Can't copy & paste in Word 2003

[Rosebud]

A client can't copy and paste in Word 2003 (Windows XP Pro). The toolbar buttons are active, as are the menu items. But those, and CTRL+C doesn't add anything to the clipboard. Copying and pasting in Excel works just fine. She can copy from Excel and paste into Word. She can Cut from Word (in that the text will be deleted from the document) but that doesn't add anything to the clipboard, so pasting is still not an option. The clipboard is not full.

Can you help us with the baffling development?!

 

[tf1]

Start Word in Safe Mode: does that allow copy/paste now.

From Start, Run type in

winword /a

and press enter. Copy/Paste text test now.


Regards: tf1

 

[MakeItSo]

Do you have any sort of tool, e.g. Screenshooting tool running in the background/taskbar, that might block certain key combinations?
I encounter similar things with "UltraSnap". If I have that running, sometimes an "Alt+F4" will not close an application, but invoke a screencapture. Perhaps you have something similar.

Plus: Does that happen, when Word is up and running? I know that Office 2003 obviously empties the clipboard during start, so any copy before Word started cannot be pasted afterwards...

Hope this helps,
Andy

[blue]An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[Rosebud]

Thanks for your prompt, and helpful, replies. I started Word in Safe Mode as you suggested, tfi, and copy and paste worked just perfectly!

There is no tool running in the background, Andy, and the problem happens when Word is up and running.

Through the Safe Mode tip I've bought some time. Now - a couple of other questions:

1. Just what does one lose when booting Word in Safe Mode? I noticed right away that the recently-used files didn't appear at the bottom of the File menu. But is there any real functionality that is lost?

2. More importantly, what did we learn about the original problem now that we know it goes away in Safe Mode - and what can be done about it?

Thanks, so much, for your help!

 

[tf1]

Safe Mode bypasses all add-ins and runs Word in its default install mode. There is something you have installed that has placed a macro, template or add-in in Word that is incompatible. If you have Word as part of the Works Suite, then the Works Suite Add-in is a known cause of this: go to the COntrol Panel, Add/Remove programs and uninstall the Add-in.

Typical third party causes are products by Symantec, Adobe and utilities that come with Personal Organisers and mobile phones. One of them is breaking Word.


Regards: tf1

 

[Rosebud]

Thanks, again, tfi. Word 2003 is part of the Office suite, not the Works suite. She said that nothing new has been loaded since the last time she could copy and paste - we'll see!

Rik

 

[MakeItSo]

If she's got no recorded macros or so, which she doesn't like to lose, she could try by:
- Searching for "Normal.dot"
(usually in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data...)
Delete it or rename it to "Normal.old" or so.
Word will automatically create a new one on startup and all interfering macros that might be present in the original Normal.dot are archived away and do not disturb anymore...

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Andy

[blue]An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind. - "Mahatma" Mohandas K. Gandhi[/blue]

 

[fumei]

Some other things to check.

Check Tools > Templates and Addins. See if anything is in there. If there is, uncheck them one by one to see if you can identify if any of them are causing the problem.

Also, while it is not display by default, there is also another menu item under Tools. Tools > COM Addins. To see it, you have to customize the toolbar. Right click the toolbar and select Customize. Select the Commands tab, and find COM Addins. Drag it to the Tools dropdown menu, and release. Some programs add a COM object into Word.

Gerry

 

[skeelsie1]

ctrl+alt+delete, select task manager and close apps running (other the word) 1 by 1 that are assigned to user name. Try copy / paste after each of these to see if there's one application that's causing grief. If one is identified then take it out of the system startup folder.
Might work.

 

[tf1]

If navigate to the following MSKB article, although it addresses a different symptom that you have, it does give a step by step guide to finding add-ins.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011514521033.aspx

Regards: tf1

 

[Rosebud]

Wonderful input - thanks, all! This is why I keep coming back to the forum!

Rosebud

 

[bluedragon2]

Is there a macro that has been recorded that has the shortcut set as ctrl-c?

[Blue]Blue[/Blue] [Dragon]

If I wasn't Blue, I would just be a Dragon...