# Help-- IE's Copy keyboard shortcut went kerflooey. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2002, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ies-copy-keyboard-shortcut-went-kerflooey/123998 "2002-08-15T11:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ies-copy-keyboard-shortcut-went-kerflooey/123998/1 "2002-08-15T11:42:02Z")
I’m running an iMac DVSE on OS 9. IE is version 5. Like in many apps, in IE, the keyboard shortcut for Copy is Command-C. I use it all the time, especially in IE. Or at least I used to. The command no longer works. Nothing happens when I highlight something and then press Command-C. If I want to copy something, I need to select Copy with the mouse from the Edit menu. Furthermore, in the Edit menu, the shortcut notation (the Mac loop-cornered square symbol and C) that is supposed to be there isn’t there anymore. Only Cut and Paste have their shortcut notations. It’s been like this for four days now. I have no idea how it happened, assuming I am responsible for it. Nothing else is acting weird with the program. Does anybody have any idea why this happened, and/or what I can do to get it back? ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ies-copy-keyboard-shortcut-went-kerflooey/123998/2 "2002-08-15T14:44:19Z")
I searched through all the newsgroups for IE, and couldn’t find a solution to this problem…can you give us an example of a webpage that you have visited and couldn’t copy from? (For example, can you copy text from Straight Dope?) This was the advice given by a NetScape developer to a Mac user that was having similar problems with their Communicator browser: > [@](#): > > Have you tried running with just the standard Apple extensions/control panels to see if there’s some sort of conflict with any 3rd party utilities you have installed? (Not that I can think of any that would cause the Copy item to be disabled). ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ies-copy-keyboard-shortcut-went-kerflooey/123998/3 "2002-08-15T15:13:44Z")
Do both keys otherwise work well independently? ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ies-copy-keyboard-shortcut-went-kerflooey/123998/4 "2002-08-15T19:35:56Z")
Well, she apparently went to sleep (finally), but let me serve as her proxy in this. AFAIK, she can’t copy text from any webpage, or from the browser’s “address” toolbar. Both keys _do_ work well independently. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-ies-copy-keyboard-shortcut-went-kerflooey/123998/5 "2002-08-15T22:22:32Z")
To answer your questions: I can’t copy anything at all in IE using the keyboard. It’s not restricted to a specific site or anything. I’ll try running IE with my base set of extensions, but I’ll be surprised and confused if that’s the cause of the problem. Like **KKB** said, both keys work properly independently. Also, the Command-C combo works perfectly in other apps.