How To Fix The Photoshop Clipboard
For many Photoshop users, there is a horrible bug in Adobe Photoshop that causes the program to stop importing from the clipboard. You’ll be using the software for hours or even days without a problem, and all of a sudden you won’t be able to copy and paste anything into it at all, with your only option to close and re-open Photoshop.
Thank god there is a solution, because this has been driving me nuts! I upgraded to Photoshop CS3 over the weekend, and the bug is ten times worse on CS3 under Vista than ever before.
The solution, found in a few user forums, is in the AlwaysImportClipbd_ON.reg file, contained on your Photoshop/CS install disk. Go to \Photoshop CS3\Goodies\Optional Plug-Ins\Photoshop Only\Optional Extensions or the equivelant folder on your disk, and run that file.
If you don’t have the file, don’t fret! It’s a simple registry file, and that means you can create it yourself right now without the install disk. Open Notepad and type:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Photoshop\10.0]
“AlwaysImportClipboard”=dword:00000001
Version 10.0 is Photoshop CS3. If you have CS2, use 9.0; for CS, 8.0; and for Photoshop 7, 7.0. Save the file as AlwaysImportClipbd_ON.reg, then double-click on it. That’s it!
Photoshop has an internal clipboard, so when you switch applications, it asks the Windows Clipboard if it has anything new to offer. Sometimes, Photoshop forgets to ask, and it needs to be closed before it starts acting normal again, but this fix forces it to ask all the time. This fix should work on all versions of Photoshop, from 7 through CS3, as far as I know.
Happy? I sure am!
[…] How To Fix The Photoshop Clipboard (Sept 5, 2007) […]
Pingback by How To Fix The Photoshop Clipboard | Clipboard Extender Dot Com | September 5, 2007
Awesome fix, thank you!
Comment by robert | September 11, 2007
Thanks for the fix, this bug is really annoying!
Comment by kristian | September 18, 2007
Thanks a lot, this fix works fine
Comment by Seba | September 18, 2007
[…] que varios usuarios tienen el mismo problema. Finalmente uno da en el clavo y nos remite a un post de Nathan Weinberg en Blog News Channel. Parece ser que problema es un bug en el clipboard de Photoshop. Por alguna […]
Pingback by Thuer.com.ar » Solución para problemas con copiar y pegar en Photoshop CS3 | Comunicación multimedia, diseño web y tecnología | September 19, 2007
Hello, the registry entry described makes no difference for me. I am running CS2 on WinXP.
Photoshop will not paste anything, ever. When I choose ‘New…’ the clipboard option in the drop down box is always greyed out.
However, I can cut and paste successfully between all other windows programs.
Any further advice would be most appreciated.
Comment by Ed | October 11, 2007
Hi there. Thank you for this bug fix–it does seem to work for me, but it may have created another problem. I use a Wacom Intuos3 graphics tablet, and ever since I updated the registry as you instructed, the tablet’s pressure sensitivity hasn’t worked with Photoshop. This is not a driver issue or issue with the tablet itself; the tablet utility still recognizes and accurately measures the pressure. Photoshop is simply ignoring the data. I’m not sure what to do about this, so if anyone has any information on this problem and how to fix it, I’d greatly appreciate it. =)
Comment by Joe | November 11, 2007
Just FYI, the The Intuos Tablet problem described above is not related to this registry script. I am having the same issue and and have not run the script mentioned in this blog post, so the two are not related. I sure hope there is a fix for that as well because it’s also driving me mad.
Great to hear there is something we can do about the clipboard problem! Thanks for this info! I hope it works!
Comment by Keels | November 16, 2007
Actually - you need this code (the smart quotes don’t work):
[code]Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Photoshop\9.0]
“AlwaysImportClipboard”=dword:00000001[/code]
Comment by Dave Stewart | December 10, 2007
Argh! The blog is adding smart quotes. Sorry
Comment by Dave Stewart | December 10, 2007
Clipboard preset greyed out and unavailable.
Win XP Pro
PS CS3
Comment by Barry | December 19, 2007
Thanks for this, I have closed photoshop and made change to registry…hopefully it will work fine now
Comment by Carlton Dickson | December 20, 2007
.
didn’t work.
most frustrating thing ever, i think. right at that critical moment…can’t paste. wtf?
.
Comment by davidicus | December 21, 2007
I had trouble with the code, but after trial and error I figured out what I was doing wrong and decided I should let other people having difficulty in on what they’re doing wrong>
Just like this folks: (no code stuff) No Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 typed in there either. Just type this into notepad:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Photoshop\9.0]
“AlwaysImportClipboard”=dword:00000001
Name the notepad file AlwaysImportClipbd_ON.reg and doulbe click you’re done.
Thanks to Dave, I’ve had this trouble from time to time and tonight I finally dealt with it. I used to have to reboot the whole system to clear it up!
