CTRL+C not working/ Right-click Copy works fine

[Patrick_N_Seattle]

This topic pops up periodically in the Acrobat community, but none of the prior resolutions fit my situation. I confirmed with my coworkers that this issue is not unique to my computer as multiple people have this same issue.  With Adobe Acrobat Pro open, right-click Copy works fine; however, when I'm copying data between forms and applications all day, and Acrobat is the only one that CTRL-C doesn't work, it has resulted in the wrong data being pasted or none at all. It is now getting to the point of impacting workflow for our team.

I did NOT have this issue when using Adobe Acrobat Reader; however, this became an issue when our company updated its license to Adobe Acrobat Pro - Continuous Release, and we are currently using V. 2024.003.20.180. There are NO restrictions set on the forms.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

[PravalJain]

Hi, Apologies for the inconvience. Would it be possible for you to share the file on which you are seeing this issue ? Is Ctrl + C not working for file content, or form data or both ? 

[PravalJain]

Hi, Apologies for the inconvience. Would it be possible for you to share the file on which you are seeing this issue ? Is Ctrl + C not working for file content, or form data or both ? 

[Patrick_N_Seattle]

Thank you for your quick reply and assistance, PravalJain,

The issue is most noticeable in an in-house IT form used to collect information from various sources (e.g. FedEx, Amazon, HR, etc.) and then copy from the form over to a ticketing system. I suspect the field type is a contributing issue, as the text field on page two does not seem to have an issue with CTRL-C.

[ls_rbls]

Hi @Patrick_N_Seattle ,

Just trying to add my ten cents here to this topic, I was wondering if this is happening only with the new Acrobat Experience.

What happens if you switch to the Acrobat Classic user interface?

[Subrato Namata]

Hi @Patrick_N_Seattle 

Checked on latest Consumer 20180 (Win,Mac), I’m able to copy using Ctrl+C of form data as well content of the pdf and pase to Acrobat or, other apps.

Could you confirm, if the issue is happening with you after trying repeated successful copy and then it stops suddenly or, even in first copy operation, issue exists.

Secondly, is the setup involves some remote access, i.e. are you using remote apps of accessing Acrobat?

[Patrick_N_Seattle]

I've attached a Test User Form, and I'm having issues using <ctrl-c> to copy from any field. Although inconsistent, I have noticed that the 'first' attempt will sometimes copy, but subsequent attempts do not work.
>> Secondly, is the setup involves some remote access, i.e. are you using remote apps of accessing Acrobat?
There is no remote app access, as the application is installed locally.

On a side note, opening these same forms with Nitro Pro has no issues with <ctrl-c>. I prefer to use Adobe Acrobat, as the form was created using Acrobat Pro, and the drop-down calendar in the date fields doesn't work in Nitro Pro.

[Patrick_N_Seattle]

I cannot see an option to switch between user interfaces, so I assume recent updates have removed that option.

[Bobert848]

Hello!  Have you ever found a fix for this?  I've been experiencing issues like this for the last year or so - on multiple computers with Acrobat Pro.  I keep hoping an update will fix it, but nothing has worked.  I have tried dozens of different forms on multiple machines - Windows PC and Mac.  Copying works when right clicked and copied, but not with Ctrl+C (or CMD+C on Mac).  It randomly will work and surprises me, but 9 out of every 10 times, it doesn't work for me.

[Patrick_N_Seattle]

Thank you for your inquiry and for keeping this topic active, as a resolution from Adobe has not yet been provided. This issue remains ongoing for me as well, requiring me to adapt by manually right-clicking and selecting Copy to ensure the selected item is added to the clipboard.

The most frustrating aspect of this issue occurs when consolidating information from multiple sources into a form letter email for user notifications. If I inadvertently use CTRL+C to copy text from an Acrobat text field, the action fails to update the clipboard, and CTRL+V instead pastes the previously stored clipboard item to where I'm trying to paste the information.

One critical example of how this impacts my workflow is when copying and pasting BitLocker PINs onto user notification emails. This has led to inadvertently sending users the wrong BitLocker PIN, preventing them from accessing their encrypted corporate devices. While this is not a direct security risk, it causes work stoppages, disrupts productivity, and requires IT intervention to resolve.

[Bobert848]

Agreed!  The random nature of the problem is the most frustrating.  Right after I wrote this yesterday, CTRL+C started working for me, then a few minutes later, it quit again... in the same document and the same fields.  Definitely a bug in the Acrobat Pro software itself.  Started around a year ago for me with just about any form document.

[JR Boulay]

Hi, Apologies for the inconvience. Would it be possible for you to share the file on which you are seeing this issue ? Is Ctrl + C not working for file content, or form data or both ?

PravalJain, the problem isn't with a file, it's with the software. A customer has just confirmed, these repeated bug additions are a real pain.

[Bobert848]

Agreed.  This is definitely a software issue, not a individual .pdf file issue.  Started around 1 to 1.5 years ago with Acrobat Pro.  Completely random if it is going to have an issue or not.

[Dan32024026wvsv · Accepted solution]

I was able to resolve the issue with this solution.

Press and hold the Ctrl key.

Press the C key.

Release the Ctrl key.

Release the C key.

After I did this I was able to release the Ctrl and the C in any order and it worked, but I first had to do a copy paste using the above order a single time. 

I found this solution here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/digital-editions/kb/copying-ctrl-c-sometimes-fails.html

[Bobert848]

Thanks!  I'll have to give that a shot on my next form.  It is strange that they cannot fix this as it seems like a software bug.  I appreciate the info!

[Dan32024026wvsv]

As a followup, my instructions above seem to fix it for a time, but then it comes back, so I wouldn't say it has completely resolved it, but it definitely seems to affect it. 

[Patrick_N_Seattle]

Although the suggestion didn't work for me, I appreciate keeping this topic relevant. We still have hope that Adobe can resolve this issue for all of us someday. Alternatively, I've been using Nitro Pro with the same forms without issue.