Paste Special Options Missing

English
#1

Hi @ LibreOffice Community

For years I have been using LO Calc and have been used to copying a column of numbers and pasting them into another column which contains formula and numbers. So I used to go to Paste Special and then Paste Special again so I could choose to override overwriting formula.

It included Presets for Values Only, Values & Formats, Formats Only, Transpose All. That option has now disappeared and when I PasteSpecial/Paste Special again I get a pop up box which shows Options for:- LibreOffice Spreadsheet 25.2, Graphics Device Interface Metafile (GDI), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Bitmap Image (BMP), Hypertext markup language (HTML), and a number of other options including, use Text Import Dialogue Box.

My Questions are a) What has changed? b) What have I done wrong?

If I had been able to offer images up to the forum all would have been clearer, however what has happened to my Paste Special/Paste Special Prests Menu?

Thank you for your help

Bossman

#2

What you describe shows, that Calc doesn’t see own data in the clipboard - which means, that after the data was copied to clipboard, something had modified it, and it’s now no more a Calc’s own data, with which it can do these nice things.

You didn’t specify your operating system; but anyway, the first guess would be an effect of a “clipboard manager”, which could be installed by you in the meantime, or updated; or even your operating system could update, and bring a new clipboard manager with it.

#3

Hi @mikekaganski

Thanks for your reply, it’s appreciated. My apologies for not including my operating system.

I have Windows 11 Home 24H2 fully updated.

All I do is download a CSV file from a UK National newspaper which contains share prices in .csv format. I open this through the Text Import Box which currently shows (Unicode UTF-8) separated by comma.

When this is open I copy the column of data to the clipboard and transfer and paste it into an open spreadsheet in .ods format. I do this by right clicking on the top cell of the column which I want to paste into, then from the pop up menu choose Paste Special and Past Special again.

That is when the box with Presets for Values Only, Values & Formats, Formats Only, Transpose All, should pop up but doesn’t. Instead I get a pop up box which shows Options for:- LibreOffice Spreadsheet 25.2, Graphics Device Interface Metafile (GDI), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Bitmap Image (BMP), Hypertext markup language (HTML), and a number of other options including, use Text Import Dialogue Box.

The strange thing is, if I copy a column of data from within the open spreadsheet (mine) and attempt to paste it into into another column in the same spread sheet using Paste Special then Past Special the correct box pops up i.e. Presets for Values Only, Values & Formats, Formats Only, Transpose All.

So by looking at the two descriptions above showing the copying of data from a source OUTSIDE of my spreadsheet as opposed to data copied and pasted within my spreadsheet one can see that external data is not recognised BUT data copied and pasted within my spreadsheet is recognised and the Presets box then pops up.

My questions now are:-

a) Should external data be recognised ( i.e. from a downloaded csv file) and the Presets box Pop Up as it used to, or has there been a change as new versions of LOffice Calc have emerged?

b) How do I deal with the pop up box which shows Options for:- LibreOffice Spreadsheet 25.2, Graphics Device Interface Metafile (GDI), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Bitmap Image (BMP), Hypertext markup language (HTML), and a number of other options including, use Text Import Dialogue Box.

Thank you

Terry

#4

Hi @mikekaganski

Some additional information that may be helpful.

In describing my problem in this thread the procedure I have used is to close down the .csv file after copying BEFORE attempting to Paste using the Presets option in Paste Special then Paste Special.

The result is the Presets option is not available. Instead it is Options for:- LibreOffice Spreadsheet 25.2, Graphics Device Interface Metafile (GDI), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Bitmap Image (BMP), Hypertext markup language (HTML), and a number of other options including, use Text Import Dialogue Box.

I have now discovered that if I leave the .csv file I am copying from OPEN and then open my .ods spreadsheet and then attempt to paste using Paste Special then Paste Special again, then the Presets popup Box is available.

My Questions are now:-

a) Is this normal behaviour i.e. Should I have to leave open the .csv file?

b) Or should it be possible to copy and close the .csv file and expect the Presets Popup Box to be available?

Thank you

Bossman

#5

Is this Libre Office guide not the correct way to do this?

#6

Reading this, I suspect that your original description of the procedure was incomplete (in fact, misleading).

The text above doesn’t tell that your procedure is “I open a CSV; copy a column to clipboard; then I close the CSV, and the whole LibreOffice, and only after that I open an .ODS”. That is a crucial part. Closing LibreOffice makes the content of clipboard a generic data, not owned by LibreOffice anymore; a next invocation of LibreOffice can only handle that as generic.

Yes it is expected and normal. And no, you don’t need to keep the CSV - the only important thing is to not close LibreOffice as a whole (you may close the CSV, but keep LibreOffice Start Center open, and it will work as you need).

A final remark. To this moment, you have created two solutions to your question, both actually containing some details that needed to appear in edited question itself. Please use comments when you add comments, and edit question when reasonable to improve it. The “Suggest a solution” button is named that way for a reason.

#7

Hi Mike Kaganski

Thank you for all your help I appreciate it. Thank you also for confirming that I actually don’t have a problem. In essence I just didn’t know about how LOffice Calc worked in this way.

I am sorry I didn’t conform to the rules of the forum. I just didn’t know or bother to find out how to post information. Hopefully I will be better next time.

Bossman

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