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Mark2211
Mark2211
Participating Frequently
July 14, 2023
Question

I am having trouble copying text from Illustrator to other programs. Any suggestions?

  • July 14, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 832 views

Hello,

 

I've been experiencing an unusual issue recently that I'm hoping someone here may have a solution for. I seem to be having trouble copying text from Adobe Illustrator and pasting it into other programs. I've tested this across multiple applications, and the issue persists - my clipboard seems to be empty when I attempt to paste.

 

See attached video.

 

Interestingly, the inverse is not a problem. I can copy text from applications like Microsoft Word and paste it into Illustrator just fine. It's only when I try to extract text from Illustrator that I run into issues. This happens regardless of the font, size, or style of the text. I've tried restarting my computer, updating Illustrator, and running a quick virus scan, but nothing seems to help. I also uninstalled and reinstalled AI again but it didn't help.

 

A bit more about my setup: I'm using Illustrator 2023 (latest update installed), on a Windows 10 machine. This issue seems to have cropped up out of the blue - I've been able to copy and paste text from Illustrator in the past with no issues.

 

Has anyone else encountered this problem? If so, were you able to find a fix? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance for your time and support! 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

Mike_Gondek10189183
Community Expert
Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2023

I suspect this si either an issue with Illustrator preferences being corrupt, or a 3rd party app interfering with adding to the clipbaord, I see this happens with text, how about vector shapes? 

 

Researching others who had this in the past I seen not many solutions, but much usage of Whatsapp. this post also suggests quicklook and a security app. So let us know what else you installed and what exact OS version.

 

After updating  or removing (eg: wacom drivers, antivirus, any OS wide utilities) you do not use I would.

PREFS  RESET MAC (thorough method)

Quit Illustrator

Finder >> Shift Command G

~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Illustrator 27 Settings/en_US/Adobe Illustrator Prefs

rename Adobe Illustrator 27 to Adobe Illustrator 27old

 

PREFS  RESET MAC (other)

Quit Illustrator

Finder >> Shift Command G

~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Illustrator 27/

rename Adobe Illustrator 27  to Adobe Illustrator 27 old

 

PREFS  RESET WIN (other)

Quit Illustrator

Press Win+R -> appdata -> Roaming -> Adobe -> rename folder "Adobe Illustrator XX Settings"  to anything else like "Adobe Illustrator XX Settings_old"

 

As a last resort do a proper uninstall that removes all the prefs above and possibly more by using the clearner.

Reinstall App

Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner to fully remove your app & prefs then reinstall

 

 

 

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2023

The list of interfering apps (so far known in this forum)

 

  • 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
Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2023

Do you have anything installed or set up anywhere in your system that messes around with the clipboard? Probably Teamviewer but also Chrome and a lot of other apps have settings that "enhance" the clipboard.

Mark2211
Mark2211Author
Participating Frequently
July 14, 2023

No really, copy paste works in all other programs. I can paste into Illustrator just fine just not out. 

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2023

Copying some pixels or some text is wildly different from what Illustrator is copying.

 

Please reboot your computer and then launch only Illustrator. And also take some time and research. Did you install something that enhances the clipboard? Or activate such a function?  

B
Community Expert
Bobby HendersonCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2023

What are your Clipboard Handling settings in Preferences? Are you able to copy text in Illustrator to the clipboard and paste plain text into the Notepad app?

Mark2211
Mark2211Author
Participating Frequently
July 14, 2023

At the end of the Video you can see my settings but I played with them all and turned them all off and on but luck. I can't copy anything out of Illustrator but in. All the other programs have no issue. 

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