Clipboard problem in Excel 2016

Anonymous
2016-04-16T23:39:19+00:00

I am running Excel 2016 on a Windows 10 Machine.

When I copy a cell (or cut a cell, or move a cell) I get one of two error messages:

"Cannot open the Clipboard"

"We couldn't free up space on the Clipboard.  Another program might be using it right now." 

I am then able to successfully paste what Excel told me it could not copy.  To restate for clarity...Excel throws error messages, but I am able to successfully copy and paste.

The problem is that it throws the error messages every single time I try and copy or cut or whatever.

Things I have tried:

I've ensured all other programs are not running (or using the clip board)

I've cleared the %temp% folder

I've cleared the Clipboard within Excel

Word does not have this problem...

Please help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2017-02-28T16:18:02+00:00

Hello,

I have an update on this error dialog: “There's a problem with the clipboard, but you can still paste your content within this workbook."

When Excel shows this dialog after a copy (CTRL+C) action, it means that another app has a lock on the system clipboard.  In this situation you can still paste within Excel.  However you cannot paste to another app like Word or Outlook which uses the clipboard.

Last year we made some improvements to Office365 users so that this error message only shows once per Excel instance.  This is based on customer feedback - the design change prevents it popping up multiple successive times when the clipboard is locked.  We have also considered never showing the error dialog, but there was user feedback that this message is informative and helpful in some cases. 

We hope this helps shed some light on this error message.  For any design suggestions or new ideas on improving the Excel copy-paste experience, please post to Excel UserVoice.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-05-20T21:52:35+00:00

    Thank you for letting us know that this issue is being treated seriously.  By way of further information, I have this week taken delivery of a new computer installed with an OEM version of Windows 10 Home 64 bit (previously I was running (Pro).  One of the first things that I did was to install Office 2016 (32 bit) and then ensure everything was up to date in both Windows 10 and Office.  Immediately on starting to use Excel on my files I encountered the clipboard error message.

    I have shown below two of these messages which occurred this evening when trying to copy a blank cell in a new empty workbook. If I open a copy of Word at the same time, copy and paste work perfectly.  It does not seem to be a clipboard issue as such as cut and paste work perfectly in other programmes., just something that effects Excel only as far as I am concerned.  Good luck with reproducing and tracking down the issue.

    ![](http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=51ccb21c-522b-44f5-a920-8b5d2a2fbc5b)

    ![](http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=ef484929-d293-4b08-92dd-b33d15a0dce3)

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-05-20T19:23:26+00:00

    Hi, thank you very much for letting us know about this issue. The Excel team is investigating this issue, trying to reproduce it.

    We will let you know when we have any more information.

    Freya

    Office Newsroom

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-05-20T07:39:37+00:00

    I am having the same problem - I am sure that we are not the only people.  It is extremely irritating and despite two sessions with MS support staff none has any idea.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-04-26T17:01:31+00:00

    I have been having the same problem for some weeks now with Excel 2016/ Win 10 64 Pro. I have installed a simple clipboard debugger which should show anything that is using the clipboard when an error message occurs but it usually shows "clipboard not in use".

    Like you, if I click on the OK button when the error message pops up, I can usually paste without problems.  It is just annoying to have to clear the message first as it is patently advising of an error that has not actually occurred. Surely we are not alone in getting these messages?

    Like you I have cleared add-ins and run repair for my Office 2016 installation but the problem persists.  I search every few days for answers, hence finding your post today.

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