[Solved] Problems with Copy/Paste Special

[GreySquirrel]

Forgive me if I am repeating a previous discussion but I am brand new to the forum.

I have just updated my OpenOffice to version 3.3.0 and since this I have experienced difficulty with copy and paste instuctions which have been quite straight forward for more than four years or so.

An example of one of the problems is this.

I wish to copy some rows from Page 1 of a spreadsheet onto Page 2 of the spreadheet, moving the existing rows on Page 2 down to accommodate the new rows.

To do this I highlight the rows on page 1 and click on "Copy".

Then I move to Page 2, place the cursor on the top left data cell, and click on "Paste Special". This used to give me the option to move the existing cells down. it also used to offer me the option to copy data, formats, calculations etc.

However, with the current version, when I press "Paste Special" I get a screen headed "Unknown source" followed by "unformatted text".
If I accept OK, I get a screen which appears suitable for an spreadsheet import of a csv file. If I define the separator as TAB and ask for special numbers to be recognised, this works to some extent.

HOWEVER, the existing columns of the spreadsheet are overwritten, WITH NO WARNING.

I have update my Windows XP with all the latest fixes, some of which referred to application inter-operability, but this has not improved matters.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as at the moment, what used to take me minutes could well run into hours.

[crusader]

Welcome to the forum. You may wish to familiarize yourself with the Survival Guide.

See if this thread addresses your concern.

[GreySquirrel]

Thanks crusader. In my case the problem appears to have been solved by disabling the Skype add-in for click-to-call in Internet Explorer, so the problem did not only affect Chrome. A search on the subject appeared to suggest the Skype had solved the problem with a new version, which I downloaded to test. I still had the problem, so disabling the add-in was the only solution.

[crusader]

Thanks crusader. In my case the problem appears to have been solved by disabling the Skype add-in for click-to-call in Internet Explorer, so the problem did not only affect Chrome.

You are welcome.

Thank you for the feedback.

[GreySquirrel]

The problem has just re-occurred with a simple copy of one cell. I could not paste as the command was "greyed out". I've restarted my PC, closed Skype, and not opened IE. OpenOffice calc is OK again ........ for the moment .

[kingfisher]

I sometimes find that the paste icon is inactive. All I have to do to activate it is close and re-open the file.

[crusader]

The problem has just re-occurred with a simple copy of one cell. I could not paste as the command was "greyed out". I've restarted my PC, closed Skype, and not opened IE. OpenOffice calc is OK again ........ for the moment .

I cleansed myself off IE many years ago. I remember reading somewhere that uninstalling IE has helped solve the problem. Something to think about, especially when there are robust browsers out there...

[GreySquirrel]

Thanks crusader and kingfisher. One reason I've persisted with IE is the extensive use I've made of the "Favorites" structure. I've read elsewhere on this forum that Firefox can import favourites from another browser when it's first used, so I might give this a try.