Text Automatically Selected While Browing - How to Turn This Off

[baumgrenze]

I am running Win 7 Pro x64.

I use SeaMonkey 2.32.1 as my browser.

User agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:35.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/35.0 SeaMonkey/2.32.1
Build identifier: 20150204202218

When I want to select and copy some text from a search hit, I find that the system 'thinks it knows better" and it starts jumping backwards and forwards in an attempt to save me a little work.

Is this behavior controlled by the OS or by the browser?

I would like to turn this 'feature' off; I find it counterproductive. Where do I start?

thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[Midori]

Hello baumgrenze,

When I want to select and copy some text from a search hit, I find that the system 'thinks it knows better" and it starts jumping backwards and forwards in an attempt to save me a little work.

What exactly 'jumps backwards and forwards', is it the mouse or the webpage?

I know Google and some other Search Engines have a function in javascript where if you use the 'Up' or 'Down' arrow-key, it will select the next or previous search result.
Google's blue arrows: I hate it, turn it off! - State of Digital

For Google, the only way i know to disable it would be to disable 'Instant Search' or Javascript.
In my opinion though, it is a pretty useful feature if i do not have a mouse in hand.

Have a good day ^^.

 

[paul1149]

Is this behavior controlled by the OS or by the browser?

Fire up an alternative browser and see what it does.

 

[baumgrenze]

I apologize for being slow to reply. Tonight I finally have an example that I can document. I just opened this Google search:

https://www.google.com/search?num=5...dr...0...1c.1.62.serp..11.20.3488.fDIRR2TUixc

I tried to select the linked title line of the first hit because I wanted to use the words in an email:

Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Upcoming Docent-Led Activities 02/28/2015. History of Fremont Older Ride 03/01/2015. Earthquake Walk 03/04/2015. Explorer Hike: Early Spring at Picchetti

If I hold down the mouse button I use to select text (the right one because my mouse is on the left, under my 'right brain' left hand) and, as I approach the first line from the left, everything down the page is automatically selected, or, if I make a subtle move, the selection shifts to the hit count at the top of the hits. Is this perhaps a 'Google Feature" I have somehow missed learning how to unselect? In my Google Settings have selected "Never show instant results" which might be implicated. If I move very carefully I can approach from the right and only select a single line. It is a bit easier to copy the entire hit, if I approach it from the bottom, right.

If there is a way to disable this kind of mouse selection, I would certainly like to select it.

thanks,

baumgrenze