Look up pane destroys copy block function

[Bjorn E]

When I try to copy a block (ALT + select with mouse) in Word 2003 I sometimes
get the look up pane to the right in stead of a selection. This is because
the pane is activated by ALT+click. But sometimes it works as selection, I
think it is when I select more than one column.
Is there any way I could deactivate the look up pane and get the old block
copy functionality back? Deactivating all look up options does not help.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Unfortunately, there is no way to disable that shortcut for the Research
pane. In my experience, the trick is to make sure that you press Alt first
and then keep the mouse button firmly depressed continuously. If you fumble
the mouse button so that it registers a click, you're done for!

 

[Bjorn E]

It seems impossible to copy a block having a width of only one character (in
say, Courier New), fumble or no fumble.
But if you very carefully select a width of one and one third characters, it
works! The additional third of a character is discarded and a column of one
character is copied.

"Suzanne S. Barnhill" skrev:

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Bjorn E,

I'm not sure I could select a third of a character on a repeated basis <g>.

As Suzanne mentioned, there isn't an alt+click change available in the keyboard customization dialog. The Alt+Click choice for the
research pane is an Office/IE wide one.

In Word 2007, it can often be easier to select from the right for the single character if you turn off the 'automatically select
entire Word' option setting and also the Advanced setting for 'optimize character positioning for layout' can help (as can
increasing the zoom setting when selecting).

You can also use the Ctrl+Shift+F8 keyboard shortcut to turn on the block copy function (or assign an easier one in
Office Button=>Word Options=>Customize=>Keyboard
and select the 'ColumnSelect' command.

==============
It seems impossible to copy a block having a width of only one character (in
say, Courier New), fumble or no fumble.
But if you very carefully select a width of one and one third characters, it
works! The additional third of a character is discarded and a column of one
character is copied. >>
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Chris G.]

In my job, I constantly need to reformat tables, including adjusting the
width of columns, and I use the Alt key and the mouse to accomplish this. The
Research pane (in both Word 2003 and 2007) constantly pops up as a result of
my resizing columns this way, and it's hurting my productivity to have to
constantly close it.

Way to go, Microsoft. Please fix this in Office 2007 SP2! At least offer an
option to disable Alt-Click.