# Girlfriend's XP rightclick Copy rightclick Paste = Probs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2002, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773 "2002-03-29T17:02:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/1 "2002-03-29T17:02:10Z")
Windows-ignorant Mac person here. My girlfriend has a new computer with XP Pro and says she keeps copying text from one application or document to paste elsewhere and half the time when she goes to paste it pastes something she copied hours earlier instead, and it’s driving her nuts. This behavior has been noted in Lotus SmartSuite apps (123 and WordPro), AOL, Eudora, and Internet Explorer. Her method of copying and pasting is almost exclusively to right-click after selecting text and select “copy” with the mouse, then navigate to where she wants to paste and right-click and select “paste”. She just had me drag out her old mouse and swap mice although I would be flabbergasted if the problem was the mouse itself (but what do I know? I’m not a PC user…) If this is a known issue, e.g., "Oh yeah, the XP ‘uncooperative-clipboard’ bug, everyone knows about that, you have to download the MSCopyPaste patch from [http://bugfix.ms.com/](http://bugfix.ms.com/) ", please give me a heads-up on that. Or if you have a clue otherwise – ?? Her former OS was Windows98, which as far as I know worked the same way in terms of how one copies and pastes using the mouse’s right-click menu, and she didn’t seem to have this problem before. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/2 "2002-03-29T17:09:57Z")
Uh, I don’t see a debate. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/3 "2002-03-29T17:17:58Z")
Did you perhaps paste this into the wrong forum? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/4 "2002-03-29T18:06:51Z")
:eek: :o Haven’t done that in a long time! Uh…Great Debates, let’s see… Microsoft screwed up when they modified the right-click copy-paste algorhythm, yea or nay? Oh kind moderator, would you perhaps move this to General Questions? ---
**Author:** ![Riboflavin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Riboflavin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riboflavin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/5 "2002-03-29T19:33:37Z")
Since this is in GD… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AHunter3 \* > This behavior has been noted in Lotus SmartSuite apps (123 and WordPro), AOL, Eudora, and Internet Explorer. Cite, please. I’ve never seen this behavior in the applications your listing. It is suprisingly common for Mac users to claim that there are ‘problems’ with windows, but they are generally unable to substantiate these problems when pressed. > [@](#): > > Her method of copying and pasting is almost exclusively to right-click after selecting text and select “copy” with the mouse, then navigate to where she wants to paste and right-click and select “paste”. According to the book “Windows XP Standards I Just Invented” p83-81, this is not the standard method of cut-and-pasting. The standard method of cut-and-pasting is to use Ctr-C and Ctr-V, or the menu options. Why is it that everytime we have someone arguing against windows, they insist on using nonstandard methods of completing tasks, then complain that the GUI is confusing? The ctr-c ctr-v combo has been determined to be the easiest and most effective method of cut and paste by many respected groups, such as the 1999 study from Imaginary Computer Specialists, inc. Perhaps you should advise your girlfriend to use normal methods of cut-and-paste before coming here to debate the merits of windows. > [@](#): > > She just had me drag out her old mouse and swap mice although I would be flabbergasted if the problem was the mouse itself (but what do I know? I’m not a PC user…) Yes, we’re all familiar with the ‘some of my best friends are black’ excuse. Look, it’s quite clear that you’re opposed to PC users, but offering excuses that you really don’t have anything against them but still don’t like X, Y, and Z is just silly. Let’s try to keep this debate to the facts, and not offer preemptive defenses against personal attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/6 "2002-03-29T19:49:54Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] Moving to General Questions. I know you’re kidding, Riboflavin, but manny will kick your ass if you turn this into a Mac v. PC debate. Everybody, just answer the question, don’t fight. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/7 "2002-03-29T20:07:39Z")
I have observed quirks like that all the time. Sometimes they may be bugs of certain programs and other times just quirks. Things I have observed/suffered. During one of my installations of WIN98 and OE, anything copied to the clipboard from the address book had to be pasted _before_ closing the address book as it would disappear from the clipboard when you closed the address book. Upon reinstalling everything this bug went away but I lived with it for a year. I have also observed that some clicks go unnoticed and I have to repeat them. I just live with it. I have sometimes suffered the cut and paste thing and it seems the _cut_ did not “take” and I have pasted what was in the clipboard before I cut. It does happen from time to time and I live with it. Most of the time I can go back and find what I was trying to paste but a few times I have lost information if I had already closed the document. ---
**Author:** ![razer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@razer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/8 "2002-03-29T20:12:03Z")
im pretty sure XP has multiple clipboards… that may be the problem ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/9 "2002-03-29T20:20:56Z")
At last I know that I am not insane. I have a similar problem but nobody else that I know, who is running XP has it. My problem only seems to occure in IE. I’ve “uninstalled” IE and then downloaded the latest version from Microsoft, but I can’t install it because it says that there is a later version already on my machine. I just deal with it by using ctrl+c and ctrl+v, but all things considered, I would rather have the thing work the way it is supposed to. ---
**Author:** ![tourbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@tourbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tourbot)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/10 "2002-03-30T01:34:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by razer \* > \*\*im pretty sure XP has multiple clipboards… that may be the problem \*\* Office 2000 began the multiple clipboards, and Office XP has this feature also. Is it possible they made this feature system wide for the OS with XP? Wouldn’t it be neccesary for each application to support that feature for it to work? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/girlfriends-xp-rightclick-copy-rightclick-paste-probs/100773/11 "2002-03-30T02:48:32Z")
I have thankyou notes to distribute to you all from She of the Errant Clipboard, who says "At least I know now that I’m not going crazy, and I **do** know how to use a mouse!