copying an answer

[anotheoldgit]

How do you highlight just a single answer on AB?
When I try nearly all the page highlights, and I do not wish to copy & paste everything, only the certain answer

[rojash]

Put your mouse pointer immediately behind the P at the start of this message. Press and hold down the left button and drag diagonally across the message until you have included the final full stop.

[gumboot]

Your better off downloading a copy of PrintKey 2000. Use Google to search for one of the many download sites. The utility allows you to draw a box around any part of your screen and copy the contents into Word or whatever else you like. It's fantastic for copying stuff where right-clicking has been disabled by the webpage builder.

Download it and you'll soon think it's the best thing since sliced bread!

The 2000 version is freeware. More recent versions have to be paid for. Here's the blurb:

"PrintKey is an excellent add-on. It is activated when you press the PrintScreen Key and allows you to capture the entire screen or any portion of it. You can then make changes to the screen capture and save in a variety of formats including .gif, .bmp, .jpeg, .jpg, .emf and .wmf. You can also swap colors, convert to grayscale or black and white, change picture size and send to the printer all from this little freeware program. All of the pictures on this Website have been saved using PrintKey. Tested and works fine with Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP"




"PrintKey is an excellent add-on. It is activated when you press the PrintScreen Key and allows you to capture the entire screen or any portion of it. You can then make changes to the screen capture and save in a variety of formats including .gif, .bmp, .jpeg, .jpg, .emf and .wmf. You can also swap colors, convert to grayscale or black and white, change picture size and send to the printer all from this little freeware program. All of the pictures on this Website have been saved using PrintKey. Tested and works fine with Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP"

I've been using PrintKey 2000 to print off one or more answers and it works like a dream.

[rojash]

Alternatively click once immediately behind the A at the start of this message. Now forget the mouse. Hold down the shift key and press the down-arrow key until you have included the last line.

[gumboot]

Oops sorry - copy and pasted twice!

[rojash]

Unfortunately, gumboot, from your description, Printkey is a graphical screen capture program, which is great if you want a PICTURE of the answer, but not so good if you want the actual text to include in a text document.

[Papa Fox]

Place your cursor at the start of the text you want to copy, hold down the left mouse button and drag to the end of the text. Release the left mouse button and the text should stay highlighted. Press the right mouse button and select 'Copy' from the list that appears. That is the copy part of it. You now need to open a new document - if you right click on your desktop and select 'New', you can open various sorts of files, including Word Documents or even easier a text document. Once you have created the new document, double-click to open it, place the cursor inside the document somewhere and press the right mouse button. Finally select 'Paste' from the list. Sorry it sounds long-winded but once you have done it a few times it gets much easier!

[heathfield]

Rojash - neither of your methods work on my PC. But the following method does -

1) A left click anywhere on the text of the particular answer I want to copy.
2) Press and hold both CTL and ALT.
3) Left click again on the text, and that answer alone becomes highlighted.
4) Select 'Edit' on my browser window and click on 'Copy'.

This puts the selected answer into my clipboard.

I'd be interested to hear if this works for others.

[anotheoldgit]

Thanks for your answers but none of them worked for me. The only way I find will work, is to point on the beginning of the answer, then hold down Ctrl key, and press left mouse button 3 times. (strange)

[anotheoldgit]

no correct this, press the L/H mouse button at the beginning of the message, hold the Ctrl button down and click the L/H mouse button once.

[rojash]

heathfield, that's really strange. I had two copies of my browser open - one on a question with loads of answers, and I tested it as I typed it!.

Admittedly, I'm using Firefox, and I didn't test it in IE, but it's always worked for me in the past. Maybe IE7 is different?

[heathfield]

Hmm. IE 6.0 with SP2 + AOL on WinXP here. Oh well. At least we've all got 'Copy' working

[Yorky Lass]

Heathfield, your solution worked a treat! Every other suggestion still highlighted the whole page. Well done.

[gumboot]

Sorry rojash, but regardless of the original purpose of PrintKey 2000, it does fit the bill as far as the question is concerned.

I agree that it is a screen capture utility, but it's just as easy to paste the capture into a text document such as Word as it is to copy and paste directly into Word and elsewhere. As I said, it also has the added advantage of functioning where right-clicking has been disabled.

I'd also like to point out that it allows you to capture the name of the poster, something that may be useful for future reference or for other reasons. PrintKey 2000 also allows you to copy more than one post in one action, something that can't be done via highlighting, copying and pasting. Highlighting, copying and pasting only allows you to copy over one post unless someone can tell me otherwise - I've never been able to do it.

[heathfield]

Glad to hear it, Yorkie Lass, and thanks for the response.