Can't Copy/Paste in Illustrator

[alfreds72370307]

Hey there!

I've just run into a very weird problem with Illustrator CC. I can't seem to copy and paste anything. I'm not copying or pasting from another program or even from another illustrator file, copying simply doesn't add anything to the clipboard and paste is always grayed out in the Edit menu.

After googling a bit I saw a forum post on the Google Chrome forums saying the issue was related to Chrome being open and the Skype Click-to-call extension interfering with Illustrator's clipboard, but I don't have the Skype Click-to-call extension and even if I close Chrome and relaunch Illustrator, no luck.

I'm all out of ideas, can anyone help? As you can imagine this is super frustrating!

[Monika Gause]

Prym77 schrieb:

Hey.
From about 2 or 3 months I have a similar problem: Copy / Paste is not working. But in my case it's totally strange thing. Sometimes it works over several days, and then not working the next few days.
I cleaned configuration files, uninstalled an application using Adobe tools registry cleaner - it did not work. I bought a new computer processor I7 because something can not work with the old ... once running once does not work.
For 3 years Illustrator work RELIABLE !!! I do not know if it's any update. Generally, I work on simple vector graphics, with no mods and add-ons, but VERY need a running copy / paste function.
I think after 3 years come to part with your application, because to work with it is impossible.
Sorry for bad english.

Which version?

Which system?

Are any clipboard enhacing utilities installed in the system?

What exactly does not work step by step?

[Prym77]

Which version? - Illustrator CC 2015.2.1 (19.2.1 - 64-bit)

Which system?  - Windows 10 - x64

Are any clipboard enhacing utilities installed in the system? No, I never installed any booster system. The problem with the application appeared suddenly without warning. I just run and copy / paste does not work, other times I run and it works. it is very frustrating.

[Monika Gause]

I'm not referring to boosters.

Please read this about that kind of software.

Best Free Clipboard Managers for Windows

You can also check Illustrator's preferences for Clipboard handling. Maybe uncheck the SVG option.

[Prym77]

I installed the recommended program. Illustrator began to copy and paste, so thank you very much. Unfortunately, every time I copy Illustrator freezes for a few seconds (from 3 to 5 seconds). But it's important that temporarily works.

[doctortao]

I am having this issue on my Illustrator CC 2019. The difference is that it only happens sometimes.

It's driving me nuts! I need to know how to fix it.

[Monika Gause]

doctortao  schrieb

I am having this issue on my Illustrator CC 2019. The difference is that it only happens sometimes.

It's driving me nuts! I need to know how to fix it.

What exactly does not work step by step?

Do you restart the computer regularly?

Does it work when you shut off everything else? This includes especially browsers.

[doctortao]

There is no rhyme or reason to when it happens. It can sometimes happen when I copy (ctrl + c) within Illustrator and try to paste in the same document (or another). Or copy from a program like Word and paste into my Illustrator document. I get a message that says "Cannot place text" or something like it - I will screenshot it next time it happens.

It also has happened with other assets in the program - Shapes, Images, graphics, etc.

[Monika Gause]

It's important what exactly you copy from where.

You cannot place anything from any other application. That might work most of the time, but each application puts something different in the clipboard.

[dustinwilson80]

@alfreds72370307  I was having the same problem. I was trying to copy Illustrator paths to after effects solids to use as masks. Something I've done a bunch of times in the past. Sometimes it would work, others it wouldn't. Even copying and pasting the same path would infrequently work. Unchecking the "include SVG code" in the file handling preferences of Illustrator, like @Monika Gause mentioned, seemed to do the trick. I have been able to copy and paste without much issue.

[elinal]

Posting just in case anyone had the same issue as me:

I found out that my 'Copy' keyboard shortcut had disappeared somehow, so I just went to Keyboard Shortcuts (alt + shift + ctrl + K on Windows or opt + shift + cmd + K on Mac) and added 'Ctrl + C' back under Menu Commands > Edit > Copy.

Hope you find a fix for yours! 🙂

[bradm80969024]

Ok so this has been driving me nuts for years. I have illustrator on several different computers (macos, windows, different versions of each). I have one windows computer that always has issues with the copy and paste breaking. I've tried all kinds of solutions like deleting the preferences files and not including SVG code, turning windows clipboard history on and off, but I've never found a solution.

Here is exactly what happens: Copy paste works fine until I try to copy anything from inside of a clip group. I can paste inside of the clip group, but if I exit that group I cannot paste the object or anything else that I try to copy from that point forward. The only exception is that if I take the text tool and type anything, then copy that, then deselect the text and paste the text it works fine and all of the paste functionality is restored including copying and pasting from inside clip groups until it randomly breaks again.

If anyone has any suggestions for this, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

[justalex95]

Hey guys, I had the same issue. Then I started thinking outside the box, and the issue really was that in Keyboard Shortcuts, the Copy shortcut was removed for some reason. So check that out, maybe it will work for you.

[VGioBibz]

This problem has affected me too and since I need to copy and paste into other tools outside of Illustrator this is a block in my workflow and very frustrating.
Using Illustrator v 29.0.1 (64bit) on  Windows 10.
It did seem to come and go but recently I can replicate the issue as below in my current project file, like flipping a switch.

***If i open a new document along side my current project, the problem does not appear. I jump back into the other file and it's present there.***

The file with the problem that I'm working in is a simple 1920x1080 artboard (six of these) with simple black and white logo developments, file preset picked from the web defaults, RGB, nothing unsual, comes in at 15mb.

Within that file here's how I replicate the problem:
Selecting a vector shape and live text:
Pressing Ctrl+C
You can see in the Edit menu I have pasting options and the info is in the system clipboard:

So I now outline the type and try again because how could that possibly affect anything, right?
Text in demo here is Helvetica, but this works on all fonts.

Using keyboard shortcuts to copy or using any other method such as menus shown to try and copy data to the system clipboard ... nothing. It's as if illustrator is now incapable of writing data to the system clipboard.

If i now try and copy any other simple shape or path from the same document the problem prevents me copying to clipboard.

BUT if I copy a live text item (or a selection that contains a live text item) the problem goes away and I can copy/paste.

As I say above, while this problem is preventing me from copying and pasting in that particular file I can open a new document along side (in the same session) and I can copy/paste to my hearts content even after outlining type. I cannot replicate the problem that is happening IN THE OTHER DOCUMENT WINDOW IN THE SAME SESSION.

What is going on?

[Anubhav M]

Hello @VGioBibz,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind sharing a sample file after uploading it to a file-sharing service, along with a screen recording of your exact workflow and the problem so I can try and replicate this on my end?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[VGioBibz]

For NDA/security reasons I can't share the project file I was working on so I tried other +10mb files and its the same deal so here's an old project and a video capture.
The test file is 340mb, which you might think excessive but from my POV shouldn't be so. 
This copy/paste issue only began for me in the last year and appears on multiple devices.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @VGioBibz,

Thank you for providing the details and sharing your video capture. I was able to test the copy/paste functionality on my end, and I didn’t experience the same issue.

As a next step, would you mind running Illustrator in Safe Mode and testing the copy/paste functionality there? To do this, please ensure no other apps are open while Illustrator is running in Safe Mode. This can help determine if there’s any conflict with other applications or settings on your system.

Let me know how it goes, and I’ll be happy to assist further if needed.

Best regards,

Anshul Saini