WD: Selecting Text in Form Field Selects All or to Field End

ID: Q145913

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to select a portion of text within a form field and that form field is in a table cell or a frame, you get one of the following results:

The entire form field is selected.
```
    -or-
```
The text is selected from the insertion point to the left or right end of the form field

In contrast, when you select a portion of text within a form field that is placed outside of a table, you can select individual characters.

WORKAROUND

To delete characters, position the insertion point before or after the text you want to delete and then press the DELETE or BACKSPACE key, respectively.

To type over existing characters, enable Overtype mode. To do this, use the appropriate method for your version of Word.

Word for Windows 2.x-7.x

Press the INSERT (or INS) key on your keyboard.

Word 98 Macintosh Edition

Double-click the OVR indicator in the status bar.

Word 6.x for the Macintosh

On the Tools menu, click Options, click the Edit tab, click to select the Overtype Mode check box, and then click OK.

The OVR indicator appears in the status bar until you turn this option off.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the versions of Word listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: 8.0 8.00

Keywords          : wordnt word8 kbfield macword98 winword ntword macword kbtable word6 word7 word95 
Version           : WINDOWS:2.0,2.0a,2.0a- CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug kbinfo

Last Reviewed: January 22, 1999