After Effects doesn't like to paste the most recently copied text

Report · Jun 04, 2024

I've been having this issue with After Effects for a very long time. I'm running the latest version on Windows 10. I could post my system specs but I feel they're inconsequential in this case. Every time I update the software I am hopeful that this bug has been fixed. But each time for the past several years I've been disappointed. So I guess it's time to post about it. Here goes:

Sometimes, when I copy text from another piece of software (Chrome, Premiere, Firefox, and Notepad are a few I commonly use) and paste it into After Effects, After Effects does not like to paste the text I've just copied. Instead, it chooses to paste some previously copied text, usually the second most recent text I've copied. At first, I thought I may have failed to copy the text I wished to paste. But the text will paste just fine in other software. It's present on the clipboard (Win + V), and I've tried using the clipboard and clicking on the text I wish to paste. Still pastes the wrong text.

The workaround is simple. Go back, copy the text again, return to After Effects, and try paste again. And then it works fine (usually). Is it a small bug with a simple workaround? Yes. Is it frustrating when I have 30 to 40 strings of text to copy and paste on a regular basis? You bet. It's a really weird bug, it's intermittent, and I'm curious if anyone else has dealt with it.