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Shigaugis
Known Participant
Mar 3, 2019 10:34 AM UTC
Answered

Copy & Paste not always working - randomly

Hi all,

This is a very frustrating bug - around 50% of the times copy & paste won't work. I select an object, press ctrl+C, and then pressing ctrl+V produces nothing as if the clipboard is empty.

I cannot reproduce it as it seems random, sometimes it will copy & paste, sometimes it won't.

This makes working with Illustrator extremely hard.

Might be worth mentioning that copy-pasting from Illustrator into Photoshop resembles the same buggy behavior - it will randomly work or not.

Please advise on how to resolve this.

Cheers

    Anubhav M
    Anubhav MCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    Jul 7, 2026 8:20 PM UTC

    Hi everyone,


    We completely understand how disruptive copy-paste issues in Illustrator can be, especially when they interrupt an active workflow. Copy-paste problems usually fall into a few specific categories (clipboard preferences, file formats, system-level conflicts), and we've put together a dedicated post that walks through each with the corresponding fix:

    Why copy-paste breaks in Illustrator and how to fix it


    Please work through the suggestions there and share what you observe - whether the issue clears up, partially improves, or persists. Your feedback helps us keep the post accurate and complete for other users facing the same trouble.
     

    Anubhav

    [Note: Marked as correct for visibility]

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    Monika Gause
    Community Expert
    Monika GauseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 3, 2019 1:53 PM UTC

    Which version and which system is this?

    Is only the shortcut not working?

    Do you have any clipboard enhancement installed in your system?

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    ShigaugisAuthor
    Known Participant
    Mar 3, 2019 3:11 PM UTC

    Illustrator version: CC 23.0.1 (64-bit)

    OS: Windows 7

    It's mainly the keyboard shortcut, as the copy-paste flyout menu seem to work with much better statistics (although occasionally will also perform with the same bug).

    Nope, I have no clipboard enhancements.

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