Can't delete text box in PowerPoint

Anonymous

I've recently had a problem deleting text boxes in PowerPoint. I'm able to select the box by clicking on the box perimeter (which changers the little circles and squares at the perimeter from open to solid, as it should). But when I hit delete, it deletes the last text character within the box, rather than the box itself. I also can't copy the box. When I select the box and hit command-C, I hear a little whish, signifying (I suppose) an disallowed action. The boxes in question are not part of a slide background. This problem does not occur with pictures.

I've found a workaround which is to select the box differently, namely by dragging the cursor around the box with the mouse button held down. Then I can (sometimes) delete or copy it. Still looking for a real fix.

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Anonymous

I stumbled on a fix today.

Under system preferences, chose Keyboard, then chose Shortcuts, and then at the bottom under Full Keyboard Access, click the "All controls" radio button.

Previously, the "Text boxes and lists only" radio button was selected. I can recreate the problem by clicking this other radio button, i.e. the fix is fully reversible. I don't think I ever touched either of these buttons before yesterday.

I believe this fix completely resolves for me the issues with selecting text boxes in PowerPoint.

Note that it's very puzzling that a system tabbing option should have anything to do with selecting text boxes in PowerPoint. I expect there is still an underlying bug.

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43 additional answers

Jim G 134.1K Reputation points MVP

2014-02-20T17:42:48+00:00

Ah! That's good to know. Then problem is almost certainly due to a bad PowerPoint preference file. Follow the instructions in Step 1 of this article to reset the preferences:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/975723/en-us
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Anonymous

2014-02-17T04:38:00+00:00

Jim,

I realize this thread is getting long, but in an earlier post I clarified that I have tried running PowerPoint as a new user, and the problem does go away when I do that.

Thanks,
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Jim G 134.1K Reputation points MVP

2014-02-16T15:55:18+00:00

So let’s test to see if there’s a bad preference file.

In Mac OS System preferences, make a new user account. Try the same presentation there. If the problem is gone, then we can trash your preferences in your regular user account. If the problem persists, it’s not a problem with a preference file.

Test, and then please reply with the test results.

Thanks.
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Anonymous

2014-02-13T20:58:46+00:00

Hi, it's Ralph chiming in again...

I've fully shut down my Mac many times and the problem persists.

Like Steve, I find that, when I click on a text box perimeter, I see the "increase indent" indicator button flash on. But it only stays on for about a second before turning itself off spontaneously.

Also, the icons for "cut" and "copy" (i.e. little scissors and overlaying pages), that are located near the top left of the active window, also flicker on and then off with the same timing.

In fact, this observation allowed me to discover another work-around: If I work fast enough, hitting delete or command C within the ~1 second time window when the icons are on, I am actually able to copy or delete normally.
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