Problems using the 'paste' function in Excel worksheet (Office 2010)

Question

When using Microsoft Excel worksheet (Office 2010), and trying to paste text into merged cells that are centered and wrapped, I keep getting the error message which states:

“Data on the Clipboard is not the same size and shape as the selected area. Do you want to paste the data anyway?”

The problem is that the text is from the exact same set of merged, centered and wrapped cells in the same column, but different row. The font and font size are all the same as well. After clicking ‘ok’ I receive another error message which states:

“Cannot change part of a merged cell.”

Therefore, I am unable to paste any text into these merged, centered, and wrapped cells. Is there a solution for this?

Answer 1

I was able to copy the text into the formula bar in the top, while having the merged cell selected.

Works like a charm!

Answer 2

Unless the data only contains a few characters, it's impossible to get around merged cells.

Answer 3

During the last week, there have been widespread reports of problems with pasting in Word and Excel. Unfortunately, the exact cause isn't known yet, as far as I know.

As a temporary workaround, try closing all browser windows while working with Office applications.

Answer 4

I can confirm the following:

When merged cells are being used, and a filter is set. Trying to copy the output to the clipboard gives the following error "Cannot change part of a merged cell"

I want to be able to copy the output to a PowerPoint sheet. As it is now, I am forced to either remove the filter, or unmerge all cells (or use the excel as an object inside PowerPoint).

Version: Excel 2010 & PowerPoint 2010

Operating System: Windows 7

I found the following knowledge base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/211821

But this does not seem to relate to this issue, I cannot find any other knowledge base article that does seem to relate to this issue.

My question is this: Is this by design or is there any solution to this issue?

Kind regards,

R. de Jong.

Answer 5

Merged cells are a !@#$%^ to work with - it's best to avoid them. They cause all kinds of problems.