Windows 7 - Mouse wont work in Word edit area

Joe Design · External Since: Apr 26, 2010 Posts: 1

I have seen solutions for this problem in Vista but can't seem to find and
specific instructions on how to fix this problem in Windows 7.

The problem - Wod worked fin for about three months then suddenly I can no
longer use the mouse to edit text in word. I still have the ability to select
items on the menu at the top, but not in some of the submenus. I cannot
select of edit text in any way with the mouse.

I am running Windows 7 with Microsoft 2007 student edition on a Dell desktop
with a Dell mouse.

Any help would be appreciated!!!!

Jay Freedman · External Since: Sep 16, 2003 Posts: 2367

The instructions for Windows 7 are the same as for Vista (and even for
Windows XP). The only difference depends on what version of Office is
involved, not the Windows version.

- Shut down Word.

- Back up the registry. See steps 5 and 6 at the end of
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/MissingMenusEtc.htm.

- In the Windows Start menu's Search box, type regedit. You should see a
"regedit.exe" item at the top of the menu -- click it, and enter
administrator name and password if you're prompted for them.

- Expand the entries in the left column (by clicking the plus signs) to
reach the key (folder icon)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data

- Right-click the Data icon and choose Delete. When prompted, agree to
delete the key.

- Close regedit.

- Restart Word. It will build a new Data key, and that should get the mouse
working again.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Joe Design wrote:
> I have seen solutions for this problem in Vista but can't seem to
> find and specific instructions on how to fix this problem in Windows
> 7.
>
> The problem - Wod worked fin for about three months then suddenly I
> can no longer use the mouse to edit text in word. I still have the
> ability to select items on the menu at the top, but not in some of
> the submenus. I cannot select of edit text in any way with the mouse.
>
> I am running Windows 7 with Microsoft 2007 student edition on a Dell
> desktop with a Dell mouse.
>
> Any help would be appreciated!!!!

Joe Design · External Since: Apr 27, 2010 Posts: 1

Thanks Jay!!!! I have been looking for this for the last week!!! It worked
great!

Win7Word · External Since: Apr 29, 2010 Posts: 1

Hey Jay -

Same mouse issue here Win7/Word2007, only happens with a certain user acct
and only after at least one hard return, then the mouse is unable to select,
right click, or move to specific doc locations.

Run as Admin works
Run as any other users on the machine works
I have deleted to .DOTM files from roaming
I have deleted the DATA reg keys
I have uninstalled and reinstalled Office 2007
Still no dice

Thanks in advance,
Win7Word
Any other ideas?

"Jay Freedman" wrote:

> The instructions for Windows 7 are the same as for Vista (and even for
> Windows XP). The only difference depends on what version of Office is
> involved, not the Windows version.
>
> - Shut down Word.
>
> - Back up the registry. See steps 5 and 6 at the end of
> http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/MissingMenusEtc.htm.
>
> - In the Windows Start menu's Search box, type regedit. You should see a
> "regedit.exe" item at the top of the menu -- click it, and enter
> administrator name and password if you're prompted for them.
>
> - Expand the entries in the left column (by clicking the plus signs) to
> reach the key (folder icon)
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data
>
> - Right-click the Data icon and choose Delete. When prompted, agree to
> delete the key.
>
> - Close regedit.
>
> - Restart Word. It will build a new Data key, and that should get the mouse
> working again.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Jay Freedman
> Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
> all may benefit.
>
> Joe Design wrote:
> > I have seen solutions for this problem in Vista but can't seem to
> > find and specific instructions on how to fix this problem in Windows
> > 7.
> >
> > The problem - Wod worked fin for about three months then suddenly I
> > can no longer use the mouse to edit text in word. I still have the
> > ability to select items on the menu at the top, but not in some of
> > the submenus. I cannot select of edit text in any way with the mouse.
> >
> > I am running Windows 7 with Microsoft 2007 student edition on a Dell
> > desktop with a Dell mouse.
> >
> > Any help would be appreciated!!!!
>
>
> .
>

Jay Freedman · External Since: Mar 17, 2004 Posts: 3038

When you say "deleted to .DOTM files from roaming", did you
specifically delete C:\Users\<acct
name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dotm?

If so, and that didn't help, I don't have any other specific advice.
Sometimes all that's left is the nuclear option -- back up all data
files, delete the whole user account, and create a new account.

On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:35:01 -0700, Win7Word
wrote:

>Hey Jay -
>
>Same mouse issue here Win7/Word2007, only happens with a certain user acct
>and only after at least one hard return, then the mouse is unable to select,
>right click, or move to specific doc locations.
>
>Run as Admin works
>Run as any other users on the machine works
>I have deleted to .DOTM files from roaming
>I have deleted the DATA reg keys
>I have uninstalled and reinstalled Office 2007
>Still no dice
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Win7Word
>Any other ideas?
>
>"Jay Freedman" wrote:
>
>> The instructions for Windows 7 are the same as for Vista (and even for
>> Windows XP). The only difference depends on what version of Office is
>> involved, not the Windows version.
>>
>> - Shut down Word.
>>
>> - Back up the registry. See steps 5 and 6 at the end of
>> http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/MissingMenusEtc.htm.
>>
>> - In the Windows Start menu's Search box, type regedit. You should see a
>> "regedit.exe" item at the top of the menu -- click it, and enter
>> administrator name and password if you're prompted for them.
>>
>> - Expand the entries in the left column (by clicking the plus signs) to
>> reach the key (folder icon)
>> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data
>>
>> - Right-click the Data icon and choose Delete. When prompted, agree to
>> delete the key.
>>
>> - Close regedit.
>>
>> - Restart Word. It will build a new Data key, and that should get the mouse
>> working again.
>>
>> --
>> Regards,
>> Jay Freedman
>> Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
>> all may benefit.
>>
>> Joe Design wrote:
>> > I have seen solutions for this problem in Vista but can't seem to
>> > find and specific instructions on how to fix this problem in Windows
>> > 7.
>> >
>> > The problem - Wod worked fin for about three months then suddenly I
>> > can no longer use the mouse to edit text in word. I still have the
>> > ability to select items on the menu at the top, but not in some of
>> > the submenus. I cannot select of edit text in any way with the mouse.
>> >
>> > I am running Windows 7 with Microsoft 2007 student edition on a Dell
>> > desktop with a Dell mouse.
>> >
>> > Any help would be appreciated!!!!
>>
>>
>> .
>>