Indesign CS6 hand tool gets stuck and can't use selection tool

[dslottdesign]

In Indesign CS6 using Mountain Lion, the hand tool appears and I can't select or work with any other tool. All I can do is move the document around. After trying the space bar and other key commands I restarted and it worked for a while. Then it happened again. I work on a Macbook pro, so when I removed the mouse and worked only with the trackpad there was no change. When I quit and reopened, no change. I then deleted prefs and restarted and it worked, but it's been happening from time to time. Anyone know any other fix without restarting or deleting prefs.

[allenm89490965]

Pretty much none of these responses help the issue. Space bar stuck? Really? Why would someone jump through all the hoops to stop working, log in here and post about the issue? 

FWW, I've gotten the problem on and off since CS6, and on various OS / workstations. It completely derails my workflow. Sometimes I go for weeks without it happening, but this morning it happened twice. EVERY TIME THIS HAPPENS I HAVE TO STOP EVERYTHING AND RESTART. 

Fix it. Now. We're paying to use this app, and most of us are using it to pay the bills.

[Peter Spier]

You have to understand that whatever needs fixing is not in InDesign, but something about your particular system. If this were a bug it would be all over the forums.

[Mello CMG]

i think its adobe. not the system.

[Johnearlex]

Spacebar worked for me, so yeah, really!

[Eldaveo83]

I'm facing the same problems. Hand tool sticks and won't let me change to any other tool. My current work around is to have the keyboard viewer open to switch between the keys that seems to be the only thing that works. It's not a very good solution. My tablet drivers are up to date, I've trashed my prefs, rebooted, re installed, fonts are all turned off expect for the system fonts. I've been searching for a solution for this issue and it seems it's a well know problem but not everyone (Even Adobe) can offer a solid solution.

I can't afford to upgrade to CC (Currently using CS6) can't upgrade to El Captain because I have assistive software that won't work. Is there a one stop sure fire way to fix this ?

[lisakristel]

updating to CC won't help; I can't even use Illustrator anymore. The selection tool sticks; the hand tool sticks. I can't get anything done.

[daved576675]

Okay, I have an iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) running El Cap and am using Indesign CC.  The tools palette has just frozen and I am locked out of working on my client's documents. I have restarted the app, restarted the machine, trashed AppPrefs.  Nothing works.  If whatever I need to fix is not in InDesign, but is, in fact, in my machine, what else can I do to try to get this thing to work?

By the way, I have been using this app on and off since it was PageMaker (version 2 I think) and this is the first time I have  ever experienced this, or any problem actually. Having said that, this is very bad to learn about as a surprise, while working.

[Johnearlex]

I thought that the spacebar seemed a silly suggestion - particularly as I was not getting classic 'sticky spacebar' in any other apps, i.e. no constant scrolling in web browser or any other glitches you might expect.... however, a quick mash on the spacebar later and the hand tool has left me alone! This is even after experiencing the problem, restarting InDesign (without playing with the spacebar) and then loading up to find the Hand tool still active. Seriously try mashing your keyboard while the error is up, or even try a different keyboard if you can.

Thank you @Serafina2000!

[deborahg86148352]

I was having this problem today in ps elements, driving me nuts. I think I have the answer to the problem.

The Hand shortcut to change your tool is H.

An easier and more common way to get to the Hand is to use the spacebar. But you must keep the spacebar clicked while you are using and when you finish moving around in your image then let go of the spacebar. Your tool should change back to whatever tool you were using before.

With the spacebar you are only temporarily using the hand.

Hope this helps

[averyp14318216]

This is happening to me, too, and it's driving me crazy.  It stops my workflow, and I never know when it will work again.  It has lasted as long as 30 minutes even when I turn photoshop cc off.

[alinaalvarez00]

So, I am hoping to not jinx my luck by writing this, but since my last post I have not experienced any more problems with any of my Adobe CS6 apps installed (photoshop, illustrator and indesign), I have even reinstalled IndesignCC to recover some files done with that version that I can't open on CS6 before saving it as an IMDL. This being said, I deleted EVERYTHING on my computer, all apps that were not crucial to my design work, including skype, spotify, and google drive. Reinstalled one by one and worked normally with each for a day before installing the next, and as it turned out (and I had this hypothesis before) my computer works so much better WITHOUT any Google apps on it, both Chrome and Drive are gone. I miss them every day so much, but I had to do it otherwise I would spend hours fixing issues of a super slow computer. Honestly I DON'T know why this is, I don't even know whether anyone else has come to this conclusion, but knowing that Google and Apple aren't the bestest of friends this doesn't surprise me. I redownloaded Drive for a day and tried working with it on, computer became extremely slow, Activity Monitor was showing Drive was taking up to 700% of my CPU% and it was gone within the hours of reinstalling it. I hope this is it, I am ok saving my stuff differently and then backing it up on Drive through a different computer on my network, but not sure if this is a long term solution. Either way, I have been able to actually work for over a week now and I am very happy. Good luck to all of you out there, trying to figure out the mysteries behind computers and software.

