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Can't drag objects

I am unable to drag objects/textbox/etc in InDesign. I can resize using corner handles but I'm unable to click and drag object to desired location I've uninstalled, reinstalled, shutdown, restarted, cleared all settings, etc and nothing seems to work. I have never encountered this issue in all my years of using InDesign. Please help!

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Alvina shared this idea  ·   ·  Report…  ·  Admin →
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FIXED  ·  Abhinav Kaushik responded  · 

Hello All,

We thank you for your patience all this while.

Addressing this problem has been tricky for us given the random nature of the issue.
Determined to resolve the issue, we had launched our investigation into the matter to identify the root cause and fix it.

Many of you must have received email from us seeking more details about the issue.

We have concluded our investigation and came up with the below mentioned finding:

It was found that, most of the times, users were trying to drag an empty polygon which was leading the confusion because the legacy behaviour of InDesign allows dragging of polygon only from its edges or the centre most point.
If the user tries to drag it from any other position, the object cannot be moved.

We have tried to improve the user experience in this regard. You can try the same in InDesign’s latest version id 14.0.3.

Please download and install id 14.0.3 and let us know your feedback on the new experience.

Note:
If you are unable to drag other types of objects (other than empty polygons), please check the memory usage of your system. It has been observed that when the memory usage reaches the critical level, dragging of the objects become difficult.
As a workaround, you may either try to close some applications or restart the system.

Regards,
InDesign team

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  • Neville Atmodjo commented  ·   ·  Report

    This just happened to me where none of the boxes (both images/texts) wont move when using a mouse. However, I still can nudge them using the cursor.

    Same as others, never had an issue like this previously.

    Any idea on how to resolve this?

  • Caleb Fugleberg commented  ·   ·  Report

    Same issue here. It's been happening off an on for a while. Just happened now. I can't drag objects but can move with arrow keys.

    Specs:
    Macbook Pro 15in 2017
    MacOS Sierra 10.12.15
    Adobe InDesign CC 2019 - 14.0If I knew how to send cache and preferences I would...

    I'm still able to click and drag to:
    - rearrange property panels in InDesign
    - resize image and text frames in InDesign
    - highlight text in InDesign

    I'm still able to click and drag normally in other open Adobe Apps like Illustrator and Photoshop.

  • - commented  ·   ·  Report

    Same problem. On Mac, CC 2017, all windows can't move, but can move via keypad.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    I'm having this issue as well currently

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    For me, it helped to go to the task manager and restart the windows explorer.

  • cmyk commented  ·   ·  Report

    I can't drag either...and inDesign won't open!

  • Peniey commented  ·   ·  Report

    I'm having this same issue. Cannot drag using the directional tool, but I can use my up and down arrow button on my keyboard to get it around.

  • Breda commented  ·   ·  Report

    ditto unable to do anything in InDesign I import a picture or anything and have to use my arrows to move things around the page its useless to me right now having to use illustrator or photoshop for bits please fix.

  • VAN commented  ·   ·  Report

    Same issue! On a PC. Updated and current version of INDD. Locking and unlocking no difference. Yes, can click on other, non adobe files. Just cannot drag current images, text blocks, etc., to the other places.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    Does anyone know how to fix the issue of no being able to move selected objects

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    I am also having problems shifting objects around the artboard. I have just opened a file from March and can't move objects. They move then snap back into place. I am running the latest Indesign CC on a Mac and can't see any locking or grouping.

  • Kara Edens commented  ·   ·  Report

    I am also having this same problem - just noticed it today. Last week I used InDesign with no issues. Locking and unlocking Windows worked but will I have to do this forever now? Anyone get any answers yet?

  • Jacob Boswell commented  ·   ·  Report

    Same thing. Running cc 2019 version 14 on a PC. Don't want to have to restart my computer every time this happens.

  • Josie Bruntzel commented  ·   ·  Report

    Using macOS Sierra version 10.12.6
    I can resize images but cannot drag a single thing
    it happens with all objects text, graphic image, shape

  • Josie Bruntzel commented  ·   ·  Report

    It is June 14 2019 and this just happened to me today. PLEASE help

  • Dawna Houston commented  ·   ·  Report

    I have not seen anything on this that fixes the issue. It's now June 6, 2019 and still seeing the same problem. Cannot drag anything. Can only move with arrow keys. What is the fix? I'm on a Mac, High Sierra OS vs 10.12.6

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