Cursor behaviour Irritation

[jrkay]

As a previous user of PagePlus I do my best to adjust to the differences I find in Publisher but one thing really tries my patience and irritates. In Pageplus just the movement of the cursor ensures that the function automatically and every time, without fail, switches easily between Move and Text Entry modes as it enters or leaves a text frame or moves over a picture  or drawn object.

In Publisher the cursor does change from Move to Text entry cursor. Often only after you have cllicked again inside the text frame. To get it back to a Move cursor you must either click on the move icon or press V, even so this may only work if you leave the page and sometimes afterwards only if you tap again on the artboard. This breaks the workflow like nothing else.

 

[garrettm30]

I come from a different background (InDesign), and I can relate. When you are currently editing text in a text frame, pressing escape one time exits the text frame but still has it selected, then a second escape deselects the text frame, but all the while the text tool is still active. I do not understand why the text frame is still selected after the first escape if it is not also going to change to the move tool, which is the natural way to interact with a frame as an object. To get back to the move tool, I have to escape at least once and then click the move tool or type V (which I find dangerous because sometimes I insert a V as text if in the speed of a busy day I am not careful enough). A quick single or even double tap to the escape key is better in my view.

In this respect I prefer InDesign where a single escape changes to the move tool. I like the safety of using escape to exit out of text typing mode to return to shortcut mode. Better still, this would be my preference:

• Tap escape once to exit text editing and (unlike Publisher) change to the move tool.
• Tap escape a second time to deselect the text frame (unlike InDesign, which does nothing after a second escape).

Either way, it is easy to get back into a text frame in text mode by double clicking on it, which in that case is true of both InDesign and Publisher.

I don’t know if people’s opinions on this are fairly unified or whether it is a matter for personal taste. If it is the latter, I think a preference item is in order, as this is such a basic and frequent task that it would be nice to let us work in the way that makes most sense.

[walt.farrell]

10 minutes ago, garrettm30 said:

I do not understand why the text frame is still selected after the first escape if it is not also going to change to the move tool, which is the natural way to interact with a frame as an object.

You don't need to get to the Move Tool to interact with the Text Frame as an object. Just move the mouse cursor over the frame, and do what you need to do.

You don't even need to hit Escape.

[jrkay]

I have found, after a great deal of error what my big problem with Publisher has been so I'm offering this as a help to all people in the same position as me.

I have always used a Wacom graphic tablet (Intuos 4) for my desktop publishing, the stylus is a godsend as it stops my hand being cramped up by using the mouse all the time.

The trouble has been that as the tablet is live and placed  in front of me all the time I am working it can activate graphic functions on the PC without me being fully aware of it. Here I was being frustrated thinking that Publisher was acting up when all the time it was probably my own idle left arm  was making decisions for me.

Deepest apologies to Serif. I have just been putting a book together using Publisher without any problem at all.

I thought I ought to make other graphic tablet users aware of this.

John

['Chele]

I am having a terrible time. My cursor jumps around and does not insert itself where I place it. This makes editing the text virtually impossible. Anyone have an idea what causes this?

 

[carl123]

@'Chele 

What version of Publisher are you on?

Also, is this on one particular document or every document?

Are you using a Tablet or a Mouse?

['Chele]

I have the most recent download. It happens intermittently. I am using a mouse.