A family of Microsoft spreadsheet software with tools for analyzing, charting, and communicating data.
Try this order:
- Check whether Paste Options is enabled in Excel:
- Go to File > Options > Advanced.
- Under Cut, copy and paste, make sure Show Paste Options button when content is pasted is checked.
- Test Excel in Safe Mode to check for an add-in conflict:
- Close Excel.
- Press and hold CTRL and double-click the Excel shortcut.
- Select Yes to start in Safe Mode.
- Try copy and paste again.
- If it works in Safe Mode, disable add-ins one at a time and identify the conflicting one.
- Close all web browsers, then test again.
- Browser processes can conflict with Paste Special and clipboard behavior.
- If Excel is freezing or hanging during copy/paste, perform a repair of Microsoft 365:
- Use the Microsoft 365 repair option from Windows.
- If Excel still hangs or stops responding, use a selective startup (clean boot) in Windows.
- This helps identify whether another background program or service is conflicting with Excel.
- If the problem happens while using multiple Excel windows or add-ins that automate copy/paste, avoid running clipboard operations in parallel Excel instances.
- For automation scenarios, use APIs that do not rely on the clipboard when possible.
If copy/paste works in Safe Mode but not in normal mode, the most likely cause is an add-in or another background application.