In Outlook Classis, how can I highlight email addresses in responses so I can copy and paste them without it auto-highlighting everything?

In Outlook Classic, to highlight specific email addresses without auto-highlighting additional text, you can try the following steps:

1. Use the Mouse: Click at the beginning of the email address you want to copy. Hold down the left mouse button and drag to the end of the email address. This should allow you to select just the email address without including adjacent text.
2. Use the Keyboard: You can also use the keyboard to select text. Click at the start of the email address, then hold down the Shift key and use the arrow keys to extend the selection to the end of the email address.
3. Copying: Once the email address is highlighted, right-click and select "Copy" or press Ctrl+C to copy the selected text.
4. Pasting: You can paste the copied email address into a new email or document by right-clicking and selecting "Paste" or by pressing Ctrl+V.

If you continue to experience issues with highlighting, ensure that your Outlook is updated, as sometimes bugs can affect text selection functionality.

Hi PaintUser-1365,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

Based on your description, I understand you’re referring to an email signature block within the message body that contains an email address. You would like to copy only that address; however, in Outlook (Classic) the selection automatically expands and highlights part of the surrounding signature, which you do not want.

If this interpretation is correct, I currently do not have an equivalent signature sample to reproduce the scenario and determine the optimal fix. Nevertheless, from my research and observations, I can share the following insights:

• Email signatures are typically implemented as HTML tables/div blocks. Because Outlook (Classic) uses Word as its editing engine, text selection inside those HTML blocks often behaves at the block level rather than the exact character level, which leads to larger‑than‑intended selections and the carry‑over of formatting.
• A practical suggestion from the community is to hold the Alt key and drag the mouse to make a rectangular selection. This allows you to isolate the specific portion without pulling in adjacent signature elements. Please try this method to see if it improves precision in your environment.
• If the Alt + drag technique doesn’t behave as expected with your particular signature, consider a simple fallback: first paste the copied content into Notepad to strip all formatting, then copy just the email address from Notepad and paste it back into your new email. This ensures you retain only plain text.

I hope these details are helpful.

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