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Jim Nee
Participant
June 21, 2013
Question

InDesign-CC: Selection Tools Not Working

  • June 21, 2013
  • 17 replies
  • 34076 views

I've just downloaded InDesign CC and am having a problem with the various selection tools.

With the Text Selection Tool active, I double-click a text frame and hold, and the cursor is placed on the text inside the frame. But I can no longer drag from where the cursor is to highlight the text.

When I click again to start highlighting the text, the text itself becomes inactive, the text frame becomes active and my attempt to highlight drags the frame. The tool panel shows that the Text Selection Tool is still active.

Once I double click into the text frame, the only way I can edit text is to use Shift + arrows.

In Preferences > Type I have enabled and disabled the "Triple Click to Select a Line", but there is no change in the behavior described above.

Similarly, if I switch to the Hand Tool and grab a portion of the page, the frame I happen to be over moves instead of the page. Grabbing on a part of the page where there is no frame does nothing at all.

In fact, this behavior is the same no matter which tool in the toobar I have active: the Rectangle Tool does not draw a rectangle, but moves the text frame; same with the Pencil Tool, etc.

The document itself was upgrade from CS6, but creating a new document does not change the behavior.

I've followed the instructions in the Troubleshooting 101: Replace, or "trash" your InDesign preferences article <http://forums.adobe.com/thread/526990>, dleted the InDesign Defaults file and restarted, but that has made no difference.

At this point, ID-CC is thoroughly unusable.

Running Mac OS 10.8.4, 16gigs RAM.

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    17 replies

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    U
    uran1c
    Participating Frequently
    February 13, 2015

    Another 4 months are lived. Updates to 3 branches of indesign released CS6 8.1, CC 9.3, CC 2014 10.2. The last two still unusable. In 8 version to select text we need two quick clicks. In 9 it does not matter how many times you will click it still does not select without a 1 second pause. In 10 you need about 18 quick clicks in a row so that was the effect of a double-click. Waiting for eleven version or CC 2015 or how you name it

    U
    uran1c
    Participating Frequently
    October 10, 2014

    4 months passed. Got new cool InDesign 2014.1 x64 (10.1.0.70) with old double-triple problem. Looks like developers keep their ears and eyes closed or maybe they are just work so hard and so busy that 1.5 years cant fix that bug. Well, cant wait next update with hoping for a better.

    timvh
    timvh
    Participating Frequently
    September 4, 2014

    is there no option somewhere to turn this off? it's driving me crazy beyond imagination...

    U
    uran1c
    Participating Frequently
    June 19, 2014

    InDesign 2014.0 Release x32: Bug not fixed, problem staying, have to select twice, feeling unhappy. Got only one question. WHY?

      C
      cotcodac
      Inspiring
      May 20, 2014

      Let me join in with the same problem, I know it is not the place to report a bug but I just want to shout...

      It is incredible why adobe would mess the selection of text in a text frame. I often work with the selection tool and suddenly I want to select the text. I am so used with the triple click that working in ID CC seemed so frustrating I went back to CS6. Also the font list works terrible, if I already have some formatting to the text, selecting a new font will lose any bolds, italics... Or if I select minion bold, I cant change it to italics from the italics menu...

      Also is it just me or a doc in CS6 moves faster than in CC?

      This is a big disappointment to me, I don't get why Adobe ruined so many things that worked fine, without any real benefit. Sorry Adobe, hope you will do better next time, I will just stick with CS for now.

      J
      Adobe Employee
      Javed_ali
      Adobe Employee
      August 26, 2013

      Hi Jim,

      I was able to reproduce part of your problem and not the entire problem.

      With the Text Selection Tool active, I double-click a text frame and hold, and the cursor is placed on the text inside the frame. But I can no longer drag from where the cursor is to highlight the text.

      This is what i was able to perform after this i waited for a second or two and was able to select text fine. What i suppose is happening with you is a the swing tool going wrong. There is a functionality in InDesign that if we long press any tool and leave then it switches back to the previous tool. This could be the case that is happening with you.

      How long are you pressing the tool shortcut? Can you try doing the same by clicking on the tools rather than there shortcut (i know it woulld not be very convinient but just for the test), do you still face the problem. A video showing the problem would be good.

      Thanks

      C
      Christoph Letmaier
      Participating Frequently
      September 12, 2013

      I face the same problem as Jim Nee described in his entry message.

      Steps that worked in all previous version of InDesign:

      1. Triple click a text-frame and the whole text is selected

      In InDesign CC the following steps are NOT working

      1. Triple click a text-frame - the text will be NOT selected, no matter how often I click.

      In InDesign CC the following steps are working

      1. Doubleclick a text frame. The cursor appear in the text

      2. I wait a second.

      3. Doubleclick and the whole text is selected.

      It is really unacceptable to wait a second to select all the text considering a fast workflow - perhaps Adobe can explain what is the advantage to wait a second every time. It is really annoying.

      Copying and pasting text is one of the most use steps in InDesign, to ruin this function is a very bad idea.

        A
        Angus Hume
        Inspiring
        February 18, 2014

        Have just upgraded from CS5 and experiencing the same issue. Text selection is terrible. More alarming is that I see the problem has been around for at least 5 months. Yikes!

          MMeadPond
          MMeadPond
          Known Participant
          August 26, 2013

          I'm having the same complaints. I've been using inDesign since its first version. I'm used to being able to bounce through from one item to the next, moving, shifting, and intuitively designing before honing in on the details. I ENJOY rapidly working in inDesign. ("Rapidly" being the operative word).

          This new CC makes it virtually impossible.

          Every time I try to grab an image or a type element, the solid selector tool should grab and allow me to move it rapidly. IT SHIFTS TO THE HAND TOOL!

          It turns into the CONTENT tool.

          I have lost literally hours tonight trying to slog through this mess.

          I'll say something else:

          I am a long time Adobe fonts, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc., user.

          From the beginning. On a Mac.

          Give me back the intuitive ease of use. I don't like InDesign acting like a Microsoft Office Program! I don't like Adobe programs so icon heavy that I spend my time trying to guess what the icon is for. I hate that about Windows products.

          Less is way more when it comes to ease of use and the ability to work without the PROCESS and the APPLICATiON interjecting itself into the whole workflow.

          Please fix this mess. Thank you.

            Peter Spier
            Community Expert
            Peter SpierCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            August 26, 2013

            It sounds to me like you are used to grabbing in the center of a frame to move it (as am I and many other longtime users) and you're running afoul of the "donut" or Content Grabber that pops up so you can repostion content within the frame without switching tools, which is a big timesaver if you can get used to it. The trick is to grab off-center (or at least pay attention that you are not grabbing the donut), or you can turn the Content Grabber off entirely in the View menu under Extras.

              MMeadPond
              MMeadPond
              Known Participant
              August 27, 2013

              Thanks, Peter

              It's that and more. It's not only the donut. It's really anywhere around a content box--type or image. I've now resorted to clicking on the blue square on the outside boundary (top right) and hoping it will let me pick up an element. It works, but it's super slow and super non-intuitive. Slog, slog, slog. Ugh.

              Thank you for taking the time to answer me, but really, it's not as easy as just the donut. I will turn the donut off, though.

              Any idea if I can turn off the funky brown angle lines whenever I turn something? Is it tied to the other smart guides?

              See? This is another non-intuitive feature. I suppose if someone wanted to design-by-numbers it's great.

              But after decades designing catalogs, magazines, advertising--in Pagemaker, Quark and now inDesign--I just want to design.

              I want the process and the application to get out of my way.

              Thanks again, Peter.

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