Mouse Stops Dragging

[Shaggy Hiker]

In the last two days, I have encountered an odd problem in VS2010 where the mouse can no longer be used to select a portion of code. Code selection with the mouse is generally done by putting the mouse on one side of the code, left clicking, then dragging across the code to be selected. That will just stop working. I can click, but when I drag, the code is not highlighted. In fact, nothing happens. The only solution I have found to the problem is close VS and re-start.

Has anyone else seen this?

[RhinoBull]

I had similar behavior with IE when I could no longer select any text - restarting machine (it was on for a few weeks) solved it.

[techgnome]

Not with VS.... but I have had it happen with IE and FF... and the occasional pen too... now THAT is annoying... especially when you then test it out on a different paper and it works, so you go back to the first paper, and it doesn't work...

Mouse aside, can you select the code via the keyboard?

-tg

[Pradeep1210]

There are many sites designed in a way to prevent selection, copy/paste etc. using appropriate CSS or other techniques. So trying to select not working in web browsers is a common thing.

For other applications, I think the first fix attempt should be restarting the PC. If that doesn't work, try reverting back to a previous date using System Restore.

[techgnome]

There are many sites designed in a way to prevent selection, copy/paste etc. using appropriate CSS or other techniques. So trying to select not working in web browsers is a common thing.

For other applications, I think the first fix attempt should be restarting the PC. If that doesn't work, try reverting back to a previous date using System Restore.

Not on VBF it isn't....

-tg

[Shaggy Hiker]

Well, this isn't a web site, so that's out. Restarting VS appears to be sufficient, rather than restarting the whole computer.

One thing that did work was clicking in one place, then holding down the shift key and clicking in another location. The intermediate part gets selected. This works. Dragging does not. I would therefore expect the keyboard to select well enough, though I haven't specifically tested it.

[techgnome]

any chance it's the mouse itself? like it's not recognising the mouse button being held? No, I suppose not... if that were the case then restarting the app or PC would help. Well... chalk it up to WPF... if it keeps happening, maybe file a bug w/ MS. *shrug* No other idea.

-tg

[Shaggy Hiker]

It wouldn't be the first GUI bug I have seen in VS2010, though there aren't many that I have found. The other one caused all of the text to be displayed as solid blocks of whatever color they should have been. In other words, the background color for the text block was changed to the same color as the foreground color, which made the text completely unreadable, but made for a very pleasing display, since I make plenty of use of the coloring features of the code.

[NickThissen]

I had your issue too sometimes, but in VS2008. Can't remember it happening in VS2010. I think something was interfering with my mouse, causing it to send a mouse-up command or something. If I dragged the mouse really fast, I could select a few letters (maybe 15 at most), but at normal speed it seems that I couldn't select anything. So try that, just move your mouse across the code really fast and start holding down the button when you are in the middle or something. Don't start holding down the button before you start dragging, as it will probably go too fast to see that way.

EDIT
Not saying this will fix your problem, but then we know that we had the same or at least a similar issue lol. I never found a solution, but it only occurred very rarely, and usually switching windows a few times seemed to work.