Tip 238: Clipboard clears when you open a Contacts form

Sometimes when you select and copy something, then open a contact to paste it in on of the contact fields, you’ll discover the clipboard is cleared. This is caused by an Outlook add-in, such as stamps.com, that copies icons to the clipboard when it creates tools on the form, clearing the text you copied.

The fix: Open the contact form first, then copy and paste or identify and disable the add-in.

Tip: if you have the Office clipboard open, you can see the icons on the clipboard and it may help identify the add-in that causes it. Yes, the clipboard everyone loves to hate has a use after all. :)

If you know of other add-ins that clear the clipboard, let me know.

May 6 2005: A reader informs me that Brightmail’s addin causes problems too.

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This article is filed under Tips Archive.
Last reviewed on Jun 17, 2011