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cursor with 4 arrows at 4 sides

Hello Helper,

I am in a Word document my wife created, I am trying to add content and edit the document but, the cursor which is an arrow pointer

has 4 arrows up, down and both sides. It only allows sizing the page I guess. How do I get rid of it?

Frustrated to no end.

Thanks very much,

*** Email address is removed for privacy ***

If this  is the cursor you're seeing, it's intended for moving the program's window to a different place on the screen. You might have gotten it by pressing the Alt key and the spacebar together, releasing them, and then pressing the M key. (The Alt+space shortcut opens the "system menu" from the little program icon in the top left corner, and M is the letter that selects Move in that menu.)

To get rid of it, just press the Esc key.

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I’m sorry the esc key did not get rid of it. Some more info. The 4 arrows look like one line arrows and

not puffed up like yours and also when I put the cursor on the document and the

4 arrows show and then tap on the cursor in Windows 8 the bar at the top highlights Picture Tool with Format just below

it. Does that ring any bells…

 

Thanks so much again,

dw

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That would indicate that the text in the document is actually a picture and if it is text, it was probably inserted into the document by using Paste>Special>Picture (Enhanced Metafile).

While it may look like ordinary text, it is not possible to edit or add to it.

Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - MVP Office Apps & Services (Word)
dougrobbinsmvp@gmail.com
It's time to replace ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’ with ‘Excellence, Opportunity & Civility’ - V Ramaswamy

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Doug,

Thanks much.........It sure is a odd situation. I have no clue how my wife could do this as she

has no Word experience. She is funny with tech. stuff....all of it from cellphone, I-phones,

tablets, desktops and laptops, it all goes bad, but in a good way.

Again I really appreciate you time with this. I will type it over in a new word document.

Sincerely yours,

David S West

Corbett, OR

Columbia River Gorge

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When a document is scanned, unless the OCR option is selected, it is scanned as a picture (even if the target file is a Word document). That may be the source of this problem.
Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
Screen shots captured with TechSmith's Snagit

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in m/s 2007 I have 4 arrows together in a symbol I cant get rid of it please tell me what to do

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The cursor will assume that style when you are hovering over an object such as a text box or an image.
Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - MVP Office Apps & Services (Word)
dougrobbinsmvp@gmail.com
It's time to replace ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’ with ‘Excellence, Opportunity & Civility’ - V Ramaswamy

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Last updated February 11, 2025 Views 61,292 Applies to: