Clipboard problem in Excel 2016

Hi Mike,

unfortunately your post is no update at all. What you wrote was essentially posted by Freya earlier on this thread, on September 28, 2016. It was than marked and later unmarked as answer. I replied to her on January 4, 2017, because it was not helpful.

You have only added some alternative facts to it.

Now your post is wrongfully marked as answer (by whomsoever).

For the record: I just updated Excel (Version 1701, Build 7766.2060), switched on the feature "clipboard surveillance" of my telephone program (fairly similar to the "Skype web plugin") and did some tests.

The telephone is here: https://www.agfeo.de/agfeo_web/hp3.nsf/start.xsp?c=dlsw&az1=dl&az2=prod, look for TK-Suite, then for Windows.

Some details so far not mentioned:

The message shows up with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, using the Format Painter and only taking whole cells. It does not show up if you copy a part of a cell content.

[ edit June 20th 2017: everything is still valid up to version 1705, Build 8201.2075 ]

[ e **dit July 18th 2017:**version 1706, Build 8229.2073: message occurs now only when dragging and droppinga cell within a sheet - every time. It doesn't occur anymore with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, or using the Format Painter. ]

[quote] it means that another app has a lock on the system clipboard [\quote]

Wrong. The other program has a peek into the system clipboard.

[quote] you can still paste within Excel [\quote]

That is true. You can paste within Excel and not only (as the message says) within this workbook. This shows that the message is, beyond all previous complaints, also wrong in its declaration.

[quote] you cannot paste to another app*[\quote]*

Wrong. You can paste from Excel to any other app (do you mean ‚program‘?) and inside and between any other program.

Only from any other program back into Excel doesn’t work in some special, but not unusual, cases. As I will show below my reply to your post.

[quote] so that this error message only showsonce per Excel instance*[\quote]*

Wrong. The error message shows up multiple times per Excel instance and per Excel session. Usually it shows up at the second Ctrl+C after opening an Excel instance. sometimes on the third Ctrl+C and rarely on the first Ctrl+C. And after that randomly every few usages of Ctrl +C.

But even if it was only once per Excel session, it would be still unnecessary and annoying, because how many Excel sessions do you have in a regular office day? 10? 20? 100?

[quote] there was user feedback that this message isinformative and helpful in some cases*[\quote]*

I doubt. I read everything on this topic and never saw even one opinion that this might be useful in any case. As I pointed out earlier, there is no reasonable reason for this annoying message:

1. The message is pointless in 100% of the cases, because it shows neither causes nor solutions. Just as helpful as a message "There's a light on in the basement."
2. If there was any case where the access of an outside program to the clipboard was actually an impairment to the copying process in Excel, one would notice this anyway by missing the insertion. But the message would be as well unnecessary because it only would have reported the obvious and does not reveal any causes or solutions.
3. If the access of any outside program to the clipboard would actually be a problem, then why don't you also "protect" Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc. ?

[quote] For any design suggestions or new ideas on improving the Excel copy-paste experience, please post toExcel UserVoice. [\quote]

There are no new ideas. Only the very old idea: **Comment out that one line of code, that calls the message!******Nobody wants or needsExcel to comment on clipboard matters.

So the (literally) bottom line of your post is that we should post the problem after 4 years of discussion in multiple Microsoft-related or -owned forums again at another place in the hope that there is finally one who understands what pain in the bottom this is**?**

When can we hope for a real solution?

Uwe

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The following subtopic has been split to another thread (seems to be not directly connected to the above):

Excel 2016 blocks the clipboard in some special, but not unusual, cases

The following real clipboard problem occurs also if the underlying telephone program feature is disabled and everything works fine without unnecessary messages, presumably independently from the above mentioned message – I can not tell.

I will do some additional tests on other computers and Excel versions later this week. Maybe I will start a new thread then.

Experimental setup:

• In a random Excel cell you write "aaa".
• You make any copying operations inside this Excel sheet. Finally, copy the cell "aaa" with Ctrl+C into any other cell with Ctrl+V.
• Then you make some copying operations in other programs or between other programs – which works perfectly.
• At the end you copy the word "bbb" from any (e.g.) Word document with Ctrl+C, change to any Excel file (it does not have to be already open before), mark any cell (empty or not) and press Ctrl+V.

  --> in the target cell there will not appear "bbb" as expected, but "aaa".

• to free Excel from the "aaa" in the clipboard, you must first press the Esc key while being in Excel. After that you have to go back to Word and copy "bbb" again, to paste it to Excel

Even better:

• In the Excel clipboard "aaa" is saved (as explained above).
• Then you take a random "bbb" with Ctrl+C in Word and insert this "bbb" several times with Ctrl+V anywhere in Word.
• Then you close Excel.
• Then you press again Ctrl+V in Word to insert the "bbb" that should still be in the clipboard

  --> the insertion now says not "bbb" as expected, but "aaa"

Having just upgraded on our work machines to Office 2016 having been on 2013 before, I'm getting this message much too often, and as a heavy Excel user I would imagine that whilst some people would say that this message is informative and helpful in some casesmost of us would say that it's a real pain and slows work up quite a bit.  Is there a way to switch off this less than useful feature?

What kind of answer is this, come on guys, it is ridiculous for a product like Excel to have such a glaring and annoying bug.   Your answer compelled me to try clearing my clipboard only to find the answer here is nonsense - and the waste of my time adds insult to injury - the error shows over and over, no matter what the clipboard state is at the beginning, please fix it!!!!  

While you are at it please fix the Excel clipboard behavior all round, such these two:

1  There being some kind of "time out" for pasting in Excel, so that I never know if paste will work if I don't hurry.    What if I want to look through a long spreadsheet and paste the same thing over and over?  Or stretch my legs before i paste?

2.  When I use cntrl drag to copy the contents of one cell to another, not only do I get the error message, but it also clears the clipboard of anything I may have been working with from any other apps.

My problem was also fixed by disabling clipboard use in a VNC viewer (a different one from the one shown, but the same idea). I've re-enabled the option, and the problem hasn't come back in Excel, even after closing Excel down and restarting it.