Copy and paste is not working in Outlook.com

If copy and paste is not working in Outlook.com, follow the suggestions provided in this article to fix the issue. For a majority of users, the right-click Paste is not working, but they can paste the copied content by using the Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut. However, for some users, neither right-click Paste nor Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut works in Outlook.com.

Copy and paste is not working in Outlook.com

Use the following fixes if the copy and paste function is not working in Outlook.com.

Open Outlook in a Private window
Clear Browser cache
Check for problematic extension
Use the Shift key
Check Clipboard permission in Outlook
Change Editor settings in Outlook
Turn off keyboard shortcuts in Outlook
Change Firefox Configuration settings
Reset your browser

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

1] Open Outlook in a Private window

This is the first thing that you should do. Open the Private or Incognito window in your web browser by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N and log in to your Outlook account. Now, check if you can paste the copied content there. If this works, the problem may be associated with the installed extensions or your browser has corrupted cache and cookies.

2] Clear Browser cache

Exit the Private or Incognito mode in your web browser and open it in normal mode.

Clear your web browser cache and cookies. You can also use the Ctrl + Shift + Delete shortcut to clear the cache and cookies. This shortcut works in almost all web browsers.

2] Check for problematic extension

If clearing the cache and cookies did not help, an installed extension may be responsible for this issue. To check this, disable your extensions one by one and restart your browser. Now, check if the problem is fixed or not.

3] Use the Shift key

You can also use the Shift key while pasting the copied content into Outlook.com. If you use the keyboard shortcut, instead of pressing the Ctrl + V, press the Ctrl + Shift + V keys. Firefox users can use the Shift + Right-click and then select the Paste option in the context menu. This should work.

4] Check Clipboard permission in Outlook

It is also possible that the Clipboard permission is blocked in your browser. You can check this in your browser settings. This fix is for Chrome and Edge users. Firefox does not have such an option to block or allow Clipboard for a particular website.

Allow Clipboard permission for Outlook.com in Chrome

Follow the instructions mentioned below:

Open Chrome.
Click on the three dots on the top right side and select Settings.
Go to “Privacy and security > Site settings.”
Select outlook.live.com.
Scroll down and find Clipboard. Once you find it, select Allow in the drop-down.
Go to the tab where Outlook.com is opened and reload it.
If this does not work, restart Chrome.

Allow Clipboard permission for Outlook.com in Edge

If you use Microsoft Edge, follow the steps provided below to allow Clipboard for Outlook.com.

Open Edge.
Click on the three dots on the top right side and select Settings.
Select Cookies and site permissions from the left side.
Find and click outlook.live.com on the right side.
Scroll down and Allow Clipboard for Outlook.com.
Restart Edge.

5] Change Editor settings in Outlook

Some users could fix the issue by turning everything off in the Microsoft Editor Settings. You can also try this. The steps to do this are as follows:

Click on the three horizontal dots on the ribbon.
Go to “Editor > Editor Settings.” If you are a Firefox user, you have to open the Compose Mail in a separate window to open the Editor Settings.
In the Microsoft Editor Settings window, turn off everything.
Reload Outlook.com.

6] Turn off keyboard shortcuts in Outlook

You can also try turning off the keyboard shortcuts in Outlook.com and see if it helps. The steps to do this are written below:

Click on the gear-shaped icon to open Outlook.com settings.
Select General, then select Accessibility.
Now, select Turn off keyboard shortcuts.
Click Save.

7] Change Firefox Configuration settings

We have explained above that you can use the Shift + Right-click in Firefox to paste the copied content into Outlook.com. But if you do not want to press the Shift key every time you paste the content in Outlook.com, you can change the Firefox Configuration settings. The following instructions will guide you on this:

Open a new tab in Firefox.
Type about:config and hit Enter.
Click Accept the Risk and Continue.
Now, type Clipboard.
Now, make these values True by double-clicking on them:
- dom.events.asyncClipboard.clipboardItem
- dom.events.asyncClipboard.readText
- dom.events.testing.asyncClipboard
Restart Firefox.

Now, the issue should be fixed. If the above steps cause issues in other applications in Firefox, you can revert changes.

8] Reset your browser

If none of the above fixes helped, reset Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or any other browser you use to default settings.

That’s it. I hope this helps.

Read: Troubleshoot issues after reconnecting Outlook client to Outlook.com.

Why can’t I copy and paste in Outlook Web?

If the clipboard is blocked in your web browser, you cannot copy and paste content into Outlook Web. Other causes of this issue include corrupted cache and cookies, problematic extensions, etc.

How do I fix not being able to copy and paste?

If the copy and paste is not working on your Windows computer, restart Windows Explorer. If this does not work, try repairing your corrupted system files by using the SFC and DISM tools.