How to Fix Excel if It Freezes When You Copy and Paste: 9 Ways
Microsoft designed Excel to save you time by using templates, creating patterns, and organizing data. So, there’s nothing more annoying and time-wasting than Excel freezing when you copy and paste new data into your spreadsheet.
When this happens, you want to fix it as quickly as possible. So, let’s take a look at how you can make Excel work again.
1. Update the Office App
A software glitch or bug might cause Excel’s inability to copy and paste without crashing or freezing. Most of the time, installing the latest available update will fix the problem.
To update the Office apps on a Windows computer, launch the Microsoft Store and selectLibrary. Then, click theGet updatesbutton to install any pending updates.
If you’re using Office on Mac, open any Office app and go toHelp > Check for updates. Installing updates is a common method to solve bugs and glitches, which iswhy you shouldn’t use a pirated copy of Microsoft Office.
2. Remove App Conflict
There’s a chance that Excel freezes when copying and pasting because of software conflict. This happens when a different app negatively impacts Excel’s operations.
Maybe you’ve installed something without realizing it, or a different user made changes to your system. In this case, you should take a look at the list of installed apps on your computer and remove those that might cause you problems.
If you need those apps and can’t uninstall them, stop them from launching at system startup. Also, it might help if youcreate a local user accountfor other people, so you’re the only one that can change your system settings.
Additionally, your antivirus might interfere with certain Excel macros. attempt to temporarily turn off the antivirus and check if Excel goes back to working as usual. If there’s no app hindering Excel functionalities, you should take a look at Excel settings.
3. Change the Cut, Copy, and Paste Settings
If Excel encounters a problem with the Paste box functionality, it may lead to the entire app freezing or crashing. To prevent this from happening, you should change the Paste box settings. Here’s how you can do it:
4. Turn Off the Live Preview Option
If you’re using the paste special options, Excel will preview how inserted data will look. Usually, this shouldn’t make Excel freeze, but if you’ve opened a lot of apps and using a lot of your system resources, your computer might have a hard time trying to keep up with a task.
Also, Excel might freeze when you copy and paste if your computer is really old, and you’re editing an unusually large spreadsheet, with a lot of objects and formatting rules.
5. Check Excel Add-Ins
While add-ins are designed to make your life easier when working in Excel, sometimes they cause the app to malfunction and freeze while you copy and paste.
The quickest way to check if an add-in is causing you problems is to start Excel in safe mode. Press theWindows key + Rto launch a Run dialog. Then, typeexcel /safeand pressEnter. With Excel opened in Safe mode, attempt to copy and paste and check if the problem persists. If Excel stops freezing, you should check the list of installed add-ins.
Now, close Excel and open it again as usual.
6. Delete Cache Files
If Office has gathered too much cache data, you might encounter all sorts of issues, including Excel freezing when you copy and paste. To fix it, you should delete cache files. Here’s the easiest way to do it:
7. Inspect Your Document
Excel comes with a tool that you may use to scan your spreadsheet and detect issues regarding hidden properties or personal information. To scan your document, open theFilemenu and go toInfo. There, clickCheck for Issuesand selectInspect Document.
Once it completes the inspection, Excel will provide you with the results. If there are any detected issues, clickRemove Allnext to them.
8. Set a New Default Printer
This may be a weird trick, but it could solve the copy and paste problem. Excel constantly communicates with the default printer, and if there’s something wrong with the printer’s driver or settings, it may cause Excel to malfunction. To fix it, you shouldchange the default printer in Windows.
9. Repair Microsoft Office
If you’ve tried changing Excel settings, and you’re still dealing with the app freezing, you could endeavor to repair the Office installation. On a Windows computer, press theWindows key + Ito bring up the Settings menu and go toApps. There, selectMicrosoft Officeand clickModify. In the pop-up window, selectQuick Repairand clickRepairto start the process.
If you are still having problems after repairing Office, you can go through the instructions again and selectOnline Repair, as long as you are connected to the internet.
Stop Excel From Freezing When You Copy and Paste
Hopefully, it’s possible to now copy and paste without Excel freezing every time. Most of the time, you need to tweak Excel settings to get it working again. Also, keeping Office updated and removing cache data regularly will keep the apps running smoothly.
Copy and paste is the easiest way to insert new data into your spreadsheet, but there are more ways you can use to increase the productivity of the process.
Have you ever struggled with importing or exporting data into a spreadsheet? This tutorial will help you master the art of moving data between Microsoft Excel, CSV, and other file formats.
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