Excel displays "The picture is too large and will be truncated" when copying/cutting/pasting data in all workbooks

Question

Excel displays "The picture is too large and will be truncated" when copying/cutting/pasting data in all workbooks

Surya Karan Sharma 0

Hello,

I am troubleshooting an issue for a Microsoft 365 Apps user where Excel displays the error:

"The picture is too large and will be truncated."

The issue occurs whenever the user performs actions such as:

Copy
Cut
Paste
Format Painter

The problem is not limited to a specific workbook, worksheet, file location, or network share. It occurs across multiple Excel files, including newly created workbooks.

Troubleshooting completed:

Restarted Excel and Windows
Cleared clipboard and clipboard history
Deleted temporary files (%temp%)
Checked Selection Pane for objects/images
Disabled all Excel add-ins
Tested Excel in Safe Mode (excel /safe)
Performed Office Online Repair
Reinstalled Microsoft 365 Apps
Confirmed the issue occurs in multiple workbooks

Additional observation:

The error appears even when copying simple cell ranges (for example, two columns of data) where there are no visible pictures or objects.

Environment:

Windows 11
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (latest updates installed)

Has anyone encountered this behavior before? Are there any known causes such as hidden workbook objects, corrupted Excel settings/profile, clipboard-related issues, or startup files (e.g., PERSONAL.XLSB, XLSTART)?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi Surya,

Based on your sharing, since you have already tried Excel Safe Mode, it also rules out startup files possibility since Excel Safe Mode bypasses startup folders, alternate startup locations, changed toolbars, Excel add-ins, and most COM add-ins.

In this case, I suggest you try doing a Windows clean boot and resetting the Excel registry to see if it works:

Perform a Windows clean boot: please follow the guidance in this article How to perform a clean boot in Windows | Microsoft Support
Reset Excel registry:
- Press Windows + R and type regedit > Enter to open Registry Editor
- Locate this path HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel
- Right-click the Excel folder and rename it to something like Excel.old
- Open Excel and test again with a new workbook.

In the meantime, you can also try creating a new Windows profile to test and see if the issue still persists there.

Please give it a try and let me know whether it helps resolve the issue. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to share them in the comment below. I'm very happy to help.

Hendrix 990 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-09-07T22:13:11.0266667+00:00

Good day Surya,

Have you had a chance to review the information provided? Any updates would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 2

The supported causes and workarounds in the available guidance point to these areas:

Check whether multiple Excel instances are involved If the user has more than one Excel process open, copy/paste behavior can change because Excel falls back to Windows clipboard handling instead of Excel’s internal copy engine. That can also affect Paste Special behavior and clipboard-related operations. Open both workbooks in the same Excel instance and retest.
Use Safe Mode results to rule out add-ins Since the issue was already reproduced in Safe Mode, an Excel add-in conflict is less likely. Microsoft guidance still identifies add-ins as a common cause of copy/paste problems, but Safe Mode is the correct test and that result narrows the scope.
Verify Paste options setting In Excel, go to File > Options > Advanced. Under Cut, copy and paste, make sure Show Paste Options button when content is pasted is enabled.
Check for event-driven code clearing the clipboard If VBA or workbook automation is present, the Worksheet_SelectionChange event can clear the clipboard and disable Paste Special behavior. In that case, setting Application.EnableEvents to False is the documented way to prevent that specific event-driven interference while testing.
Test outside any third-party-generated workbook scenario Because the problem also occurs in newly created workbooks, that argues against a single corrupt file. Microsoft guidance notes that third-party-generated Excel files can cause feature failures, so reproducing the issue in a brand-new workbook is the right isolation step and supports looking beyond workbook corruption.
Review workbook content if the issue is worse in certain files Even when no visible pictures exist, Excel performance and crashes can be affected by hidden objects, excessive styles from repeated copy/paste, large numbers of shapes, invalid defined names, and similar workbook content issues. If some files are worse than others, inspect for those conditions.
If automation or parallel Excel processing is used, avoid clipboard-based APIs Microsoft documents crashes and unexpected errors when add-ins or automation components perform clipboard copy/paste across parallel Excel instances. If any reporting tool, macro, or external process is automating Excel, avoid clipboard-based copy/paste where possible and use value array read/write instead.

Based on the completed troubleshooting, the strongest supported next checks are:

Confirm only one Excel instance is running in Task Manager.
Start Excel with no workbooks from XLSTART or other startup content loaded, then test with a new blank workbook.
Check File > Options > Advanced > Cut, copy and paste.
If macros or workbook events exist, test with events disabled.
If any automation is generating or manipulating the workbook, stop using clipboard-based operations in parallel Excel sessions.

The available documentation does not identify a known Microsoft 365 Apps issue specifically for the exact message “The picture is too large and will be truncated” across all workbooks, so the supported guidance is limited to general Excel clipboard, Paste Special, add-in, multi-instance, automation, and workbook-content causes.