[averyp14318216]

The only new thing I have added to my computer is the plugin Exposure X.  It's a photoshop app. I wouldn't think that would cause any problems.

[teachbit]

Some things apparently never change, I am stuck with the hand tool with the latest version of InDesign CC on a Macbook Air and El Capitain running. So maybe it is not a bug anymore, but a feature???

[bambinatori]

I have the same problem! It happens to me twice a day or something, but all I have to do to fix it, is to go to Google Chrome.. Pretty weird, but it works every time 🙂

[lamontee]

Thanks so much! I opened Google Chrome and the problem went away.

[CraigMFA]

This was dogging me too this morning. Yosemite/CS6/Mac Pro. Mashing the keys didn't work, multiple restarts didn't work. replacing the keyboard didn't work. Trashing prefs didn't work.

What worked for me was to shut down the Mac, unplug the power cable from my Thunderbolt hub, walking away for a few minutes, coming back and powering everything back up again. When ID came back up it was working normally again. It's just a hunch, but I think the problem was localized to my Thunderbolt hub, which is where my keyboard is plugged into. Power-cycling that is the only thing I can think of that I did, other than shut down the machine—as opposed to restarting it—and letting it sit for a spell.

I really hope the current version of CC has this crap fixed.

[LennyLarsen]

I'm having the same issue! I open any INDD file and I'm trapped with the hand tool… Unable to select anything, edit anything, etc. Is there a fix for this issue yet? With the vast volume of individuals reporting the same issue, it would seem that a solution should have been found by now. "Banging on the keyboard" doesn't seem like an effective solution, nor does "restarting the computer and hoping for the best."

[maloryanne]

Did you ever figure out a solution? I'm dealing with the same crap and am losing my mind!

[LennyLarsen]

Unfortunately, no. Adobe has not gotten back to me and I'm finding this problem popping up all over the forums. It appears that Adobe is forcing all of us to switch to the subscription versions of their software by refusing to fix problems in the previous versions. On my last project, I was forced to download the seven day free trial of the current version of IN DESIGN 2017 and complete the project before my free trial ran out. It's absolutely shameful how Adobe is currently handling their business, but since we all need to use this software, we are stuck with it. If I didn't have to use it, I would certainly abandon Adobe altogether. Simply shameful.

[BobLevine]

What operating system?

[LennyLarsen]

Mac OS X Sierra… I don't have trouble with any of my in design 5.5 files, but as soon as they start using anything in CS 6 it makes me want to throw my computer out my third story window.

[maloryanne]

I was able to resolve the issue by resetting preferences and restarting my computer. I did find out that my lovely Wacom tablet was the culprit for the sticking 'space' key and thus the stupid hand tool not going away.

[lisakristel]

MacAir/High Sierra/InDesign and Illustrator CC  Hand tool is sticking. Never happened before and won't stop happening until i quit, shut down and restart. I reported the issue. Any other advice?

[Steve Werner]

You may have conflicting third party software and extensions. If quitting and restarting works for you, then watch carefully as you launch other software—for example, your web browser. Some web browser extensions (and other software) can interfere with keyboard modifiers like the Hand tool (space bar) or the Shift key when using them.

[lisakristel]

Thank you, Steve,

I did try to close all other software including Chrome, when I restarted (many times), and the problem persisted. However, the last time I restarted, Chrome had crashed (which had never happened before. I suspect a digital battle between CC and Chrome that Chrome lost that time). Now it's working fine... Let's see what goes on, though, now that I've launched Chrome and found your email. (I needed the email, but is Chrome going to start messing with CC again? A conundrum.)

I'll reserve clicking correct until I see if this actually is the problem. I'll also click correct if I don't see the problem again, with or without Chrome. Good karma, maybe.

thanks for your time.