Is it just me...?

[Guy Kudlemyer]

Hello:

In every Mac application I've ever used (and I've been using Macs since
1984), it has always been that, once you copy something to the Clipboard, it
stays there until you copy something else to replace it. You can paste it an
endless number of times regardless of whatever else you've done since the
last time you copied.

In Excel, it seems that once you've pasted from the Clipboard into the cell,
and move out of that cell, Excel "forgets" whatever was on the clipboard,
and you cannot re-paste it; you have to re-copy it first (it's the same way
on the Windoze version).

I've seen some boneheaded "features" in Microsoft products before, but this
has got to be the damn DUMBEST things I've yet bumped into from them, if it
is not fixable (and I've seen them do some DUMB things...)

Does anyone have a fix for this? Is it just me? Have I got something setting
incorrectly set? If so, how do I correct it?

I'm using a PPC Mac with OSX 10.4.10 and Excel 11.3.7.

I appreciate anything anyone can offer!

--Guy
Thurston, OR

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi Guyu,

I'm also using Excel 11.3.7 but can not reproduce the problem as you
describe it. Excel behaves as expected. I don't know of a setting that would
cause this to happen.

Maybe if you delete the excel plist preference files it would help ( you'll
lost any excel customizations).

-Jim

Hello:

In every Mac application I've ever used (and I've been using Macs since
1984), it has always been that, once you copy something to the Clipboard, it
stays there until you copy something else to replace it. You can paste it an
endless number of times regardless of whatever else you've done since the
last time you copied.

In Excel, it seems that once you've pasted from the Clipboard into the cell,
and move out of that cell, Excel "forgets" whatever was on the clipboard,
and you cannot re-paste it; you have to re-copy it first (it's the same way
on the Windoze version).

I've seen some boneheaded "features" in Microsoft products before, but this
has got to be the damn DUMBEST things I've yet bumped into from them, if it
is not fixable (and I've seen them do some DUMB things...)

Does anyone have a fix for this? Is it just me? Have I got something setting
incorrectly set? If so, how do I correct it?

I'm using a PPC Mac with OSX 10.4.10 and Excel 11.3.7.

I appreciate anything anyone can offer!

--Guy
Thurston, OR

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

MVPs are not Microsoft Employees
MVP info

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Does anyone have a fix for this? Is it just me?

I think it's just you...

Or at least, I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem.

Have I got something setting incorrectly set? If so, how do I correct
it?

There's no setting that would override this. However, if you have any
event macros running, they may do something that clears the clipboard.

Haxies may also cause a problem, I suppose.

 

[PhilD]

Hello:

In every Mac application I've ever used (and I've been using Macs since
1984), it has always been that, once you copy something to the Clipboard, it
stays there until you copy something else to replace it. You can paste it an
endless number of times regardless of whatever else you've done since the
last time you copied.

In Excel, it seems that once you've pasted from the Clipboard into the cell,
and move out of that cell, Excel "forgets" whatever was on the clipboard,
and you cannot re-paste it; you have to re-copy it first (it's the same way
on the Windoze version).

I've seen some boneheaded "features" in Microsoft products before, but this
has got to be the damn DUMBEST things I've yet bumped into from them, if it
is not fixable (and I've seen them do some DUMB things...)

Does anyone have a fix for this? Is it just me? Have I got something setting
incorrectly set? If so, how do I correct it?

I'm using a PPC Mac with OSX 10.4.10 and Excel 11.3.7.

I appreciate anything anyone can offer!

--Guy
Thurston, OR

Are you copying a *cell*, pasting it somewhere, then typing something
before wishing to paste the same cell again? In that instance, I
think that's how Excel is "supposed" to work (presumably something to
do with knowing which cell is the centre of attention). If you do all
your pastes in succession without any other edits then you should be
fine (assuming that the paste area does not overlap the copy area).

If you're copying the *contents* of a cell (i.e. edit cell and copy
some or all text from within the cell), then Excel should remember
this and have the text available for multiple copying.

Does this help?

 

[CyberTaz]

Just confirming what John says - I have no problem at all copying &
repeatedly pasting to as many locations as possible. Haxies (3rd party
utilities) have *definitely* been known to interfere with clipboard
functionality.

Cutting, OTOH, is a different story - you can only paste _cut_ content once,
which is by design.

Try starting XL up while holding Shift & see if the problem persists. If so,
try logging in while holding Shift to prevent login items from loading. If
either of these suggestions work you've got another program mucking you up.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac



On 10/1/07 10:35 PM, in article
(e-mail address removed), "JE McGimpsey"

Does anyone have a fix for this? Is it just me?

I think it's just you...