Comment by Neil | December 31, 2007
or for CS3 users:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Photoshop\10.0]
“AlwaysImportClipboard”=dword:00000001
Comment by Neil | December 31, 2007
error:
—————————
Registry Editor
—————————
Cannot import C:\Documents and Settings\dschacher\Desktop\AlwaysImportClipbd_ON.reg: The specified file is not a registry script.
You can only import binary registry files from within the registry editor.
—————————
OK
—————————
Comment by davidicus | January 4, 2008
This bug actually occurs to me when importing large amount of data from clipboard (for example large photos form outside of photoshop). The above solution seems to work for me. I’am using CS . Thanks for fix.
Comment by michuw | January 5, 2008
It’s odd, I actually just had the same problem and unlike the first time (with my previous code) it didn’t register. When I used the original code..
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Photoshop\10.0]
“AlwaysImportClipboard”=dword:00000001
Worked without a hitch. Hmmm.
Comment by Neil | January 21, 2008
I have found that going to Edit->Purge->All, and then recopying the item from outside Photoshop and then going back to Photoshop will allow it to paste again.
I also added the reg key (but didn’t want to restart PS right then), but I just did it manually rather than trying to copy and paste from this page.
Comment by Sean Robertson | January 22, 2008
no puedo usar COPIAR PEGAR,, me esta desesperando, que hago
gracias
Comment by Henry | February 1, 2008
wow, I wish I’d found this fix a year ago! Thanks
Comment by biegel | February 4, 2008
Doesn’t work for me either. CS3, clipboard stops working, only fix is to restart bloody photoshop
Comment by Andrew | February 6, 2008
Thank you SO much! I followed the directions and assume it will work since I had the same problem and fix in CS2. I knew this fix for CS2, but couldn’t find information anywhere about how to fix it for CS3 and I couldn’t find the registry file on my CD. I appreciate you including the instructions for manually creating the file. Thanks again.
Comment by Corinne S. | February 12, 2008
GAR! Ran it but didn’t work. Good effort though, thanks for trying to help. Purge isn’t helping either. :^( So many issues have I with Vista, making me very sad it is.
Comment by Jo Pro | February 15, 2008
Thanks for the fix! I have CS3, and still have intermittent problems, but the fix worked perfectly for CS2. Are there any additional steps to solve CS3-related problems?
Comment by toon goon | February 19, 2008
davidicus
I had the same problem as you, until I realised I saved it as a txt. document, instead of saving it as “save as type:’All Files’”
then it worked without any problems
thankyou nathan.im EXTREMELY happy
*oh, Jo Pro im no vista(ultimate 64bit) too and it worked…try again
Comment by wonny | March 20, 2008
I was using CS3 on my Thinkpad and today the program stopped working; I couldn’t SAVE changes or close the program (I had to control-alt-delete to close the program).
I reinstalled the software, checked my virus protection, restarted the computer … nothing seems to help! Any ideas or suggests?
Comment by Annie | March 22, 2008
Running CS3 on Windows XP, same problem. Tried the Registry fix and it worked perfectly - Yippee!
Many, many thanks
Comment by Mike Heath | March 25, 2008
I had been experiencing this problem for months!! I finally got fed up today, and went Googling for the answer (something I should have done a while ago!), and ended up viewing your article Nathan.
I’m running CS3 on Vista, and this registry fix (easiest of all kinds to apply) worked like a charm!
Thanks so much!
Comment by georgeM | March 26, 2008
It works for awhile, then it doesn’t again. Though the settings in the registry is correct and still there. Restarting photoshop doesn’t work either.
Comment by Rea | March 26, 2008
Hmm… It works but now every browser screengrab I paste into photoshop is black with white text.
Comment by Lisa | April 2, 2008
I save it as ‘all files’ and I get a message saying it has to be converted to binary. anyone can help please?
Comment by brainscab | April 3, 2008
[…] que varios usuarios tienen el mismo problema. Finalmente uno da en el clavo y nos remite a un post de Nathan Weinberg en Blog News Channel. Parece ser que problema es un bug en el clipboard de Photoshop. Por alguna […]
Pingback by Solución para problemas con copiar y pegar en Photoshop CS3 | Thuer.com.ar | April 22, 2008
[…] http://microsoft.blognewschannel.com/archives/2007/09/05/how-to-fix-the-photoshop-clipboard/ […]
Pingback by Print Screen not working in PhotoShop CS2 R-Design graphic design tutorials | April 22, 2008
This solution didn’t work for me either. It’s like Photoshop IS putting my data in the clipboard, but it’s moving the most recent clipboard items to the bottom of the clipboard manager or something. Because, Photoshop will paste the very first Print-Screen that I take, it will NOT paste the most recent Print-Screen… which leads me to believe that all my Print-Screens are getting held in the clipboard manager, they’re just getting pushed to the bottom of the manager, while the oldest item stays at the top of the manager
Comment by New Juice Music | April 30, 2008