Insertion Point Cursor in Word changes

[cmryle]

Somehow, because I am not a good typist, I hit a combination of keystrokes that has caused the insertion point cursor in Word 2003 to change from the normal I-beam to a tiny vertical line I can barely see. Does anyone know how to change it back? After spending over half an hour searching through the useless help screens I have given up. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I find keyboard shortcuts extremely annoying. Over and over I find I've hit some combination of keys which has resulted in an unintended keyboard shortcut which changes something and I have to waste precious time getting things back to the way they were. The truth is that I hate Word and if I wasn't forced to use it I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

You find keyboard shortcuts problematic because you are not a touch typist,
I would guess.

The blinking verital line is the normal insertion point cursor. The I-beam
is the mouse pointer. What happens if you move your mouse?

There is a lot about Word that I don't care for, but much of my dislike for
it disappeared after I spent time studying how it works and how to produce
good documents with it. If you _have_ to use Word, I would suggest investing
some time in learning how it works, especially Styles and Templates. You
might see if you can do what you want to do using WordPad which is much
simpler. Using Word to replace a typewriter is like using a computerized
printing press. It can produce great results but there is a basic investment
in training/learning required. If you treat it like a typewriter, you would
be better off with WordPad.
--

Charles Kenyon

See the MVP FAQ: <URL: http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
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from my ignorance and your wisdom.

Somehow, because I am not a good typist, I hit a combination of keystrokes

that has caused the insertion point cursor in Word 2003 to change from the
normal I-beam to a tiny vertical line I can barely see. Does anyone know
how to change it back? After spending over half an hour searching through
the useless help screens I have given up. I don't know if anyone else feels
this way but I find keyboard shortcuts extremely annoying. Over and over I
find I've hit some combination of keys which has resulted in an unintended
keyboard shortcut which changes something and I have to waste precious time
getting things back to the way they were. The truth is that I hate Word and
if I wasn't forced to use it I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.

 

[cmryle]

I misspoke. You're right: the i-beam is the mouse pointer. The vertical line marks the insertion point.

My problem is that I hit some combination of keystrokes which has changed the insertion point cursor from a tall vertical line, which I can see easily, to a short vertical line, which I can't see easily. I have no idea what that combination of keystrokes is (probably something like control+alt+numlock+scrollock+K for kursor, while at the same time putting your right index finger in your left ear and crossing your toes). Trying to find out from the help is ... well, we won't go into that. If I'd had any luck there I wouldn't be here

This is only one example of something that happens quite often: the unintended execution of keyboard shortcuts and the resulting non-trivial waste of the time it takes to figure out exactly what happened and put things back the way they were

Finally, as a matter of fact, I've been using Word since Word97 and I've spent a lot of time I wish I had back reading about it, so your little dig in guise of a suggestion falls flat. And I am a touch typist, learned how on a real honest-to-God typewriter, but that doesn't mean that I don't hit the control or alt or windows keys when I don't mean to, which is probably what leads to these pesky unintended keyboard shortcuts being executed. In fact, being a touch typist means you're more rather than less likely to do that because you're not looking at the keyboard.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If the insertion point is smaller it might be that you reduced the size of
the text (or the zoom ratio).

I misspoke. You're right: the i-beam is the mouse pointer. The vertical

line marks the insertion point.

My problem is that I hit some combination of keystrokes which has changed

the insertion point cursor from a tall vertical line, which I can see
easily, to a short vertical line, which I can't see easily. I have no idea
what that combination of keystrokes is (probably something like
control+alt+numlock+scrollock+K for kursor, while at the same time putting
your right index finger in your left ear and crossing your toes). Trying to
find out from the help is ... well, we won't go into that. If I'd had any
luck there I wouldn't be here.

This is only one example of something that happens quite often: the

unintended execution of keyboard shortcuts and the resulting non-trivial
waste of the time it takes to figure out exactly what happened and put
things back the way they were.

Finally, as a matter of fact, I've been using Word since Word97 and I've

spent a lot of time I wish I had back reading about it, so your little dig
in guise of a suggestion falls flat. And I am a touch typist, learned how
on a real honest-to-God typewriter, but that doesn't mean that I don't hit
the control or alt or windows keys when I don't mean to, which is probably
what leads to these pesky unintended keyboard shortcuts being executed. In
fact, being a touch typist means you're more rather than less likely to do
that because you're not looking at the keyboard.

 

[cmryle]

Suzanne,

This morning the insertion point cursor is back to its original size without my having done anything (no, I'm not going crazy, this did happen). I have no explanation, but I've been around computers long enough to know that when something works unexpectedly it's often a good idea to just be grateful and not ask why.

The zoom never changed from 100% so I don't think that was it. But thanks for the suggestion.

Michael Ryle

----- Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote: -----

If the insertion point is smaller it might be that you reduced the size of
the text (or the zoom ratio).

I misspoke. You're right: the i-beam is the mouse pointer. The vertical

line marks the insertion point.the insertion point cursor from a tall vertical line, which I can see
easily, to a short vertical line, which I can't see easily. I have no idea
what that combination of keystrokes is (probably something like
control+alt+numlock+scrollock+K for kursor, while at the same time putting
your right index finger in your left ear and crossing your toes). Trying to
find out from the help is ... well, we won't go into that. If I'd had any
luck there I wouldn't be here.unintended execution of keyboard shortcuts and the resulting non-trivial
waste of the time it takes to figure out exactly what happened and put
things back the way they were.spent a lot of time I wish I had back reading about it, so your little dig
in guise of a suggestion falls flat. And I am a touch typist, learned how
on a real honest-to-God typewriter, but that doesn't mean that I don't hit
the control or alt or windows keys when I don't mean to, which is probably
what leads to these pesky unintended keyboard shortcuts being executed. In
fact, being a touch typist means you're more rather than less likely to do
that because you're not looking at the keyboard.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Whenever anything untoward happens, your first impulse should be to reboot
the computer; this solves a multitude of problems!

Suzanne,

This morning the insertion point cursor is back to its original size

without my having done anything (no, I'm not going crazy, this did happen).
I have no explanation, but I've been around computers long enough to know
that when something works unexpectedly it's often a good idea to just be
grateful and not ask why.

 

[Caladonia]

I posted a query about the pointer, then found the right search word for your
response to a similar posting. I've experienced the problem many times,
didn't know why, and couldn't figure out why an accidental fix ocurred.
Thanks for pointing out the cure even if we don't fully understand the
disease.