Or at least, I haven't heard of anyone else having this problem.

Have I got something setting incorrectly set? If so, how do I correct
it?

There's no setting that would override this. However, if you have any
event macros running, they may do something that clears the clipboard.

Haxies may also cause a problem, I suppose.

 

[Guy Kudlemyer]

Are you copying a *cell*, pasting it somewhere, then typing something

before wishing to paste the same cell again? In that instance, I
think that's how Excel is "supposed" to work (presumably something to
do with knowing which cell is the centre of attention). If you do all
your pastes in succession without any other edits then you should be
fine (assuming that the paste area does not overlap the copy area).

If you're copying the *contents* of a cell (i.e. edit cell and copy
some or all text from within the cell), then Excel should remember
this and have the text available for multiple copying.

Does this help?

Yes, it does help, and that's what I meant to say in the first place. Sorry
'bout that. Yes, if I copy, I can paste ad nauseum UNTIL I hit a character
on the keyboard, then the Clipboard is emptied, and I cannot paste that
particular text again until I've copied it again.

So... This is how Excell is SUPPOSED to work? Why? It's dumb!

Thanx for the help!

 

[Guy Kudlemyer]

Just confirming what John says - I have no problem at all copying &
repeatedly pasting to as many locations as possible. Haxies (3rd party
utilities) have *definitely* been known to interfere with clipboard
functionality.

I meant to say that I can copy and paste until my face turns blue, UNLESS I
type something on the keyboard. That action seems to erase the Clipboard. If
this is how Excel is supposed to work, I'd like to hear the convoluted logic
that went into that decision (Bill, are you listening...?) There should also
be a way to turn off that feature...

Thanx for the help!

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I meant to say that I can copy and paste until my face turns blue, UNLESS I
type something on the keyboard. That action seems to erase the Clipboard. If
this is how Excel is supposed to work, I'd like to hear the convoluted logic
that went into that decision (Bill, are you listening...?) There should also
be a way to turn off that feature...

Still just you...

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Yes, it does help, and that's what I meant to say in the first place. Sorry
'bout that. Yes, if I copy, I can paste ad nauseum UNTIL I hit a character
on the keyboard, then the Clipboard is emptied, and I cannot paste that
particular text again until I've copied it again.

So... This is how Excell is SUPPOSED to work? Why? It's dumb!

There's something else going on. I can paste, then type in a cell, then
paste again with absolutely no problem.

The only thing typing does is turn off the marching ants if the copy was
from XL cell(s).

I certainly agree it WOULD be dumb, if in fact that was the way XL
worked, but for me it works exactly as you want it to...

 

[Carl Witthoft]

I interpret this problem differently from the other responders: I
assumed Guy was talking about pasting within Excel spreadsheets.

It has always been the (weird) case that Excel doesn't use the system
clipboard by default, so yes, withing Excel you can lose the contents of
your last Copy operation. However, once you switch to a different
application, MacOS puts the contents into its own clipboard, and that
does not get lost. --- I just verified this w/ Excel-X on OSX 10.3.9 .

 

[JE McGimpsey]

so yes, withing Excel you can lose the contents of
your last Copy operation. However, once you switch to a different
application, MacOS puts the contents into its own clipboard, and that
does not get lost. --- I just verified this w/ Excel-X on OSX 10.3.9 .

Can you document exactly how you get XL to "lose the contents of the
last Copy operation"?

I can't make it happen at all, using the same XL version as the OP...

 

[jpdphd]

Can you document exactly how you get XL to "lose the contents of the
last Copy operation"?

I can't make it happen at all, using the same XL version as the OP...

Guy & other guys,
I just want to point to a discussion in this forum in July 2006.

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...ca7ed5b80b4?lnk=st&q=&rnum=1#bae94ca7ed5b80b4

(I hope the link survives the line feeds - is there a better way to do
this?)

Anyway, the problem was that if you copy a formula from a cell, you
can paste it UNTIL you do something else (press a key, do something in
a menu other than paste, sneeze), then in subsequent pastes, the
"value" of the formula is pasted instead of the formula itself. So,
the clipboard persists, but not as you'd expect.

Does this describe the behavior that Guy is being subjected to?

jpdphd

 

[Guy Kudlemyer]

Anyway, the problem was that if you copy a formula from a cell, you

can paste it UNTIL you do something else (press a key, do something in
a menu other than paste, sneeze), then in subsequent pastes, the
"value" of the formula is pasted instead of the formula itself. So,
the clipboard persists, but not as you'd expect.

Does this describe the behavior that Guy is being subjected to?

