i am trying to copy and paste a link

Question

i am trying to copy and paste a link into my browser and it will let me copy the link but will not let me slide mouse across and copy and i so not now where to find my copied link

Answer 1

Hi there,

I am an independent advisor, trying to help other users in the Community with my experience in Microsoft products. Please note that I am a user like you and don't work directly for Microsoft.

I understand that you are able to copy a link, but you cannot highlight it by sliding your mouse across the text, and you are unsure where the copied link is stored.

This behavior often occurs because the text you are trying to copy is not selectable, such as links embedded in certain apps, images, or protected web controls, even though the Copy option is still available from a right click menu. When you copy a link successfully, it is temporarily saved to your clipboard, which does not display its contents unless you paste it.

To access the copied link, click the browser address bar or any text field and use the Paste command by pressing Ctrl plus V or right clicking and selecting Paste. If mouse highlighting is not working, it may also be related to browser zoom settings, extensions, touchpad configuration, or accessibility options, so restarting the browser or testing in a private window can help confirm the cause.

To help narrow this down, can you let me know whether this issue happens on a specific website or application only, or if it occurs everywhere you try to select text?

Please understand that I am an independent advisor and only trying to assist in the best possible way. Kindly let me know if the possible solutions provided help and if you need any other assistance, I will be more than happy to help further.

(If the reply was helpful please don't forget to upvote and/or accept as answer, thank you)

Regards,

Anatoly T.

Answer 2

The copied link is stored on the Windows clipboard. To use it in a browser, it must be pasted from the clipboard into the browser’s address bar or another text box.

To copy a link from an app or web page:

1. Point to the link.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag across the link text (or just click once if it’s already a hyperlink and gets highlighted).
3. Press Ctrl + C to copy.

To paste the copied link into the browser:

1. Click once in the browser’s address bar (where website addresses appear) so the text cursor is there.
2. Press Ctrl + V to paste the link from the clipboard.
3. Press Enter to go to the link.

If copy/paste is not working in a web app (like Office for the web) and a “No clipboard access” message appears, enable clipboard access for that site in the browser settings:

• In Microsoft Edge:
  1. Select the lock icon / View site information in the address bar.
  2. Under “Permission for this site,” find Clipboard.
  3. Set it to Allow.
• In Chrome:
  1. Select View site information in the address bar.
  2. Find Clipboard.
  3. Turn it On.

After that, copy with Ctrl + C and paste with Ctrl + V should work normally.

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References:

• Troubleshoot copy and paste errors in Office for the web