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

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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"

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

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.

Hi Aaron,

 Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

I know how this concerns you, let me help you to resolve this issue.

Let's start Excel in safe mode as mentioned in the following article and verify the result:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/why-cant-i-start-my-office-2013-application-HA104011864.aspx

If excel works as expected in safe mode, disable the add-ins by following steps mentioned below and determine the problem causing add-in:

a) Click on File menu, click Options, Add-ins, Go button besides Manage: Com-in Add.

b) Check if there are add-ins listed, clear the checkbox.

c) Close the Office program and restart it.

d) Disable each add-in one at a time, restart the Excel, and repeat the above procedure. If the issue reappears again, it will help you to determine which add-in is causing this issue.

If issue still persists, repair the Office suite, restart your computer and then try working with the Office applications.

Refer to the following article for instructions on repairing the Office suite.

https://support.office.com/en-US/Article/Repair-an-Office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b 

Keep us posted on the status of the issue and I’ll be glad to assist you further.

Thank you.