User profile for user: machineage
machineage Author
User level: Level 1
39 points

Disable Data Detectors in Preview

This is driving me nuts!! Whenever I go to highlight and select a number, or part of a number in Preview, I'm unable to do so because a box and arrow are presented, with an option to then create a contact if I click on the arrow. I just want to manually select the number, but am unable to do so because of this ridiculously annoying feature! Can anyone tell me how to permanently disable this? Image enclosed.


I understand this is 'data detectors' but I have been unable to find any way to disable it. I have turned off 'Lookup and data detectors' in Settings > Trackpad, no change. I have also disabled 'Show Siri suggestions' in Contacts > Settings > General, no change.


Thanks.



MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.1

Posted on Feb 6, 2023 11:17 PM

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
User level: Level 10
122,088 points

Posted on Feb 7, 2023 01:32 AM

What I have observed is these data detectors result when a Word document is saved or printed to PDF by a recent release of MS Word (e.g. 16.69.1). Ordinarily, an application capable of disabling data detectors would have an Edit menu > Substitutions > Data Detectors menu entry, but because Preview is not a PDF Editor, it doesn't have that Substitutions menu item.


The easiest, perhaps only means to highlight a data detector field as you have shown is by two-finger tap/control-click the number which selects it, and then press ESC to dismiss the secondary menu. Then you are free to highlight or remove the highlight feature from this detector field.

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
User level: Level 10
122,088 points

Feb 7, 2023 01:32 AM in response to machineage

What I have observed is these data detectors result when a Word document is saved or printed to PDF by a recent release of MS Word (e.g. 16.69.1). Ordinarily, an application capable of disabling data detectors would have an Edit menu > Substitutions > Data Detectors menu entry, but because Preview is not a PDF Editor, it doesn't have that Substitutions menu item.


The easiest, perhaps only means to highlight a data detector field as you have shown is by two-finger tap/control-click the number which selects it, and then press ESC to dismiss the secondary menu. Then you are free to highlight or remove the highlight feature from this detector field.

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Disable Data Detectors in Preview

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