# Enabling no longer allowed in response boxes? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 9, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053 "2018-09-09T16:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053/1 "2018-09-09T16:00:19Z")
Well, what I call enabling, anyway, which is where you left click and then drag your cursor over a word or sentence to make it blue in order to either: a.) delete b.) move somewhere else c.) change it into bold, italics, etc. d.) you know - the usual shit when you enable, right? I wanted to truncate the shit out of a wall of text post so I could respond to only the relevant bit, but for some fucking crazy reason it would no allow me to enable it. This is blankety-blank fucking crazy. Right? Correct? So really, then? We are no longer allowed to carry out any one of the four quite basic-as-all-get-out functions that I outlined here, in a response box? Isn’t this going to greatly hamper our ability to respond to posts in any half-acceptable manner? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053/2 "2018-09-09T16:09:27Z")
If I am understanding you correctly, it’s called highlighting, not enabling. What you are seeing is a bug that has been in Chrome for a bit and is now in the latest version of Firefox as well, that is triggered by a setting that’s not quite right on the SDMB mobile theme. See the sticky thread here: [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=857192](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=857192) You can fix it by going back to an older version of your browser, switching to a browser that doesn’t have the bug, or switching to the regular SDMB theme that doesn’t have the incorrect setting that triggers the bug (Straightdope v3.7.3). The drop-down menu to select the theme is on the lower left side of the page. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053/3 "2018-09-09T16:13:05Z")
[https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=857192](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=857192) This is related the board update. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053/4 "2018-09-09T16:25:24Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > …or switching to the regular SDMB theme that doesn’t have the incorrect setting that triggers the bug (Straightdope v3.7.3). The drop-down menu to select the theme is on the lower left side of the page. heh - YAY! Once again, engineer\_comp\_geek, you just can’t _help_, but rule. many thanks! (and to **Telemark** too) (cool! all these italics and bolding and truncating and stuff!) And so it’s highlighting, then - heh, got it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053/5 "2018-09-10T16:42:46Z")
Another term is “selecting”. Note that in many programs pressing Ctrl-A is called “Select All” and the effect is to “highlight” everything in the focus window. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2018, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enabling-no-longer-allowed-in-response-boxes/821053/6 "2018-09-10T18:22:04Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Another term is “selecting”. Note that in many programs pressing Ctrl-A is called “Select All” and the effect is to “highlight” everything in the focus window. And for the sake of completeness, the “selecting” actually works. It’s the “highlighting” that is broken. You can’t see what you have selected, but copy and paste does actually still work. The text actually is selected, you just aren’t getting any visual indication that it is selected.