Can't Empty the Clipboard

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 18, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


2

Jerry is trying to cut information from one cell and paste it into another cell. He can cut it just fine, but when he tries to paste it he gets an error message, "Cannot Empty the Clipboard." Jerry wonders what causes this error.

This has been a problem in Excel for some time. (Actually, the problem seems to crop up in several different Office applications, not just Excel.) The solutions for the problem depend upon what is causing the problem and which version of Excel you are using. As an example, here are two different articles at the Microsoft Knowledge Base that address the issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/196620
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899266

Note that the articles are focused on entirely different versions of Excel and entirely different causes. Unfortunately, Microsoft hasn't seen fit to create a "here's how to fix it" article that addresses the wider range of potential causes. There are, however, resources available on the wider Internet that address the issue. Here's a good one:

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/ms-office-tips/cannont-empty-clipboard/

You can find lots of other such resources by searching for the phrase "cannot empty the keyboard" (make sure you include the quote marks).

The underlying idea for all these potential causes and solutions is that there is some program (whether it be Terminal Services, GetRight, Flashget, RealVNC, or Quickeys) that is interfering with how Excel wants to use the Clipboard. The idea is to figure out which program it is an either stop using the program or implement some sort of workaround that is specific to that program.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9809) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Printing Multiple Worksheet Ranges

Need to print more than one portion of your worksheet? If you use named ranges for the different ranges you want to ...

Discover More

Setting Vertical Alignment

Excel allows you to adjust not only the horizontal alignment of values in a cell, but also the vertical alignment. This ...

Discover More

Quickly Changing Font Sizes

A quick little shortcut can help you easily step through different font sizes for whatever text you've selected. Word ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Referencing the Last Cell in a Column

When developing formulas, you may need to reference the very last value in a particular column. This can seem perplexing, ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Spaces in Cells

Importing data into Excel that was generated in other programs can have some interesting side effects. For instance, you ...

Discover More

Displaying Row and Column Labels

When you create a worksheet, it is common to place headings at the top of each column and the left of each row so you can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five less than 7?

2022-06-22 04:18:47

Alan Elston

Yes, Microsoft often make useful updates no longer available. :(
It can be very annoying:- Although it is probably good practice to remove out of date things,
there are never-the-less, often occaisions when they may still be useful.

I wish there weas some repository or archaive somewhere where all updates ever made available by Microsoft could be got from.

Alan ELSTON


2022-06-21 11:01:54

ESeb

dead microsoft site links


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.