Inspiring

Answered

Copy/Cut not working

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
April 19, 2024
4 replies
2659 views

Ctrl + C keyboard shortcut needs to be hit between 2-10 times usually before Illustrator recognizes that I did anything.

But it's not just keyboard shortcuts. If I click Edit > Cut then click Edit again, the option to paste is greyed out 100% of the time.

If I click Edit > Copy, nothing ever happens the first time. After the first time, it seems like a random roll of the die on whether or not Paste is then greyed out under the Edit menu. Usually 2-10 times to get Illustrator to understand that I want to copy something.

Only Adobe apps are having this issue. No other software I regularly use is having any issue with the clipboard.

I already reset my preferences, disabled "Include SVG Code" in the preferences, closed all other programs running, rebooted, restarted in safe mode. Nothing helps.

Windows 11
Illustrator 28.4.1
2 different machines
Happens with Photoshop too but only sporadically

Bug

Correct answer Joshua306184273h49

It's been almost a year since I posted this thread, but I would like to follow up and share that I have found the culprit! Logi Options+ (Logitech mouse and keyboard management software), and it seems maybe even Logitech wireless keyboards in general.

I noticed that Logi Options+ was mentioned in another thread as an application that might interfere with the Windows clipboard, so I uninstalled it (it's entirely unnecessary anyway). Now, without even closing+reopening Illustrator or rebooting my machine, copy and paste work reliably every time.

The copy/paste issue unfortunately also happened on my other machine that has NEVER had the Logi Options+ software installed, but DOES use a wireless Logitech keyboard. Swapping out the Logitech wireless keyboard for a wired USB keyboard made the issue go away on this second machine. Luckily, I can still use my wireless keyboard on the first device I mentioned (for now, at least).

So, folks with wireless Logitech peripherals who are still having this copy/paste issue: try uninstalling your Logi software or temporarily swapping out your Logitech keyboard.

J

Joshua306184273h49AuthorCorrect answer

Inspiring

It's been almost a year since I posted this thread, but I would like to follow up and share that I have found the culprit! Logi Options+ (Logitech mouse and keyboard management software), and it seems maybe even Logitech wireless keyboards in general.

I noticed that Logi Options+ was mentioned in another thread as an application that might interfere with the Windows clipboard, so I uninstalled it (it's entirely unnecessary anyway). Now, without even closing+reopening Illustrator or rebooting my machine, copy and paste work reliably every time.

The copy/paste issue unfortunately also happened on my other machine that has NEVER had the Logi Options+ software installed, but DOES use a wireless Logitech keyboard. Swapping out the Logitech wireless keyboard for a wired USB keyboard made the issue go away on this second machine. Luckily, I can still use my wireless keyboard on the first device I mentioned (for now, at least).

So, folks with wireless Logitech peripherals who are still having this copy/paste issue: try uninstalling your Logi software or temporarily swapping out your Logitech keyboard.

C

Carol35262613zs8q

Participating Frequently

One year! One whole year I've been suffering with a copy/paste that won't work 75% of the time. I even had a couple of sessions with Adobe tech services and they couldn't find the issue.

Joshua, you are my hero!!! I threw out anything on my PC that said Logitech and now it cut/paste works beautifully. And my Logitech mouse and keyboard still work just fine. Adobe please spread the word about this bug; Logitech, get your act together.

C

Carol35262613zs8q

Participating Frequently

Yes! I thought it was just me and my keyboard and I've tried to clean out my keys twice. But it's not! It's Illustrator!! Even if I do copy or cut using the right-click menu, it's gone when I try to paste it. This is REALLY annoying if you're trying to work fast.It's been messing up since last upgrade--2 or 3 weeks ago. Seems like some keys and space bar mess up more than they should too. I have similar set up: Windows 11 and latest Illustrator.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

Do you have anything installed of what's listed in the post above yours?

C

Carol35262613zs8q

Participating Frequently

No. None of those are on my machine as far as I can tell. I'm on my company machine; I don't have a lot of software on there. Very few utilities. We do have aggressive anti-virus software though. I tried using the Adobe Virtual Assistant, per Anubhav's message above, and it just runs me in circles. Would you like to Zoom and I can show you?

.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

A couple of applications mess around with the clipboard.

THese have been identified to do it. Might notbe the only ones:

Parallels Toolbox running with the Clipboard History
TeamVewer Clipboard > Use Shared Clipboard
Apple iOS device simulator from Xcode
Windows Multi-clipboard
Windows Clipboard History
Chrome Remote Desktop
Mouse Pointer Highlighter
AnyViewer
Pastebot app
Overzealous antivirus (Digital Guardian) as well as viruses that empty the clipboard
Vector Magic

J

Joshua306184273h49Author

Inspiring

Thanks for the assistance. None of these applications are installed on my machine, and the only antivirus software is stock Windows Defender.

I did some experimenting. While working this morning, I noticed that Illustrator will reliably cut/copy/paste very simple objects. I drew about a dozen random ellipses, united them with Pathfinder, and copy/pasted them. It worked reliably. I grouped four of those dozen-circle groups, scaled them down, united them with Pathfinder, and repeated the process, resulting in four copy/pastes that worked reliably.

It wasn't until I reached the fourth round of this "tessellating" that the application began to occassionally not register my commands to copy. In the fifth round, I had to do the copy command a minimum of 20 times to get Illustrator to register the command. This leads me to believe this issue is tied to memory somehow.

Windows does not limit clipboard size as far as I know, my machine has 64gb of memory, and other drawing applications can copy similarly complex objects without issues, so I am still lead to believe that the problem lies with Illustrator.

Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @Joshua306184273h49,

It seems like you're experiencing some frustrating issues with Illustrator's copy-and-paste functionality. Would you mind attempting to run Illustrator in Safe Mode to see if any third-party applications are causing interference? If the issue persists, it could be related to Illustrator itself or your system configuration. If not, please provide information about your Illustrator version, operating system, and system specifications.

Best,

Anshul Saini

Anubhav M

Community Manager

Hello @Joshua306184273h49,

We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. Would you mind trying to run Illustrator under a different administrator account (Windows / macOS) and checking if it helps?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Anubhav

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