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15

Copy & Paste not always working - randomly

Explorer ,
Mar 03, 2019 Mar 03, 2019

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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

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correct answers 5 Correct answers

Community Expert , Mar 03, 2019 Mar 03, 2019

Have you tried deleting Preference?

How to set preferences in Illustrator

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Community Expert , May 27, 2020 May 27, 2020

Is any clipboard enhancing app installed?

Can you try if turning off the SVG option in Preferences > File Handling and Clipboard helps?

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Community Beginner , Jul 27, 2020 Jul 27, 2020

wah... thank you sooo much!!! after all the methods I've tried, finally this "turning off the SVG option in Preferences" method can solve my "copy-paste Lag/Bug" problem in my Adobe Illustrator.

thankyu very much!

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New Here , Dec 25, 2022 Dec 25, 2022

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

...

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Community Beginner , Mar 10, 2023 Mar 10, 2023

Here is an update of my issue of copy and paste in Illustrator.
Have switched keyboard, Now using Logitech keyboard and mouse on the same wireless usb dongle.

 

I must say, problem is gone.

So maybe this issue also can be caused by keyboard set up..

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correct answers 1 Pinned Reply

Adobe Employee , Jan 27, 2023 Jan 27, 2023

Hi @ivobachkov,

 

We are sorry to hear about your experience. Would you mind updating the app to v27.2, released recently, and see if that helps?

 

This generally happens due to third-party application interfering with keyboard shortcuts when working on Illustrator.

Would you mind booting into safe mode (Mac/ Windows) and launching Illustrator to check whether the same behavior is happening?

 

Also, would you mind confirming the exact version of your Illustrator & OS installed on your machine?

 

...

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replies 131 Replies 131
Explorer ,
Apr 18, 2024 Apr 18, 2024

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no

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Community Expert ,
Apr 18, 2024 Apr 18, 2024

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@tpdccm  schrieb:

no


 

Please contact Customer Care and have them check it out: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

They can login to your system.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 22, 2024 Apr 22, 2024

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I don't know if it is wise to let Adobe "login to your system". The last time I had them to that I had to reinstal my whole system. True story. No joke.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 22, 2024 Apr 22, 2024

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I don't know if it is wise to let Adobe "login to your system". The last time I had them to that I had to reinstal my whole system. True story. No joke.


By @Alex Venneker

 

Then you have to figure it out yourself. 

Or hand your computer to an outside expert to figure it out.

 

But most probably it is just some other app interfering.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 22, 2024 Apr 22, 2024

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Why is it so hard for you to believe it is an Adobe problem? A problem they do not fix? 

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Community Expert ,
Apr 22, 2024 Apr 22, 2024

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Because it's just not a general issue. 

Many people experience problems with it, but many more don't. Otherwise these forums would be a different place.

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Explorer ,
Apr 22, 2024 Apr 22, 2024

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I had the same, with them, told them i had a multi monitor setup, with large screens, they said no problem. They did not solve anything and screwed up all my settings.

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Contributor ,
May 27, 2024 May 27, 2024

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Hello @Anshul_Saini + all!

I recently started having the same problem in Illustrator 28.5.

Copy & Paste does not work regularly. If I copy or cut something, it can't be pasted afterwards (Paste is also greyed out). This is quite annoying.

In the meantime I have tried the following without success:

x Deleted preferences, had them recreated

X Searched the lists circulating here ( @Monika Gause https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/illustrator-2022-copy-paste-is-not-working/m-... ) for third-party programmes that could run in the background, but found none of the listed ones.

X Clipboard options PDF deactivated

Is there any new information on the problem?


Greetings Hubertus


My system info:

 

Windows 11 pro (23H2)

 

AMD Rysen 9 79503D 16Core 4.20GHz

128 GB RAM

 

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB VRAM (TUF-RTX4090-OG)

Studio Treiber 555.85 (5/24)

 

 

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Community Expert ,
May 27, 2024 May 27, 2024

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So you do not have aggressive antivirus running?

 

Is it always the same kind of object you are copying? Something special?

Are you always using the shortcut? Or also the menu? Figuring out whether it's the shortcut that ois not working or Copy/Paste in general.

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Contributor ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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Hello @Monika Gause. Thank you for your answer.

 

There are different objects. Logos, simple elements, such as squares etc. Nothing special.

 

I have just tested again. If I cut or copy using the menu command and paste again using the menu command, everything works perfectly.

As soon as I use short cuts - not any more.

So it's the short cuts that regularly fail from time to time.

 

I only run the system's standard anti-virus programmes.

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Community Beginner ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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Sometimes though even the menu will be grayed out and not give you the option of copying. I had an adobe person adjust a bunch of permissions in my adobe files and that had fixed it for a while until it just started happening again last friday. This is ADOBE's problem and they need to fix it!

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Community Expert ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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This is ADOBE's problem and they need to fix it!


By @sferris77

 

It's only happening on some systems, not all. 

