Word 2016 - Right clicking on highlighted text deselects it

Anonymous

To put it lightly, this is driving me insane!!! I just installed Office 2016, so I'm still getting used to it, but when I highlight a word or block of text, then right click to get the copy option, instead of giving me that drop down menu, it just deselects the text I just selected. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to what does eventually cause the right click menu to appear and I have to either just keep selecting the text and right clicking until it eventually gives me the right click menu or I have to select the text and hit the copy icon on the top toolbar - which is a huge hassle when I'm doing this a lot and I have to move my mouse from the text all the way up to the toolbar instead of being able to leave my mouse in position and right click and get that right click menu. This is such a hassle to me, that I'm seriously considering uninstalling Office 2016 and going back to Office 2010. Please help someone! I love the cloud feature to store my important documents on OneDrive so I always have a backup, but not so much so as to endure this right clicking problem. My mouse is fine (brand new just before xmas in fact, trusted brand of Logitech) and all drivers are up to date. I have checked settings on my mouse and there are no settings to do with this deselection and it is only happening in the Office 2016 products I have installed. Of note, I am using Office 2016 on a computer with Windows 7, 64 bit version installed.

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Anonymous

Had this issue myself. Found a fix.

To fix this: Hit the File tab, go down to Options, and in the General section right at the top, there's a box that reads: "Show mini toolbar on selection". Un-check this box, then hit okay, and the problem should be solved. Right click should work properly again with no more text deselect. Worked for me.

What people are saying is accurate in that it has to do with tiny mouse movements, BUT this is caused by a feature that was added recently. It's that mini formatting toolbar that pops up automatically whenever you highlight something that's causing the problem. This added feature creates an overlap of systems where Word thinks you're trying to select new text and interact with the new toolbar instead of just right clicking on the text that's already been highlighted. Best way I can explain why I think the problem happens. Turning off the mini formatting toolbar avoids this confusion, and the right click option is freed up again. Not sure why this is even a feature since the mini formatting toolbar shows up just above or below the right click pop up window anyway. I guess it was added to erase the need to right click at all? This idea sounds like it would add greater efficiency, but in reality it seems to have just made things less efficient. Poor design, in other words, but not necessarily a bug. Oh well. Anyway, that's the fix everybody.

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Anonymous

2017-12-24T06:04:42+00:00

The same problem happens intermittently on my work PC running office 2016. That has a different mouse.

In both cases I'm careful to not move the mouse.

The problem does not happen on other applications either. Its confined to word.

If it were a problem with the mouse, other applications would be affected, and they are not.

Murray
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Anonymous

2017-12-18T08:20:21+00:00

I don't move the mouse, and it happens.

You say "There is nothing to be fixed."

That may be the case on your PC, but on my PC its a big problem.

It renders this feature unusable.

Saying "it works on my PC" is just a cop out.
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Anonymous

2017-01-23T14:54:47+00:00

That's interesting that you say that it seems to happen in compatibility mode, Valko, as all my Word docs are worked on in compatibility mode. The next doc I create, I will try in regular mode and see if that resolves the issue.

What I believe to be the issue is that in most other programs, if you need to access the right click menu and you are in the general area with your right click, it has some sort of "smart" clicking and it will assume that you meant to right click on what has been highlighted or where your cursor last was, whereas in Word 2016, you have to be very precise and very specific about where you click and there is no presumption by the program that if you don't click directly on the highlighted text that that is what you meant to click on.

I believe because other programs that we have used for many-many years have made us accustomed to only having to be in the general area, that it is a unwelcome learning curve to be presented with such preciseness in Word 2016. I don't know whether there is an actual term for what I've just described or whether it is something that can be added in to the Word 2016 code via a hot-fix at a later date, but it sure would be nice as I love this app except that the right clicking is mind-boggling frustrating (even with the CTRL+C it is still a PITA - but thank you very much for that suggestion nonetheless!)
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Anonymous

2017-12-01T20:06:25+00:00

I'm having the same issue on a brand new computer with a brand new mouse (I tried a new mouse as well). Susant56 is saying if you highlight the text, move your mouse, and right click it deselects the text. I just tested this and it doesn't seem to correlate the same way with my computer. I can't find a real cause, or say "it only happens when I do this". It just seems random too me, but happens the majority of the time on this computer. I'm an IT Manager and have never seen this before.
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