Copy and Paste issues on iOS

Am I pressing the “Copy” button wrong after selecting text? Or cmd+c?

Why is it that copy and paste only work a third of the time?

I have heard (and agree with) the critiques of text selection and so on. But I often successfully select text, hit copy in one way or another, and then change windows only to have nothing come out of the clipboard. Paste is even greyed out in the menu.

Should I, like, wait longer after copying, or something…? I feel like my devices are making fun of me behind my back right to my face.

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Me too. Do you use hand-off? I am wondering if this might be related. It does seem to be software specific. Apple native apps seem to always work (?).

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I am thankful that I am not alone but I am sad to hear that there are others in this woeful circumstance.

Aye, I use handoff. I wonder if that’s it. I’ll experiment.

Handoff/Universal Clipboard usually works for me, but I have had this happen before and it turned out to be weird iCloud behavior I was able to fix by signing out and in (I think; it’s been awhile.) Has it started recently or has it always been like this for you?

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Actually this isn’t about Handoff—plain, straightforward copy and paste is the issue.

I will sometimes select text, hit command+c/do the copy gesture/hit the copy button on the edit modal, and when I go to paste, nothing happens.

Sometimes I have to try 2-3 times before copying to the clipboard actually sticks!

For sure. Sorry, I meant local/plain/straightforward copy and paste wasn’t working but it turned out that an iCloud bug was eating my clipboard. It was a little while ago so probably not the same issue these days, at least, hopefully. :slight_smile:

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Ahh! Thanks. I’ll probably try it… I’m guessing signing out and back in is no small task?

I found that this depends on the App. I’ve never had a problem copying and pasting in native apps, and I use Reminders all the time when I’ve pasted things from emails and the calendar app, this works 100% of the time (it do it many times a day).

On the other hand, I found that several non-native apps have lots of problems copying. In particular, OmniFocus and PDF Expert would not copy text on a regular basis, and this happened maybe 2/3 of the times I pressed copy. It drove me mad that I would copy, go to another app and then when I pressed paste nothing happened.

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Any chance you all are copying/pasting to iAWriter?

I’m seeing this issue today, but only when I’m trying to paste into iAWriter. Not when I’m in Drafts or any other app.

I do suffer this issue in iA Writer, but also other apps.

I’ve experimented some in the last week. I think I’ve actually figured it out: I move too quickly between apps.

If I hit a “copy” command, either from the text selection pop-up or the Share Sheet, and then I deliberately pause for a second before changing apps, it seems to work more consistently.

This seems absurdly dumb, as there’s no way I’m faster than the processor in these devices. But I really think this is the problem.

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Hmm. Maybe the issue I’m seeing is different. It doesn’t appear time related, and it can happen within a single app (so far, just iAWriter for me).

It’s alarming because I can select a sentence, hit command-x to cut it, and then try to paste it elsewhere, but only a space or nothing gets pasted in the new location.

The behavior goes away if I force-quit iAWriter and reopen it. My guess it that what I’m experiencing is some sort of bug that, once it happens, messes with the pasteboard until iAWriter is quit and re-opened. The bug that starts it may not be an iAWriter bug—it might be a system pasteboard bug—but it seems to affect iAWriter thereafter (and not my other apps).

I’ll have to do more testing to come up with a useful bug report for the developer.

Ah, I’m probably seeing both my issue and yours, then. I’ve definitely had the cut → attempted paste → wtf? experience, too, though I can’t remember which apps I’ve seen it in. I’ll try to pay close attention moving forward.

I have been having these issues for about a month or so. Any fixes available? Super annoying that my super fast iOS isn’t able to copy paste.

Honestly, I have stopped seeing the issue, presumably because I now wait a second after a copy or cut action.

It is dumb but it is a “solution.”

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Will give that a go.

Perhaps Apple is indirectly telling us to slow down and enjoy the moment lol

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