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Community Beginner ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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If it's not Adobe's problem, why did it take an adobe professional to go in and change permissions on the supporting folders that adobe generates to fix it the first time?

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Community Expert ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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If it's not Adobe's problem, why did it take an adobe professional to go in and change permissions on the supporting folders that adobe generates to fix it the first time?


By @sferris77

 

Changing permissions on your system is something that you can also do yourself when you know what to change. 

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Community Expert ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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Could be that a third party app intercepts (steals) your modifier keys (ctrl, cmd, alt, etc.). 

 

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Contributor ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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But here I would also say that there is (also) a problem with the programme. I presume it can't be intended that you have to change any permissions under the bonnet in the system so that basic standard commands such as Copy and Past via keyboard shortcuts work as a matter of course in all other Creative Suite programmes.

 

The question is, why does Illustrator have this problem? There are no such problems in the other Creative Suite programmes. It would be somewhat crazy if a programme, especially such a highly developed professional programme, could not cope with the fact that other programmes also use these functions.

 

Now it doesn't seem to affect just one system, but, if I've got it right, over several years, various versions and very different systems with different configurations. So it's not a temporary, exotic isolated case and has been plaguing some users for a long time. If only problems that everyone really has were fixed, then some important and essential fixes would probably not exist. 🙂

 

It would be great and some users would be very happy if Adobe could take care of the problem. Perhaps there is a solution to the problem after all.

 

It really is quite an annoying problem 😉

 

....

 

In the meantime, I have had my system checked again (SFC/scannow), but no error was found. Unfortunately, I don't know how to fix the problem at the moment.... 😞

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Contributor ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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@sferris77 Do you happen to remember which permission you had to change and exactly where? And have you perhaps now tried again successfully?

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Community Expert ,
May 28, 2024 May 28, 2024

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The clipboard is used by all applications and Illustrator happens to have some complicated content (with its appearances and all). Some antivirus apps happen. to not like that and might even ruin it when checking it. Some other apps intercept shortcut keys (browsers and their plugins are famous for that, seems like their developers simply do not care about anything). 

 

You might want to try if running Illustrator in Safe mode helps. Because if it does, then the issue is with something in your system. 

 

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Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2024 Jun 06, 2024

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This does not help, it even happens with just plain text.

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Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2024 Jun 06, 2024

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@tpdccm  schrieb:

This does not help, it even happens with just plain text.


 

This is a long messy thread and it's unclear what you are referring to. Can you please elaborate?

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Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2024 Jun 06, 2024

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Copy pasting in adobe programs that is what this is about.

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Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2024 Jun 06, 2024

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@tpdccm  schrieb:

Copy pasting in adobe programs that is what this is about.


 

Obviously, since it's in the Illustrator forum.

 

So what did you try and what is not working. Is this about the shortcuts not working? Or the function not working in general? Pasting the wrong things? Not pasting at all? Or not even copying?

Did you try it in Safe Mode? Did you uninstall or disable all the other apps that can interfere? Did you check out a different keyboard? Uninstall additional keyboard drivers?

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Explorer ,
Jun 06, 2024 Jun 06, 2024

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Tried everything, even a clean install with windows 11 no other programs but illustrator and photoshop. And normal keyboard it all does not resolve the issue, so i used my logitech keyboard again. Have been dealing with this for years. Had adobe support look at it several times, did not resolve anything, left me with a messed up monitor setup.

 

You have to use CTRL C for 5 or ten times for the element, even a simple box, or plain text to copy. If i am lucky i can paste it. It is so annoying. And same goes for the menu item copy, have to select it multiple times for paste to deghost and be selectable.

 

Between illustrator and photoshop i now just drag the element into photoshop that always works. But copy paste is a drama.

 

I did everyt thing clean install, removed all settings (wich adobe support also messed up had to do everything over again). Had this problem in windows 8, 10 and now 11.

 

In a working enviroment with deadlines this is not very efficient to work.

 

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Community Expert ,
Jun 06, 2024 Jun 06, 2024

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@tpdccm  schrieb:

 

You have to use CTRL C for 5 or ten times for the element, even a simple box, or plain text to copy.

 


 

Is it the shortcut that is not working or the copying itself?

Those are 2 different things.

 

Shortcuts work with modifier keys and modifier keys can be thorn under the bus by third party apps interfering, such as browsers, banking apps, email apps, antivirus or screensharing apps.

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Explorer ,
Jun 07, 2024 Jun 07, 2024

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Sorry but everthing has been explained. Of course the shortcut key works. The whole problem is that within adobe it is not possible to use copy and paste, with short cut key and like i wrote in the dropdown menu. That is what this is about. It has nothing to do with other programs, there everything works like it is supposed to be.

 

So to be clear. CTRL C works in the default browser for instance or any other program for that matter. But in adobe programs it does not work. You have to click CTRL C 5 to 10 times, and then the paste option in the drop down menu is selectable.

 

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