topic Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

TimothyFratta — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 19:10:53 GMT

Hi,

I am running ArcGIS Pro 3.2.2 on PC.

I am new to ArcGIS and am dealing with a problem with Layout view.

I cannot select any elements (North Arrow, Scale, Text boxes, etc.) by clicking on them. I can only highlight them using the content pane (and thank you Richard for pointing out the lock/unlock feature), but even then I am restricted in my actions.

For example, I wanted to select a portion of text in a box to give it specific font attributes, but it has become impossible because I can't select anything inside the box using the pointer.

What is going on? I was able to do everything when I first created the layout, but some setting must have been triggered and I'm stuck.

Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Tim

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

Robert_LeClair — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 19:18:44 GMT

Hi Tim! Sorry to hear that you're not able to select elements in your Layout View. There are a couple ways to select elements, such as the north arrow, scale bar and dynamic text, - On the Layout core tab, in the Elements group, there is a Select tool. You can use this Select tool to select layout elements. Another way is in the Contents Pane on the left side of the app, you'll see map elements there too. Click on one of them and you'll be able to move it to another position on the layout or right-click and access it's properties. You can learn more here.

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

TimothyFratta — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 20:29:39 GMT

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the quick reply. In fact, I have been trying to use the Select tool for days now, but it simply DOES NOT WORK anymore. When I use the Select by Rectangle and select a large area, NONE of the elements I fully include in the selected area end up being selected. It's just mind boggling, and I cannot understand why this isn't working.

I have attached a screen capture to illustrate.

Tim

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

Robert_LeClair — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 20:34:19 GMT

Interesting...so when I see strange behavior like this, I always recommend a soft reset of ArcGIS Pro. You can see how to do this in the steps listed here. Once the reset is complete does the strange behavior persist?

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

TimothyFratta — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 20:50:38 GMT

Hi Robert,

Alas, no success: I followed the soft reset instructions (including the Registry edit), turned off the PC and relaunched ArcGIS, no change :-(.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

Tim

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

Robert_LeClair — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 21:02:48 GMT

Hi Tim - well darn. I was hoping that would resolve the issue. Next up - what are your Selection options from the Project->Options tab->Application-> Selection tab? My are below:

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

TimothyFratta — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 21:05:52 GMT

Hi Robert,

The only difference I see is the remove from the current selection. Would that be the reason???

Tim

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

TimothyFratta — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 21:06:41 GMT

Bingo! That's it :-)))))

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

TimothyFratta — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 21:07:00 GMT

Thank you very much Robert!

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

GerryGabrisch — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 15:32:57 GMT

This worked for me but it should be stated that the selection tool in the layout does not give you the same options for changing the selection options like in a map view. To solve this one must go back into back into the map frame and change the selection type there. Poor UX!

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

GISAdminSHN — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 23:22:02 GMT

I HATE having to activate the frame to make feature selections in a layout! I am sure there is a good reason and it's probably near impossible to avoid, but it still triggers me every time! 😄 Interestingly, if you open the attribute table of a layer, you get the whole UI back like you are working in a map, without "activating" the frame. Makes a ton of sense! 😜

Re: Cannot select or edit elements in Layout view

NancyBellegarde1 — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:15:14 GMT

Agree..that makes no sense at all. Selecting layout items while active in the map frame..