
    Participant
    October 24, 2022

    Yeah this issue is annoying as can be. Just another on the long list of never gonna get fixed!

    Anshul_Saini
    Community Manager
    Anshul_SainiCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    October 27, 2022

    Hi @Jonathan5ECF,

     

    We are sorry for this experience and trouble. I would like to inform you this issue has been completely addressed in v26.5 and above. Please update and let us know if the issue persists. Also, this issue was associated with the magic mouse only.

     

    Thanks & Regards,

    Anshul Saini

    Anshul_Saini
    Community Manager
    Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    April 5, 2022

    Hi @mvheim @DuckCreatives @MeaganWeber,

     

    I am glad to inform you that this issue has been fixed in the latest Illustrator update, v26.2.1, released yesterday. I would request you to update and let us know if the issue persists.

     

    Regards,

    Anshul Saini

    Emmie150
    Emmie150
    Participant
    August 10, 2022

    Hi, I am having this issue. I am using Illustrator 26.4.1 on Big Sur 11.6.8. I am using a Magic Mouse and my MacBook Pro is from 2018.

    DuckCreatives
    DuckCreatives
    Participant
    August 10, 2022

    Yup, I was having the same issue with 26.2.1, 26.3.1 fixed it but with that latest version that bug came back.  I had to downgrade back to 26.3.1, beware if you do so though, Adobe deletes all of your user settings, I would save off your presets before downgrading, super annoying!!

      Anshul_Saini
      Community Manager
      Anshul_SainiCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      March 24, 2022

      Hi @mvheim @DuckCreatives @MeaganWeber,

      We are sorry for the trouble. The product team is working hard on this, and the fix will be released with the next update.
      The + sign icon while dragging the object in Illustrator only happens with the Apple Magic mouse.

       

      I would request you all to upvote this UserVoice if not done already, and please be patient & stay tuned for the updates.

       

      In the meantime, you may downgrade to Illustrator v26.0.3 until the fixed gets released. (This helped some users.)

       

      Regards,

      Anshul Saini

      DuckCreatives
      DuckCreatives
      Participant
      March 22, 2022

      Hello, I was wondering if anyone has found the solution to this issue.  I have been experiencing this issue for about a week or so and it's been driving me crazy, just found this post as I couldn't take it anymore.  I lead a team of creatives and no one else is having this issue, everyone is using apple's magic mouse but I am the only one with the M1 chip, that's the only difference.  

      Wen't through the link in one of the comments and someone mentioned they switched to a different mouse, was that really the solution?  

      M
      mvheimAuthor
      Inspiring
      March 22, 2022

      So far this has been reported on Monterey, Big Sur, and Catalina, and with and without the Apple Magic Mouse, and on both M1 and Intel chips. So I think we can conclude the following:

       

      1. It affects multiple versions of MacOS (therefore, not an OS bug)

      2. It is not dependent on mouse choice (therefore, not a hardware or hardware driver bug)

      3. It is not dependent on CPU (ditto)

      4. It ONLY appeared after the 26.1 update to Illustrator...

       

      ... therefore, it is an Illustrator-induced bug. Hello, Adobe...

        DuckCreatives
        DuckCreatives
        Participant
        March 22, 2022

        Interesting, been waiting for Adobe to release an update, guess that's wishful thinking at this point. 

        For the heck of it I have been playing around with just using my Wacom tablet and haven't run into the issue (fingers crossed) yet.  Still not the most ideal work around though but it's something.  Not sure why some are having this issue and some aren't.

        M
        MeaganWeber
        Participant
        March 22, 2022

        I'm having the same issue since pretty recently. I'm on Big Sur 11.6.

         

        Brad @ Roaring Mouse
        Community Expert
        Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        March 22, 2022

        Interesting. I haven't seen it yet on my Big Sur install, but you are now not the first I've heard experience it outside of Monterey.

        That being said, Big Sur just updated to 11.6.5 so if this has been happening for you since then, it may be a system-induced bug.

        M
        MeaganWeber
        Participant
        March 22, 2022

        I wondered that as well. I'll see if updating to that (or to Monterey helps). thanks

         

        M
        mvheimAuthor
        Inspiring
        March 17, 2022

        I found a bug report relevant to this issue at https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447-illustrator-desktop-bugs/suggestions/44914921-v26-1-0-click-drag-fails-snaps-back#comments

         

        A user points out that the odd green cursor is the MacOS Finder "copy cursor" (which you have probably seen many times, but not inside an Illustrator document while performng an Illustrator operation). So that provides a clue, that the mouse/keyboard clicks are somehow getting through to the OS. This would seem to be definitely a bug.

         

        Brad @ Roaring Mouse
        Community Expert
        Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        March 17, 2022

        You're not the only one:

        https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/s-o-s-weird-thing-happening-in-ai-with-pointer-tool/td-p/12817163

         

        M
        mvheimAuthor
        Inspiring
        March 17, 2022

        Thanks for the link. I searched for this topic before posting, but unsurprisingly my key words were somewhat different.

        Monika Gause
        Community Expert
        Monika GauseCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        March 17, 2022

        There are other things related to Monterey, please refer to this post: https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/cannot-save-on-macos-12-3/m-p/12820262#M314182

         

        And then please post bugs & feature requests to http://illustrator.uservoice.com

        M
        mvheimAuthor
        Inspiring
        March 17, 2022

        I am not using Monterey, and I am not having an issue with saving files, so I fail to see how this link is relevant. ???

        udderball
        udderball
        Inspiring
        March 25, 2022

        Monika is incorrect, this is not specific to Monterey. According to a post from an Adobe employee, there's something wrong with the 26.1 update that causes an issue specifically when using Apple's magic mouse.

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