It doesn't seem to matter what is in the cell (text, formula, value,
whatever.) If you copy it, you can paste it until you get a nosebleed, BUT
if you do anything other than paste, the clipboard is wiped clean. If you
copy, paste, type something in another cell, then try to paste again, you
must re-copy again before you can paste again--All because you typed
something between pastings.

I'm attempting to do this at home on my Mac, but two other computers that I
use at work, both Windozers, work exactly the same way.

 

[Carl Witthoft]

Can you document exactly how you get XL to "lose the contents of the
last Copy operation"?

I can't make it happen at all, using the same XL version as the OP...

Typically, inside Excel, the moment you take some action such as
hitting <ESC> or editing the contents of any cell, the "marching ants"
go away and the excel-clipboard (for lack of a better term) no longer
has content.
This may not be the way Office2004 works but I don't have one handy to
check at the moment.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Typically, inside Excel, the moment you take some action such as
hitting <ESC> or editing the contents of any cell, the "marching ants"
go away and the excel-clipboard (for lack of a better term) no longer
has content.
This may not be the way Office2004 works but I don't have one handy to
check at the moment.

It's not the way MacXL has ever worked. For MacXL, there isn't any
"excel-clipboard", and never has been. The only clipboard is the system
clipboard.

So the marching ants go away, but one and only clipboard isn't cleared.

I've had to deal with this for years - many of my clients want MacXL to
work the way WinXL does - it requires that you load a blank data object
into the clipboard, a bit of a PITA.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Anyway, the problem was that if you copy a formula from a cell, you
can paste it UNTIL you do something else (press a key, do something in
a menu other than paste, sneeze), then in subsequent pastes, the
"value" of the formula is pasted instead of the formula itself. So,
the clipboard persists, but not as you'd expect.

Does this describe the behavior that Guy is being subjected to?

It doesn't seem to matter what is in the cell (text, formula, value,
whatever.) If you copy it, you can paste it until you get a nosebleed, BUT
if you do anything other than paste, the clipboard is wiped clean. If you
copy, paste, type something in another cell, then try to paste again, you
must re-copy again before you can paste again--All because you typed
something between pastings.

I'm attempting to do this at home on my Mac, but two other computers that I
use at work, both Windozers, work exactly the same way.[/QUOTE]

I expect that behavior in WinXL, since it uses a special Office
clipboard that clears after copy operations are through.

But MacXL has no special clipboard, so the only thing that can clear the
clipboard is to load something else, presumably blank, but at a minimum,
something that isn't applicable to being pasted into a cell.

I don't remember whether you've said if you're running any event macros
or haxies...

 

[Bob Greenblatt]

I expect that behavior in WinXL, since it uses a special Office
clipboard that clears after copy operations are through.

But MacXL has no special clipboard, so the only thing that can clear the
clipboard is to load something else, presumably blank, but at a minimum,
something that isn't applicable to being pasted into a cell.

I don't remember whether you've said if you're running any event macros[/QUOTE]
or haxies...

Remember people, that Excel has worked with the clipboard a ³little
differently² than most other apps since it was MultiPlan in day 1. That
heritage has carried through all versions of excel to the present. Things
are very different if you copy (or cut) an entire cell, vs. a portion (or
all) of the cell¹s contents in the formula bar. Remember that if you are
copying (or cutting) an entire cell, what gets copied is the cell¹s formula,
format, conditional format, data validation, protection, etc. Not only that,
but the cell¹s contents are not normally copied (or cut), but recalculated
at the new location. A bunch of stuff that can¹t reliably be passed to
another application on the clipboard. That¹s why the marching ants disappear
to show you that that stuff is gone. Yes, it can be confusing and seem
inconsistent when the cell contains only text. It will behave much more like
you expect if you copy the contents from the formula bar.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Remember people, that Excel has worked with the clipboard a ³little
differently² than most other apps since it was MultiPlan in day 1.

That's true, and it may be the genesis of the OP's problems.

However, the "differently" is mostly related to what information is put
on the clipboard, and what taken back out - almost all apps place
multiple entries (text, formatted text, tagged text, hyperlinks, etc) in
the clipboard, and what gets pasted depends on what information the
receiving app thinks it can use. And XL is certainly unique in what it
decides to paste.

But I still don't think that I've ever seen XL *clear* the clipboard on
its own.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

If your objective is to clear the clipboard on the Mac just press the
esc key.

?????

Does this actually work for you in any application?

The only thing it does for me in XL is reset whether XL pastes the
clipboard formula or the clipboard text.

 

[CyberTaz]

You're correct in your observation - bottom line is the clipboards work
differently on Mac & PC just as you described. If your objective is to clear
the clipboard on the Mac just press the esc key.