How to fix copy and cut features to clipboard

Question

, when I copy or cut in excel a pop up appears saying (We could not copy the content to the clipboard, it is in use by another application. You can still paste your content within this workbook but it will not be available in other applications). Then sometimes everything disappears and the worksheet goes back to the beginning like I never copied or cut anything. This all started after I updated excel recently. Can anyone help me?

Answer 1

Hi @andrea france,

I found this thread which is similar to your scenario and may help you: We could not copy the contents to the Clipboard, it is in use by another application. …, please try the troubleshooting steps in the answer by Ravikumar Vadamalai.

Let us know if this issue still persists and we're glad to provide further support. Thanks!

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Answer 2

Hi @andrea france

Hey! I had the same issue recently after updating Excel, and it drove me nuts for a few days. Here's what worked for me:

Simple but effective. Close all Excel files, restart your computer, and try again. Sometimes it’s just a temporary clipboard glitch.

If it doen't work then try this>> If the clipboard pane is open, it can bug out. Press Ctrl + Alt + V and see if the Office Clipboard is open — clear all and close it.
If you’re running clipboard managers (like Ditto, ClipClip), security software, or syncing tools (like OneDrive/Dropbox), try disabling them temporarily. These can interfere with how Excel handles clipboard data.
Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.

1. Find Microsoft Office → click Change → choose Quick Repair.
2. If the problem remains, try the Online Repair (takes longer but fixes deeper issues)

Run Excel in Safe Mode to check if an add-in is causing the issue:

Press Win + R → type:

excel /safe

Then try copy/cut again. If it works, one of your add-ins is likely the culprit.

Hope it will works for you!