Black Box Around Active Item

[mj71]

My bluetooth mouse ran out of battery and I was trying to do some keyboard only navigation. Somehow I turned on an option that places a totally annoying black box or rectangle around whatever item is active and has focus. This could be an icon in the finder or text in a warning box.

I tried to take a screenshot for clarity, but the act of taking the screenshot seems to move the box before the shot is taken.

Any idea how I can undo this?!? I'm thinking it's a Universal Access item, but I can't find any setting that changes it. I'm running Tiger with latest updates.

 

[jassivemugs]

Hi There,

I had the same problem and you're right it is to do with universal access. I went in via systems preferences and turned off the following:

Voice Over - OFF
Zoom - OFF

The "Enable Access for Assistive Devices" - should be unchecked.

This is all I did and it removed the box and the duplicate items in teh Apple Menu.

Good luck.

 

[jw1487]

Thanks!

Even three years later, you helped me out.

Must be something weird with the bluetooth settings. I was using a bluetooth keyboard, and after shutting my Macbook Pro, then reopening after a while, I had all the symptoms you described. (black box on active items, duplicates in the Apple Menu).

Following the steps above fixed the issue, though. Thanks!

 

[aaisbell]

Six years later, and this helped me a lot.
I was going insane with that black box and all the weird things that it was making my computer do.

 

[MelleBos]

Better yet. 7 years later and you still helped me out! (It was the VoiceOver from what I gather...). Thanks!

 

[AndrePretoria]

Life Saver from 2005!

Sorry, even better. I have just arrived in Kuwait City to speak at a congress, and no-one was able to help me get rid of this irritation that popped up 3 days ago. In my hotel room now, and you have just saved me from serious embarrassment- this box does not go away when in keynote presentation. Mine now gone- thx jassivemugs!!

 

[Wendalore]

Me too, in 2013!

I just joined MacRumors so I could reply and join the club expressing appreciation! This black box/line happened to me, too, a few days ago. SO ANNOYING!! I also had a black rectangular box with white letters in which everything I wrote appeared. I had my sound off the whole time, but I think it repeated out loud what I was writing.
I Googled and Googled and didn't even know how to describe what was happening, and I got all kinds of links. Finally I got this one!! Yay! (And I see there are a few other places that MacRumors address the topic.) I followed what the second guy that posted, in 2006, said to do. System preferences, Universal access, and turn things off. The only thing I had to turn "off" was the "voice over" feature. Not Zoom, and "Enable Access for Assistive Devices" was already unchecked.

Well, all I can say is that it has nothing to do with Blue Tooth at least in my case. I think what it has to do with in my case was some keyboard command that turned it on. I was fooling around with something, and my hands slipped on the keyboard, and there the thing was. Can't tell you WHAT the keyboard command is, though. I am as happy as a clam! At high tide!!

 

[tomasio]

Helping still (06.2015). Thx a gazillon

 

[Chica2016]

Same here -- in 2016 (OS: El Capitan).
Thank goodness for this helpful tip, because the fix certainly wasn't obvious.