Microsoft ate my words

[tamaranth]

Can anyone explain why, if I copy a chunk of text (Ctrl-C) and then open Microsoft Word (2002: may do Luddite thing and revert to 97), the clipboard empties itself?

This happens every time -- I write in NoteTab, spell-check and layout in Word -- and I'd vaguely assumed that what didn't work was pasting into Word. Now it looks as though I can't paste anywhere else, either.

Obviously not an insurmountable problem, but vexing. I presume it's to do with Word gobbling up all available resources. Any advance on that? saying 'use a pen and paper' is probably not very original

Comments

[tamaranth.livejournal.com]

It's like the old joke: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." "Then don't do that." Still wish I knew why, though: it seems a really basic thing, and very odd side-effect of opening an app.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

Speculation: There are different sorts of clipboard that each program uses by default - copy into one, then open Word with its "Office clipboard" which is empty and you unable to paste anything from it? Perhaps a tiny preference you can set to say which clipboard you want an application to access by default.

The above may be bollocks, but it's consistent and credible bollocks.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

According to MS Word Help (searching on "clipboard"):-
The Office Clipboard is related to the system Clipboard in the following ways:
When you copy multiple items to the Office Clipboard, the last item you copy is always copied to the system Clipboard.
When you clear the Office Clipboard, the system Clipboard is also cleared.
When you use the Paste command, the Paste button, or the shortcut keys (CTRL+V), you paste the contents of the system Clipboard, not the Office Clipboard.

So I think the question is refined to: When you open a MS Office app (and there are no other MS Office apps running), does it empty the system Clipboard - and if so, WHY??????

[marypcb.livejournal.com]

no, Office apps don't normally clear the system clipboard without asking you if you want to, when you exit the application, if you have copied something enormous.

You can tell Word not to use the Office clipboard, but it won't be using it until it's open anyway so I don't think it's likely to be an interaction between the Office and System clipboards

what clears the clipboard is:
an app sending a flush message because you agreed you didn't want the 3Gb photo you just pasted into another photo on the system clipboard
something blank getting copied into the system clipboard usually by an add-in or macro doing something weird
the OLE connection between apps and/or between apps and the system breaking down