Indesign CC 2019 Pointer stuck in hand icon

[denjimen]

Hello all,

I recently updated to Indesign CC 2019. I immediately noticed that the pointer (selection tool) is now a hand icon. I've searched and searched forums to no avail. So, is this a new feature? If so, can it be changed? Or is this a bug? I don't like it at all.

I am running Mojave on a MBP Retina.

Thanks.

[joshuajamesdesigns]

Can you help me please @srishtib8795206

[sreejish es]

Same issue here...just updated to 2015 a few days ago. Cursor just suddenly switched to a hand. Doesn't matter what tool I switch to now, it is still a hand.

[lindan82655013]

Same issue, very frustrating to work with. has been working fine for weeks and just started a couple of days ago, thought I might of hit a wrong button or something. Running on a MAC. Hope they can sort this out soon.

[Srishti Bali]

Hi Linda,

Thanks for reaching out. We are already tracking down this issue and it is found that this issue is generally found on the systems where some third party spell check utilities are installed. To help you further on this, I would request if you can share a few more details like:

• OS ( exact version of MAC)
• Version of InDesign
• Screenshot if the issue
• Is there any spell check utility installed on your system? For example Global auto-correct.

Thanks!

[lindan82655013]

The programme actually shut down unexpectedly two days ago, very frustratingly, It also altered my layout, and when it opened back up the Pointer issue sorted it self out after the unexpected shut down.

Sent from my iPad

[Srishti Bali]

Sorry to hear about the crash but I am glad that the pointer issue is resolved, however, I would still suggest if you can check for the spell check utility and try resetting preferences for InDesign (Set preferences in Adobe InDesign ). This just to avoid future issues.

Please note that resetting preferences will remove all the custom settings and InDesign will launch with default settings. You can also take a backup of the folders in case you want to. Location is mentioned in the article.

Please feel free to update the discussion if you see this error again.

[robertg64881461]

This problem showed up TODAY on my system. Indesign 14.0.2 running in Windows v10. VERY frustrating!!!!!

[joshuajamesdesigns]

I am having this issue as well. 

I have not installed any programs for "spell checking". 

I have updated my Mac and I am running the most up to date version of InDesign CC (15.0)

Very frustrating. 

[Mello CMG]

I think i figured it out. was stuck in the hand mode instead of select. i then made sure i was logged in to the CC.

and voila! was fixed.

I suggest logging in again and seeing if it fixes it.

[Ellie_Norton · Accepted solution]

I had this issue today. I just restarted InDesign and it's gone back to normal

If in doubt, restart.

[Mello CMG]

amen

[joshuajamesdesigns]

It's really unfortunate that this repsonse has been marked as "Correct Answer" as this does not solve this ongoing issue. 

[C-tin]

With Terminal, I went to /Users/<usernam>/Library/Preferences/ and executed:

rm -rf Adobe*

which cleared all preferences for all of their apps.

You can clear it only for the app you have issues with on find other solutions from Adobe if you love/care for your preferences. I don't.

That frustrated I was!

(it seems they kept there preferences for the last 2-3 years and 4-5 versions of each Photoshop, Illustrator, etc...)

[C-tin]

Seems it is still not working... 🙂 Dropped using Illustrator on Mac, switched to Windows. 😐

[joshuajamesdesigns]

It's unfortunate that this is being marked as "correct answer" - this suggests that this issue has been resolved. Restarting, reinstalling, and updating is not solving this same issue for me as well. 

[rbkj]

Just waiting for the computer to catch up works for me. It works on the spinning beach ball too. Adobe products are very slow, especially if you have one or more open. 

[maxhorcher]

I have the same problem, and restarting does NOT solve the problem. I have tried doing so multiple times to no effect; the hand tool has totally replaced the cursor for InDesign on my computer. I will try reverting to an older version of InDesign; this version apparently should still be in development.

For the devs, here's what I'm working with:

MacBookPro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid-2015)

Processor: 2.2GHz INtel Core i7

Memory: 16GB 1600MHz DDR3

Graphics Intel IrisPro 1536MB

Operating System:

macOS Sierra version 10.12.6

Adobe InDesign 

version 14.0.3

As-is, InDesign 14.0.3 is literally unusable for me.

[Harold Christ]

I have the same issue with the hand tool replacing the selection tool. Restarting or uninstalling/reinstalling does not help. I have this problem in Indesign and Illustrator. It just started today but kept me from finishing multiple jobs. 

I spend 90% of my workday in these programs - which I would agree are completely unusable at this point.

For devs, heres another case for you based on what I'm working with:

MacBookPro (15 inch, 2018)

Processor : 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory : 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4

Graphics : Radeon Pro 555X 4 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB

Operating System : macOS Mojave version 10.14.6

Adobe Indesign : version 15.1.1.103

Adobe Illustrator : version 24.2.1

Please help! 

[jkinsman]

I find it funny that this is marked as the solution as most the people posting here have said that restarting doesn't work. Restarting inDesign also does not work for me. I am using InDesign 2020 15.0.1 on High Sierra. Keeps happening and I can't seem to get it to go away and it is super annoying!

[typebynikita]

I'm on Mac OS High Sierra, InDesign CC 2020. Just had the same issue, and fixed it with the following steps. 

1. Quit InDesign

2. Restart computer

3. Hold down SHIFT CTRL OPT CMD as I right-click with the mouse on the ID icon in the dock bar (to start ID) - then click yes when a popup appears asking you if you want to delete preferences. 

4. Create a new document to see if it worked (it did!).

[kdnon]

Even when restarting the program fixes it, that is hardly a solution as you said. Sometimes I have to restart the computer and then that works for very little time.

[brianfisher17]

For me, the issue occured while I was copying (holding option and click-drag) an object across a page break. The app kinda glitched and went black for a half second and my cursor was stuck on hand tool even though selection tool was selected and highlighted. Closing and restarting the app didn't help. Only when I clicked on another tool (text tool) and then clicked on selection tool did my cursor work correctly. So, that's what worked for me. 

[ALV443]

This problem happened to me on my office computer every so often these past couple of years (machine: iMac, OS: High Sierra, Adobe version: Adobe CC 2019-2020), and restarting the computer was usually the only method that worked. Now I am working from home and using my MacBook Pro (OS Mojave, Adobe CC 2020) and it just happened to me again, in InDesign. My point is that the problem has happened for me on two different computers. 

However, just now (on my MacBook Pro), after quitting and restarting InDesign didn't work, I made a point of trying to select other tools (such as the text tool) and then going back to the selection tool to see if that would clear it up. It did not. The selection tool kept showing up and acting as a hand tool that could only move around and grip. 

I didn't want to reboot the computer — it takes a lot of time to set everything up again. So I searched the problem online looked at this conversation. Then, I tried again selecting the text tool and then going back to the selection tool... For some reason, it worked this time! Could it be that it needed a "break" of a few minutes? 

[Lool]

This problem has just happened to me also,  I have just started using the latest version InDesign 2021.

Is this a new bug with this new version? How do I fix this?

[Micah5C08]

I just started having this problem too. I am currently using version 15.1.3 because my business doesn't want to update to 2021 just yet. Anyway, I tried restarting it and that fixed it for a little while, but then it keeps coming back again. Restarting it everytime it happens is getting a little old.