How to Fix Excel Copy and Paste Problems by Disabling Separate Instances

Fixing Copy and Paste Problems in Microsoft Excel

Understanding the Issue

If you're experiencing difficulties with copying and pasting in Microsoft Excel, one common culprit could be the 'Launch separate instances' setting. This setting can interfere with normal copy and paste functionality between Excel workbooks.

How to Resolve Copy and Paste Problems

Follow these simple steps to fix copy and paste issues in Excel:

1. Open Excel
2. Click on File in the top menu
3. Select Options to open Excel Options
4. Look for the 'Launch separate instances' checkbox
5. Uncheck this option if it's currently enabled
6. Click OK to save your changes
7. Restart Excel completely
8. Try copying and pasting again

Why This Works

When the 'Launch separate instances' setting is enabled, Excel opens each workbook in a separate application instance. This can prevent normal clipboard operations between workbooks, causing copy and paste functionality to fail or behave unexpectedly.

Additional Troubleshooting

If you continue to experience copy and paste issues after disabling the 'Launch separate instances' setting, you may need to further troubleshoot your Excel installation or system settings.