Highlight with "marker" tool

[Orrie]

Hi,

(UsingWord 2003 with SP1)
Is it possible to apply hightlighting to text using the Highlight tool like
an actual marker. That is, to click on the the Highlight button on the
toolbar, and have a "marker" or highlight-enabled cursor that I can apply to
text as I come to it in reviewing a document. I can't find any way to switch
Word's highlighting feature to be used this way. (For comparison, see the
highlighting tool in Adobe Acrobat.)

Right now, I have to select each individual section of text, then click on
the highlight button to apply highlighting. This gets a little tedious in a
long doc.

Thanks for your help.

Orrie

 

[CyberTaz]

Am using 2003 as well & the highlighter works for me as you indicate you
want it to.

If you select text *before* clicking the button the highlight applies only
to the selected text, but if you click the button while no text is selected
the highlighter remains active until you click the button to turn it off.

 

[Orrie]

Thanks, Taz.

Nope. That's the problem. The Highligter "marker" doesn't switch on. The
only way I can highlight is by first selecting the text, then clicking on
the Highlight button. In fact, I'm pretty sure it worked the way you
describe in the past, but doesn't work now. Is their an option switch or
other way to re-activate the Highlight Tool? I haven't found one in the
menus nor any mention of it in the Word Help files.

Thank you.

Orrie

 

[Idaho Word Man]

Mine works fine, too, just as Taz described. What color is your highlighter
set to, Orrie? Mine is normally set to white when I start up, and I have to
select a color before it starts working.

 

[Orrie]

That's it! Thank you Word Man.
I always use yellow highlighting, and didn't think to try another color. But
switching to another color (magenta) seemed to unlock the Highlighter. Now
it works like a marker, the way I wanted it to. I tried other colors, they
seem to work, too.

Your help is very much appreciated.

Orrie

 

[Idaho Word Man]

I'm glad I was able to help. A quick click on the Yes button under my
response would be very much appreciated, too.

Fred

 

[CyberTaz]

Am truly glad to hear that the remedy helps, but the fact remains that it
shouldn't have to be that way. Something isn't quite as it should be, but
that is far from rare with Words toolbar buttons.

You may each want to try clicking the arrowhead at the extreme right end of
the Formatting toolbar, then select Add or Remove Buttons>Formatting>Reset
Toolbar to see if that makes a more permanent fix. If so, hold down the
Shift key while you File>Save All to help insure that the fix holds.