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Copy & Paste not always working - randomly

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
March 3, 2019
47 replies
96600 views

Hi all,

This is a very frustrating bug - around 50% of the times copy & paste won't work. I select an object, press ctrl+C, and then pressing ctrl+V produces nothing as if the clipboard is empty.

I cannot reproduce it as it seems random, sometimes it will copy & paste, sometimes it won't.

This makes working with Illustrator extremely hard.

Might be worth mentioning that copy-pasting from Illustrator into Photoshop resembles the same buggy behavior - it will randomly work or not.

Please advise on how to resolve this.

Cheers

Correct answer Anubhav M

Hi everyone,

We completely understand how disruptive copy-paste issues in Illustrator can be, especially when they interrupt an active workflow. Copy-paste problems usually fall into a few specific categories (clipboard preferences, file formats, system-level conflicts), and we've put together a dedicated post that walks through each with the corresponding fix:

Why copy-paste breaks in Illustrator and how to fix it

Please work through the suggestions there and share what you observe - whether the issue clears up, partially improves, or persists. Your feedback helps us keep the post accurate and complete for other users facing the same trouble.

Anubhav

[Note: Marked as correct for visibility]

Show previous replies

Alex Venneker

Participating Frequently

In the preferences go to the Clipboard handeling and uncheck "include SVG Code". That did it for me.
It is not necessary to delete the preferences or uninstal 3rd party software. It's a proble within Illustrator and Adobe should do something about it.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

In the preferences go to the Clipboard handeling and uncheck "include SVG Code". That did it for me.
It is not necessary to delete the preferences or uninstal 3rd party software. It's a proble within Illustrator and Adobe should do something about it.

By @Alex Venneker

This won't help everybody. Please read the complete thread.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

I have tried deleting preferences. I have reinstalled AI and deleted all files associated before reinstall. Copy Paste worked fine for a day and now it is doing it again.

Any thoughts?

By @JosephMr434

Please read the complete thread.

There are third party system extensions that interfere with clipboard functionality. Uninstall it.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

@JosephMr434 schrieb:

"Please read the complete thread." I have.. So sorry for not putting all of my attempted corrections in the message. Will you please forgive me?

I don't have any clipboard enahancing software or 3rd party app running. I don't have antivirus either.

I have unchecking PDF and SVG code also.

And do you have any of these?

I uninstall this 3 program to fix the issue,
- chrome remote desktop
- mouse pointer highlighter
- anyViewer

rohriant1

Participant

Hi! I have the answer.

I am lucky that in my case I use copy paste a lot for drawing everyday so I know exactly when that weird behavior happen.

I uninstall this 3 program to fix the issue,
- chrome remote desktop
- mouse pointer highlighter
- anyViewer

*I installed those program to setup my tablet as secondary monitor, but it doesnt feel good anyway.

Once I uninstalled all of them and restart my Illustrator all working fine. I still don't know what the culprit is, but for my case it must be in one of those program. No virus, just some program(s) that running on the background..

Jason Burnett

Inspiring

Here’s the problem with your solution that you should know:

Not everyone has those things installed and therefore this solution only woriks for your system (and potentially someone who has things similarly configured to your system).

The point is that Illustrator should be responsible for solving the conflicts that their software has with ANY other software that could possibly be installed. Every other app does this; Illustrator should as well.

And the idea that uninstalling a critical piece of software (like Chrome Remote Desktop) is a requirement to use Illustrator is bat-feces crazy. I”m glad you got it to work, but I’d be willing to bet it’s not for long.

rohriant1

Participant

Hi! I have the answer.

I am lucky that in my case I use copy paste a lot for drawing everyday so I know exactly when that weird behavior happen.

I uninstall this 3 program,
- chrome remote desktop
- mouse pointer highlighter
- anyViewer

*I installed those program to setup my tablet as secondary monitor, but it doesnt feel good anyway.

Once I uninstalled all of them and restart my Illustrator all working fine. I still don't know what the culprit is, but for my case it must be in one of those program. No virus, just some program(s) that running on the background..

A

Abdullah26131759dws2

Participant

I had the same problem in Illustrator 2021. I uninstalled Indesign 2022 and the problem was completely resolved. Even though "svg code" is active when I copy, it copies without delay and pastes it every time.

A

Abdullah26131759dws2

Participant

It has nothing to do with Indesign. The problem is caused by a virus that constantly empties the clipboard. I installed Kaspersky, it found the virus and the problem was fixed permanently.

D

Dawn252063540sbe

Participant

None of the correct answers work for me. In Illustrator go to Edit > Keyboard shortcuts and make sure the shortcut for paste is in the My Chosen View Set. Control + V was missing in my list. It also didn't show as a shortcut on the drop down menu.

J

Jason5C88

Participating Frequently

I too, am experiencing this. And it's the most pathetic bug I have every encountered. I use copy/paste regularly and it's slowed my workflow down tremendously. It's unebelievable that Adobe can charge us the ridiculous amounts of money they do for their software and primary components don't even work. I have also performed just about every troubleshooting method in existence and NOTHING. A big WHAT THE HELL?

tpdccm

Participating Frequently

The problem is still there, nothing changed, evey now and than the problem occurs. And deleting preferences what kind of solutions is this. Even after doing that it still does not work and i spend an hour putting every thing back the way i use the adobe programs. We pay each month for software that is bugy and when we send in a complain nothing happens. When you need to do something quick because there is a tight deadline it if frustating when you have to work with a program that does not do what it is suppose to do.

V

vvildvves

Participant

Hi there, I'm a UI designer and I'm here with a similar issue. I've been experiencing this problem the entire time I've used Adobe products, so over 15 years. I'm currently using the Creative Suite subscription 2022 Photoshop, Illustrator and XD. It's just an occasional bug but very frustrating. Only fore, copy+paste always works, it's just CUT+paste that will randomly not work. In Illustrator, Premiere and XD this happens more rarely, but it happens almost once a day in Photoshop. It won't work at all for the first 6 hours of my shift and then will magically fix itself by the end for example. Really strange bug that forces me to use tons of time creating work around. When I'm trying to remove a part of an object, instead of cutting it out, I'll need to select the area I want to keep and copy+paste it and then delete the asset that won't let me CMMD+X, CMMD+V.

RetroWreck

Participant

I have been having this problem for years. I thought it was a feature of Premiere Pro. I am working on a project now that I desperately need to paste text all the time. My budget would be destroyed if I typed all this text into a graphic. Signing off as budget blown.

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