Problems with Selective Text Highlighting using Trackpad after Sonoma Update

I just updated to Sonoma and I am experiencing problems highlighting text. I used to be able to do it by positioning the cursor on the word I wanted, and pressing the trackpad while moving my finger to highlight portions of the text I needed. Now I can't do it, and what only works is tapping twice to highlight one word, or tapping thrice which highlights an entire paragraph. There are no options to highlight text within a paragraph and across sentences, or to highlight text across different paragraphs. I work as an editor so it is slowing me down immensely. Including screencaps of my trackpad settings below which has worked for me in the past.



Posted on Oct 18, 2023 9:01 PM

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2 replies

Oct 20, 2023 11:16 AM in response to qtpiegollywow

Hello qtpiegollywow,



Thanks for that info and for choosing the Apple Support Communities. If we understand correctly, you are unable to highlight words on your Mac with your trackpad as you expect. First, try running First Aid on your hard drive with the built in Disk Utility tool, as this can correct simple issues like you're experiencing.



How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility - Apple Support



Next, use safe mode to start up your Mac as it does the following things:



  • Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed
  • Loads only required kernel extensions
  • Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically
  • Disables user-installed fonts
  • Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files



Log in to your user account and test the issue while in safe mode and then restart normally and test the issue again.



Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support



Cheers!

Feb 6, 2024 8:09 PM in response to jdo_apple

I have the exact same issue with the exact choices selected in Trackpad, and the reply didn't help me at all. It's still highlighting a word yellow instead of allowing me to highlight a phrase, to highlight text within a paragraph and across sentences, or to highlight text across different paragraphs. Did anyone else figure out how to do this?

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Problems with Selective Text Highlighting using Trackpad after Sonoma Update

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