When I copy text from Excel on sharepoint.com I frequently get the error "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again."

Question

When I copy text from Excel on sharepoint.com I frequently get the error "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again."

Anonymous

I'm using Chrome 88 (64-bit) on Windows 10 Home.

To reproduce:

Open an Excel sheet on sharepoint.com
Select a cell that contains text
Press Ctrl+c to copy text
Switch to another application and press Ctrl+v
The pasted text says "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again." instead of the copied text

It happens every 20 times or so. I don't see any pattern as to when it happens.

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Answer accepted by question author

1 additional answer

Answer 1

Hi Ken Snyder Dynata,

I understand the issue has affected your work, sorry for the inconvenience.

It seems you copy text from Excel Online. I follow the steps you shared and test many times in Chrome browser to copy text from an Excel workbook to another, I don't encounter any issue.

For troubleshooting, I'd like to confirm information below:

1.For the step 4, "switch to another application and press Ctrl+V", is the application in Chrome browser too?

If yes, you may try a different browser such as Edge or Firefox, open the original sheet and the application, see if issue happens. This helps you narrow down issue and see if it only happens in Chrome.

2.If the application in step 4 is an Office desktop application, you may also try to open the Excel sheet in Excel desktop app by steps below and see if there is any issue when you copy text from it:

Open the Excel sheet on SharePoint, click Open in Desktop App from ribbon to open it in Excel desktop.

Or click File>Save As>Download a Copy, open the copy in Excel desktop app.

Then try to copy text from it and check the outcome.

Moreover, does the issue happen when you copy text from a specific Excel workbook? What about if you try a different workbook?

And after you copy text from the sheet, if you wait for seconds as the message suggests, can you paste successfully? Does issue only appear when you paste the text immediately after you copy it?

Appreciate your time and effort. Have a nice day!

Best Regards,

Tina

Answer 2

Anonymous

Hi Ken Snyder Dynata,

Let us know when you need further help for the issue.

Thanks,

Tina

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When I copy text from Excel on sharepoint.com I frequently get the error "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again."

1 additional answer