Can't select text with mouse in Word or Outlook?

Question

I cannot select text with my mouse in Word and Outlook. I can for a little while, then I can't, so, I close and restart the applications again and all is well. This also means that I can't drag anything like text that I have selected with the keyboard or table widths or tabs in the ruler bar...The cause was unknown until today when I narrowed it down to the `Ctrl` key.That is, as soon as I use the `Ctrl` key (for copy, paste, undo or even by itself for the purpose of this test), my ability to select and drag is gone.There are no sticky keys. I am using `Office 2010` (`Professional 14.0.6112.5000 32-bit` on `Windows 7 Pro SP1`).I have uninstalled and re-installed `Office`. I have tried several `registry edits` offered by my findings with no luck.Any ideas?

Answer 1

Is your mouse wireless? I have had this problem before and realized my mouse needed new batteries. If it is a wired mouse, you may have a bad wire and should try to see if a new mouse will fix the issue. In the meantime, if you are still not able to select text with a mouse or the mouse pad:

(1) Use the arrow keys on your keyboard in order to move your curser where you want to highlight text,

(2) keep your finger pressed on the shift button and press the right or left arrow keys,

(3) once you have highlighted your text, press CTRL + C in order to copy the text,

(4) to paste text that you copied, press, CTRL + V.

I hope this helps.