Stop "copy cell" from deleting the contents of the copied cell

[Basicuser]

When I copy the contents of a cell to the clipboard, the contents of that cell are immediately deleted. This is annoying. How do I stop it from happening?

In other words, I want to Ctrl+C to copy the cell contents to the clipboard, without deleting them from the cell.

Further info: I am running Windows 11 and the following version of LibreOffice.
Version: 7.4.7.2 (x64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 723314e595e8007d3cf785c16538505a1c878ca5
CPU threads: 16; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 22621; UI render: Skia/Vulkan; VCL: win
Locale: en-GB (en_GB); UI: en-GB
Calc: CL

[karolus]

Sorry can’t reproduce!

[KamilLanda]

Also cannot reproduce. Are you sure you don’t use Ctrl+X instead Ctrl+C?

[Lupp]

• Do you inadvertently hit Ctrl+X instead of Ctrl+C? (neighbouring keys)
• What do you get shown under
  >Tools>Customise>>Keyboard (RadButton: LibreOffice) >>> Shortcut Keys scrolled to Ctrl+C?

[Basicuser]

No, I’m not hitting Ctrl+X by mistake.

As I said, Ctrl+C deletes the contents of the cell being copied. The same thing happens if I use the dropdown menu (Edit - Copy), so it is clearly an intentional program feature.

I am using a brand-new version of LibreOffice installed on 28 July '23. Perhaps the three of you are using older iterations?

@Lupp: When I go to Tools>Customise>>Keyboard, Ctrl+C has no description.

[KamilLanda]

You can test the newest daily build Index of /daily/master/

[EarnestAl]

@Basicuser

When I go to Tools>Customise>>Keyboard, Ctrl+C has no description

You need to select the LibreOffice radio button to check as it is for the entire suite. If the Calc option button is checked then Ctrl+C won’t show anything.

If I delete the Ctrl+C command and then Modify the Cut function to have also Ctrl+C then Ctrl+C will cut but the menu function Copy is not affected.

Either you have corruption in your user profile or somebody could be playing pranks.

Still in the Customise dialogue, select the Menu tab. Change the field in Target to Edit and hover over the Copy command, the tooltip should include Command .uno:Copy and the icon should not be scissor related. If it is then the Cut command might have been renamed to Copy, rename it to Cut and then select the Copy command in the left hand pane, Available Commands, and then click the right-pointing arrow to add it to the Assigned Commands pane .

If still a problem, you can close LibreOffice and then rename your user folder, LibreOffice will create a new one on restarting but all customisation will be gone. If you close LibreOffice again you can copy the contents of most original user folders back into the new user folder. See LibreOffice user profile - The Document Foundation Wiki

[mikekaganski]

@Basicuser

As I said, Ctrl+C deletes the contents of the cell being copied. The same thing happens if I use the dropdown menu (Edit - Copy), so it is clearly an intentional program feature.

I am using a brand-new version of LibreOffice installed on 28 July '23. Perhaps the three of you are using older iterations?

No it is not “an intentional program feature”; and indeed, it doesn’t happen in 7.6.0.1, and in today’s 24.2 pre-alpha. If you see something like this, please follow the advise given (e.g., you obviously ignored the “RadButton: LibreOffice” element of @Lupp’s advise). Or try safe mode, if it is reproducible there. In the end, if it e.g. turns out a graphic glitch, or some mis-configuration, you are welcome to file a bug report.

[Basicuser]

@mikekaganski

you obviously ignored the “RadButton: LibreOffice” element of @Lupp’s advise

Yeah, I missed the bit about the rad button. But when I select the LibreOffice button, what’s displayed is absolutely normal: Ctrl+C = Copy, with a standard “copy” icon.

In the meantime, I’ve identified the problem more precisely, which is this:

• Upon first installation, the Copy function malfunctions - it not only copies to the clipboard, but also deletes the contents of the cell

• However, as soon as you use the Delete function (Ctrl+X) once, the problem goes away and the Copy function works as normal.

I’ve replicated this twice by successively uninstalling and reinstalling the suite.

I’m now using 7.5.5. (latest version on Download LibreOffice | LibreOffice - Free Office Suite - Based on OpenOffice - Compatible with Microsoft) and the problem is still there. Do you think I should report this as a bug?

[mikekaganski]

Did you test with safe mode? If not, please do. Uninstallation/reinstallation makes no difference. Program files are rarely a problem, but user profile often is; and the user profile is unaffected by installation procedure.

[Basicuser]

Strange. Having previously reproduced it twice, I can no longer replicate the problem in either safe mode or normal mode.

Am mystified as to how my user profile could have caused the problem: as far as I know, I didn’t change it.

Anyway, problem solved. Thanks for your help.

[robleyd]

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