no copy/paste charts from XLS -> PPT

[Heiko]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Im running on 10.6.1 and Office 2008 12.2.1.
I want to copy a chart from XLS -> PPT. However, after selecting the chart and do a copy (cmd c) I cannot paste it into PPT.
After the copy, I checked the clipboard in finder and it was empty. Even trying to copy the chart as a picture won't work - clipboard remains empty.

Any suggestions ?

regards, heiko

 

[CyberTaz]

Have you determined whether there are similar problems copying in other
programs or copying data other than the chart?

Try a simple repair of disk permissions followed by a restart & see if the
problem continues.

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

 

[Heiko]

Have you determined whether there are similar problems copying in other

programs or copying data other than the chart?

Try a simple repair of disk permissions followed by a restart & see if the
problem continues.

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

I did like proposed - permission repair and restart: no change, problem persists. This behavior only persists with excel. I can copy into clipboard with PPT.
regards, heiko

 

[CyberTaz]

I'm afraid I can't reproduce here using the same versions of OSX & Office,
so I have to assume the problem is local to your system.

Try copying using other methods, such as right-clicking to select the Copy
command & using File> Copy. See if they produce the proper result. Also try
some of the other keystrokes assigned to the Copy command, such as F3 and
Control+C. If those methods work it suggests that either Command+C has been
reassigned or that you have some utility installed that is blocking the
keystroke in Excel.

Launch Excel while holding the Shift Key.

Also try logging out, then hold Shift while you log in.

Finally, try running Excel in a new User Account.

Reply with the results of each test.

One more thing Please follow the lead established in a thread with
regard to top/bottom posting. It makes it very difficult to have the
conversation bounce back & forth. Thanks!

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

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

I did like proposed - permission repair and restart: no change, problem persists. This behavior only persists with excel. I can copy into clipboard with PPT.
regards, heiko

Hi,

I am also unable to reproduce the problem, but I would delete this file
(with Excel not running) and then re-open Excel to see if things get better:
com.microsoft.Excel.plist

Also, as a work-around, click the Toolbox button on the standard toolbar
to activate the toolbox. Click the Scrapbook button and see if you can
add things to the Scrapbook. If you can, then switch to PowerPoint and
use the Scrapbook to paste.

-Jim

 

[Heiko]

Hi,

I don't have that file on my mac. However, I tried the scrap book workaround proposed. It works, when I do insert as a picture. thanks for that.

I created a new file just for testing purpose. There I was able to copy and paste the chart into PPT. For some reason the glitch might be related to the file I'm using. Since the faulty one is xlsb -> is there any preferences, when working with the files ?

cheers,
Heiko

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Hi,

I don't have that file on my mac. However, I tried the scrap book workaround proposed. It works, when I do insert as a picture. thanks for that.

I created a new file just for testing purpose. There I was able to copy and paste the chart into PPT. For some reason the glitch might be related to the file I'm using. Since the faulty one is xlsb -> is there any preferences, when working with the files ?

cheers,
Heiko

Hi,

I created a new Excel workbook, added a 3d pie chart, saved as .xlsb and
then closed the file. I then re-opened the file and had no problem using
cmd-c to copy the chart and paste it into PowerPoint, so I don't think
..xlsb is a factor here. There may be something specific to your
particular chart or document that's causing a glitch.

..xlsb is a binary format, as opposed to .xlsx, which is a bundle of
zipped XML text files. The .xlsb binary format is not human readable,
but computers can open and save binary format files much faster than
text files and skip the zipping and unzipping involved with XML files.
Also, binary code is far more efficient than text for computer files, so
binary files tend to be significantly smaller than XML files. For these
reasons the binary format is very attractive to Excel users who don't
enjoy reading and hand editing XML computer code instead of using the
Excel interface.

To rule out .xlsb as a factor, use File > Save As and choose .xlsx
format. Quit Excel, then open the saved .xlsx file and see if the
problem goes away. Then use Save As again and choose .xlsb format. Quit
Excel again and then re-open the newly saved .xlsb file. If the problem
returns, then it has something to do with .xlsb. If there was no
difference in .xlsx or .xlsb, you can start looking for some other
factor as the culprit.

By any chance, are there macros in this workbook?

-Jim

 

[Heiko]

Hi,

I created a new Excel workbook, added a 3d pie chart, saved as .xlsb and
then closed the file. I then re-opened the file and had no problem using
cmd-c to copy the chart and paste it into PowerPoint, so I don't think
.xlsb is a factor here. There may be something specific to your
particular chart or document that's causing a glitch.

.xlsb is a binary format, as opposed to .xlsx, which is a bundle of
zipped XML text files. The .xlsb binary format is not human readable,
but computers can open and save binary format files much faster than
text files and skip the zipping and unzipping involved with XML files.
Also, binary code is far more efficient than text for computer files, so
binary files tend to be significantly smaller than XML files. For these
reasons the binary format is very attractive to Excel users who don't
enjoy reading and hand editing XML computer code instead of using the
Excel interface.

To rule out .xlsb as a factor, use File > Save As and choose .xlsx
format. Quit Excel, then open the saved .xlsx file and see if the
problem goes away. Then use Save As again and choose .xlsb format. Quit
Excel again and then re-open the newly saved .xlsb file. If the problem
returns, then it has something to do with .xlsb. If there was no
difference in .xlsx or .xlsb, you can start looking for some other
factor as the culprit.

By any chance, are there macros in this workbook?

-Jim

--
Jim Gordon
Mac MVP
Co-author of Office 2008 for Mac All-in-One For Dummies
<http://tinyurl.com/Office-2008-for-Dummies>

.... I'm sorry for messing up 'the thread sequence' - from now on, I will only add at the bottom ...

As for Excel, I saved it in XLSX and I was able to send the chart to the clipboard, but it could only being pasted as a picture into PPT. However, I tried to copy another chart - this didn't work with XLSX.
So I saved it again in XLSB and there was no copy possible, clipboard remains empty/unchanged. hm.
My sheet doesn't carry any macros - however I'm using pivot table.

So I will go on with the homework Bob proposed and also try to bring my data to a new XLSX and start from scratch and maybe getting rid of the anomaly.

thanks a lot,
Heiko

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

... I'm sorry for messing up 'the thread sequence' - from now on, I will only add at the bottom ...

As for Excel, I saved it in XLSX and I was able to send the chart to the clipboard, but it could only being pasted as a picture into PPT. However, I tried to copy another chart - this didn't work with XLSX.
So I saved it again in XLSB and there was no copy possible, clipboard remains empty/unchanged. hm.
My sheet doesn't carry any macros - however I'm using pivot table.

So I will go on with the homework Bob proposed and also try to bring my data to a new XLSX and start from scratch and maybe getting rid of the anomaly.

thanks a lot,
Heiko

Hi again,

A pivot table, you say? Perhaps you are trying to copy a pivot chart
made on a PC. At this time pivot charts aren't fully supported on the Mac.

-Jim