persistent drawing tool selection

[philos]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: intel

In Word 2008, is there a way to select a line tool on the drawing toolbar and have it stick until un-selected?

I'd like to be able to click on the button and draw several lines instead of having to click the button for each individual line. In other products, double clicking on the button does this, but I have been unable to do so in Word. Any ideas?

This is actually a workaround to solve my larger problem. I'm a teacher and would like to be able to mark up student documents with a tablet and pen, but so far I have to click the line button every time I pick up my pen, e.g. for every letter or part of a letter.

I know that the Windows version of Word allows exactly this feature under the Windows Tablet edition. Does anyone know if it is possible on a Mac?

Thanks-

Erik

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Erik -

As long as you're selecting the tool from the Drawing Toolbar (rather than
from the Object Palette) you can double-click the tool. It will remain
selected until you select a different tool, press esc, or commit some other
action. This works for any of the tools.

BTW - Just in case it escaped your attention... Each of the tool menus &
sub-menus have a dotted blue perforation on the top edge so you can "tear
off" the menu as a floating palette, eliminating the need to keep digging
back through the various levels to select tool from the same group.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[philos]

Hi Bob-

Thanks for the response. I did get it to work, but only when I "tore off" the line tool. If I double click directly on a line, say the scribble line, the first click selects it, but the second click is on my desktop. In other words, there was no way to double click the button.

However, when I tear it off, then I can double click whichever line I want.

Thanks for this, I never would have known about the "tear off" feature. Also, the "perforated lines" I get are grey. I'm assuming that this is set by my overall system preference of a "graphite" appearance over the default "blue."

Again, Thanks for your help.

Erik

 

[CyberTaz]

Yeah - I'm sorry I didn't make it more clear about the tear-offs & I guess
the perfs are more gray than blue:-}, but after all I'm just a hapless old
man still trying to figure all this stuff out after a mere ~25 years.

Anyway - glad it steered you in the right direction!

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac