Clipboard problem in Excel 2016

            [...] And this issue is still actual, now for maybe 7 or 8 months!

You're wrong, Branislav. It is 4 years (at least).

Hi Freya,

Your comment is a joke. I like jokes, even silly or bad jokes, but this is no topic for joking! It is a major issue to many people working with Excel (not drawing numbers into boxes as most people do, but really working).

[quote] This is actually the solution you are seeing! :) [\quote]

Replacing an unnecessary message with an unnecessary message is not a solution. :(

[quote] Excel cannot control what outside applications do to consume all the clipboard space.[\quote]

Nobody wants Excel to control what outside applications do with the clipboard and nobody needs Excel to control what outside applications do with the clipboard. The only thing Excel is expected to do is writing things into the clipboard and inserting things out of the clipboard, as all other programs in the Windows universe do, without commenting what outside applications do.

[quote] to consume all the clipboard space. [\quote]

Clipboard space is not consumed, it is occupied and will be overwritten over and over again. If another program (in my case the telephone) peeks into the clipboard content I don't care and Excel shouldn't too.

[quote] the problem is not caused inside Excel. [\quote]

Au contraire! The problem is caused inside Excel. The only problem existing is the existence of this message box.

[quote] Instead of giving you an annoying error message each and every time you try to copy/paste something, we give this new message just once. [\quote]

This sentence is wrong. It should read: Instead of giving you one annoying error messageeach and every time you try to copy/paste something, we give you another annoying error messagejust once.

[quote] That way you know what's going on, [\quote]

Now I know it is going on that nothing is going on. At least nothing that affects me or the Excel copying process.

[quote] without the constant interruptions [\quote]

The term "constant" should be specified. Is every time anyone opens Excel (that can be many times a day) and presses the first Ctrl+C rarely enough for not to be called constant? I think not.

[quote] Please let us know what you think! [\quote]

I think this was much ado about no useful result (to misquote Shakespeare). With much less effort Microsoft could have had a much better (i.e. perfect) result.

Obviously, the threads of the German and the English forum are not joined for the purpose of providing crucial information to the programmers in charge. Therefor I post my conclusions from September 2016 here once again in English:

1. The message was incorrect in 100% of the cases. The copying operations in Excel are not affected by the access of any outside program to the clipboard. After clicking the message away, all insertion processes in 100% of the cases worked absolutely as expected and error-free. I've tested this with many different contents (formulas, validations, formatting, connected cells, etc.).
2. 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."
3. If there was any case where the access of an outside program to the cache 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.
4. If the access of any outside program on the clipboard would actually be a problem, then why don't you also "protect" Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc. ? Allegedly text boxes in Excel are also not "protected" (I didn't check it).
5. If there is no reasonable reason for this annoying message(and it isn't as I showed), why has this one line of code, that calls the message, not simply been commented out? This can not be so complicated that it could not be done in 4 years!

Happy New Year

Uwe

The BIG problem I am having is with Excel automation. Since 2002 my VB6 and VB.Net automation code has worked well and without fault. Back then, I followed the Microsoft guidelines for the implementation of the automation code. In the last 4 months I have been inundated with calls from users, because the automation is failing. Microsoft have changed things and have broken backward compatibility.

My software automates Excel and populates one or more Spreadsheets in a Workbook with data. There is much copying and pasting. The automation now fails at random points in the processes, with various error messages. It did not do this before.

If anyone with some technical knowledge at Microsoft is listening ..... In my case it appears to be a 'timing' issue with the clipboard. The original code used Early Binding (as recommended). I have now changed this to Late Binding. Also, before each copy, I have now inserted a 2 second delay. Before each paste, I have inserted a 2 second delay. When the Workbook is Saved and Closed, and when Excel Automation is Quit, I have inserted a 2 second delay. This appears to have overcome the problems I have been having. As I say, a timing issue seems to be the problem. I know this is not related to the manual copy and paste problems that people are reporting here, but I figure it is all related. You guys at Microsoft have change some underlying mechanism, and you need to sort it out.

It's all very well saying it is not Excel related, or Windows 10 related and that it is something to do with some 3rd party software or device, and Windows is not responsible. The 'oh, it is not our problem, it is a problem created by some 3rd party' is not really acceptable. The operating system should be taking control and straightening out the error by whatever means.

All I can say is that Microsoft is in control of Windows, and if a device or plug in causes havoc with the clipboard (or whatever the problem is) then Microsoft should program in a graceful solution that recognizes and deals with the problem. Putting up feeble error messages, informing the user that there is a problem, is not dealing with the problem. Simply, deal with the frigging problem.

Steve

Hmmm that is strange. I must say that I believe it is not about Windows 10 process because it is assumed that Microsoft programmers would figure this out by now. Try to disable everything you can in Startup. Also it could be due to any installed program running in the background. Try stopping them one by one and hopefully you will see which one causes the problem.