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Participant
May 17, 2021
Question

Copying and pasting pages not working

  • May 17, 2021
  • 7 replies
  • 20485 views

Hi everyone, 

 

I am trying to copy pages from one PDF to another. On my old computer I'd select the pages on the left then use CTRL + C and It would show a cut line around the pages that were copied. Then I'd CTRL + V when moving my mouse under the page where I want the pages to go, and it would create a blue line. I just got a new computer and now when I do this it does not copy or paste. I have to drag from one to another. 

 

Does anyone know how to fix this? 

 

 

7 replies

Participant
June 12, 2026

As an FYI to anyone reading these at Adobe, this continues to be problem. “Paste” is a basic functionality and needs to be working in order to properly use Adobe products. I looked at the recommendations from “Tater Salad” below, and I already have those boxes clicked. Please help! Thanks!

Community Manager
June 12, 2026

Hi ​@Kayla Browning

Sorry for the troubled experience, and thank for reaching out.  

I just tried reproducing this issue and it seems to be working perfectly normal at my end. 

 

Let’s try a few things before we collect more information on this issue from your side:

  • Open the file in Acrobat.
  • Go to File > Document Properties > Security tab

Check if there is any restriction on the document. If the document has any restrictions Acrobat respect document restrictions and wont allow you duplicating or copying the pages. 

Let us know how it went.

 

And if everything is allowed but it is not working, please help us with the following details:

  • Acrobat version. Acrobat > Help > About Adobe Acrobat.
  • A short video of the workflow, while showing Document Properties > Security
  • Please assist us with the file in which you are able to reproduce the issue.
  • If the file is on Network drive or on Cloud Drive, try copying file first on local machine.

These details will help us better understand where the failure is occurring.

 

~Tariq 

Participating Frequently
November 20, 2024

Spent several weeks off and on with IT trying to solve this riddle.  Finally scheduled a meeting with Adobe tech.  She fixed it.

 

Participant
April 8, 2026

You are a hero for posting this, thank you!

Participant
October 11, 2023

I am also having trouble copying pages. The copy and paste functions are greyed out and unusable, and there don't appear to be any security settings that would prevent page copying. 

rrichey4430
Participant
October 5, 2023

This is absolutely a bug that needs to be fixed.   The copy and paste mechanism in "Organize Pages" only works once or twice, and then I have to restart Acrobat Pro in order to get it to work again.  This is VERY frustrating when working with large documents that need a lot of restructuring.  

Participant
December 25, 2023

Agreed. If this has been a problem for more than a year, Adobe should have fixed it by now. Is this due to overwhelming the clipboard buffer? I noticed that it happens more often when I copy larger numbers of pages.

Participant
July 24, 2022

Try restarting Acrobat. This worked for me. 

Participant
January 19, 2023

This is the only fix I have found but the problem persists, sometimes not long after restarting it. If anyone has a permanent solution, please post. 

gary_sc
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 16, 2021

If you wish to Copy & Paste pages, you do that from the left side-panel. [Note: be sure to select a page before looking for Copy or Cut. To Paste a page, it should be available AFTER you cut or copy a page.

 

Legend
May 17, 2021

Hello,

 

Try this...

Go to Organize Pages...

 

 

Select the page you want to copy, note the blue line next to the page. your short cut keys will work with this to.

go to the document\page where you want to paste the copied page to.

Done!

 

Regards,

Mike

tylers64213255
Participant
March 31, 2023

the cut, copy paste features are missing for me both for shortcuts and also when using the organize pages method. using acrobat standard DC.