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User profile for user: nickjn
nickjn Author
User level: Level 1
14 points

Notes app - Big Sur ver 11.5.2. Selecting Text is Not Working

In Notes, while selecting text it picks up the line of text instead of selecting it, and sometimes it does nothing. This happens while selecting a line from left to right from the beginning or from the middle and when I select from the end right to left. It happens intermittently some times more than others. It is on a brand new Macbook Air using the trackpad and only is a problem with Notes.


I have been working with Apple support and they do not have answers. The case numbers are 101470248230 and 101455396044


Thank you in advance for help in resolving this issue,

Nick

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Sep 1, 2021 5:49 PM

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User profile for user: nickjn
nickjn Author
User level: Level 1
14 points

Posted on Sep 3, 2021 12:54 PM

Thank you for your response. I tried both of the settings you suggested for trackpad preferences without success. Late yesterday an Apple Senior advisor called and we erased my mac and reinstalled the OS. The behavior remained the same so he stated Notes selection is working as expected, meaning when the cursor is placed to the left of the text and then dragged right it picks up the text to the end of the line and moves it to the location where you release your finger from the trackpad. As a workaround for my scenario, he suggested placing the cursor where I want to start the selection and then hold the shift key and click where I want to end the selection and this works for me. I do not believe that it is working as expected; however, I am out of energy to take this further with Apple Support and will use the workaround and hope the drag selection method returns in a future update.

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User profile for user: nickjn
nickjn Author
User level: Level 1
14 points

Sep 3, 2021 12:54 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thank you for your response. I tried both of the settings you suggested for trackpad preferences without success. Late yesterday an Apple Senior advisor called and we erased my mac and reinstalled the OS. The behavior remained the same so he stated Notes selection is working as expected, meaning when the cursor is placed to the left of the text and then dragged right it picks up the text to the end of the line and moves it to the location where you release your finger from the trackpad. As a workaround for my scenario, he suggested placing the cursor where I want to start the selection and then hold the shift key and click where I want to end the selection and this works for me. I do not believe that it is working as expected; however, I am out of energy to take this further with Apple Support and will use the workaround and hope the drag selection method returns in a future update.

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User profile for user: Barney-15E
Barney-15E
User level: Level 10
116,770 points

Sep 3, 2021 10:49 AM in response to nickjn

I don't know exactly what you are describing. I don't see any difference in Notes vs any other app with respect to text selection.

Maybe it is something to do with the trackpad sensitivity. You may be starting to drag-select, then it senses a delay and you begin dragging the selection.


There are settings for TrackPad sensitivity and Force Touch in the TrackPad System Preferences, but if that were the case, you'd see the same behavior in other apps.

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User profile for user: Barney-15E
Barney-15E
User level: Level 10
116,770 points

Sep 3, 2021 1:34 PM in response to nickjn

No matter what I try, I cannot make that happen.

Double-clicking will select a word, and triple-clicking will select a sentence, but clicking and dragging does not "pick up the text to the end of the line." I tried disabling "dragging" in the Accessibility system preferences, but that didn't change anything.


There must be more to what you are doing when you click and drag (and, the Apple Support person you talked to has no idea what they are talking about).

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Notes app - Big Sur ver 11.5.2. Selecting Text is Not Working

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