"there's a problem with the clipboard, but you can still paste this content within this workbook"

Anonymous
2016-11-17T14:55:36+00:00

Perhaps someone could direct to a discussion where this has been tackled, but I keep getting this error "there's a problem with the clipboard, but you can still past this content within this workbook " with simple cut/copy and paste actions in Excel.  The error box pops up and an alert sounds (which is super annoying) after every paste.  I can still perform the actions however my selection is not highlighted and I can't be sure that I have selected the correct information until I do a paste in the same, or another, worksheet. I have Excel 2016 in Office 365 on a machine running Windows 10.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2017-02-28T16:18:43+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
    2018-07-19T01:22:26+00:00

    As described here

    https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-desktop-application/suggestions/18508126-remove-the-pointless-message-there-s-a-problem-wi

    copying from the entry line (text edit line) will clear the error, and then you can copy and paste cells.

    You don't need to paste - just select text there and copy it.

    Then you can select and copy cells again.

    This clearly is a bug or the error would occur either way.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-07-14T07:16:32+00:00

    Do this: 

    1. Run clipbrd.exe (for win10, you need download it) and keep it running. 
    2. Clear excel's clipboard.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-07-14T07:13:39+00:00

    Do this: 

    1. Run clipbrd.exe (for win10, you need download it) and keep it running. 
    2. Clear excel's clipboard.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-06-26T21:35:33+00:00

    This problem has been going on for years, and it is deplorable that it can't be fixed.

    Disabling Live Preview did not help.

    The notion that the warning is relevant to those who might be pasting into an external application is specious.  When I select a range of cells and drag that range to a different part of the worksheet, I still get the blocking dialog.  How could Excel think that I was trying to export the cut buffer to an external program if I am effectively PASTING IT INTO EXCEL.

    If some other application is interfering with or locking the cut/paste mechanism, then Microsoft should indicate WHICH APPLICATION is doing it, perhaps provide a tool that indicates it.  If you are designing the Operating System, you don't get to just say that some things are a mystery.  

    This is an inappropriate use of a blocking (modal) dialog.  A minor notification in the status area, that goes away by itself, might have been useful.

    I get the dialog over and over again.  Whatever logic was supposed to make it appear only once, does not work.

    The "Repair" process did not help.  Microsoft should figure out how to fix the design defect instead of just randomly telling users they need to "Repair" something.  If you are saying that it is working "as designed", then why do you want me to "Repair" it?

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