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
    2017-06-12T17:34:21+00:00

    Hello again,

    We encourage you to submit your issue using the Feedback Hub. When you submit a feedback item, we gather additional details and information about your issue that will help determine what's causing it and address it.

    In order to submit new feedback, please follow these steps:

    1. On a Windows 10 device, search for 'Feedback Hub" in Cortana search, then launch the app.
    2. Navigate to Feedback in the left menu, then press Add new feedback.
    3. Select the Problem, and share any details you think are relevant, and choose an appropriate category and subcategory.
    4. Important: If possible, reproduce the problem(s) after clicking Begin Monitoring (or Start Capture) near the end of the form; Stop Monitoring when you're done.
    5. Once you've completed the form and monitoring, click Submit.
    6. Click Continue using Feedback Hub.
    7. Click My feedback at the top, then find the item you submitted (it may take a while to appear).
    8. Open the item you submitted, then click Share.
    9. Click Copy link, then paste the link here in your response (it will look like https://aka.ms/<unique link>).

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-06-12T12:17:28+00:00

    @ Peter Hull

    @ Josef Bri

    Update 10 minutes ago. Version 1705, Build 8201.2075 (Office Professional Plus 2016)

    All problems occur the same way I described them in my post from March 3rd, 2017

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-06-12T11:04:25+00:00

    I note that there have been some changes to the clipboard handling in version 1705.(link)

    Has anyone noted any change or improvement after updating to this version?

    I haven't had it occur yet but I have not done much intensive Excel work since the update so it might be by chance.

    Peter

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-06-12T10:44:30+00:00

    Thank you for your reply. We will try to get this checked with the developers and see if we can provide with a better solution to everyone who's experiencing the same error.

    We'll get back to you once we have this coordinated with the developers.

    Regards

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