Copy and paste are two fundamental commands of Windows which enable you to take a file from one location to another. The contextual menu available in every Windows program will enable the user to ‘copy’ a file from any location and ‘paste’ the same file in another location of the user’s choice. ‘Ctrl+C’ & ‘Ctrl+V’ are the two shortcut keys for handling copy & paste functions.
However, you could face a problem in accessing these commands, at times. Although, it is not a big issue, but becomes one during urgency. Here are few tweaks that have been mentioned to get these functions enabled.
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You may need to make changes in File Permission
This is applicable if you’re trying to copy any file from another user’s account but unable to do it. A possible case in such a scenario is that certain privileges are restricted to other users. So, it is needed that you make alterations in file permissions. You can alter the attributes, either as an administrator or by using the credentials of that account’s user.
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To change the permissions, right click on the folder and select ‘Properties’ from the menu. Under the ‘General’ tab, you will come across ‘Attributes’ sections, where you need to uncheck the ‘Read-only’ box. This time, you will succeed in copying the file to your preferred location.
Check the Internet Explorer settings
Changes in the settings of Microsoft Internet Explorer may prevent the copy and paste functions from working properly. A small check and you may overcome this issue. All you need to do is—click on ‘Tools’ tab and select ‘Options’. This will open up a window, where you should choose ‘Security’ tab and select ‘Custom level’. Now, you will be able to see an option with the name of ‘Drag and Drop’ or ‘Copy and Paste’, make sure that you check the box. This will enable these functions in Internet Explorer and Windows programs.
Virus & malware removal
Often, ‘copy’ & ‘paste’ functionality can be disabled due to virus or malware programs sitting in your system. Resolving this issue requires running a complete scan through your system. Once the virus infected files are identified, delete them, and the copy & paste functions may work as before.
Fix with third party software settings
Sometimes, user would have changed the normal copy and paste functionality with the installation of third party programs. These third party programs change the way that the files should be accessed in, which may disturb the copy and paste functions too. To resolve this, you need to make changes in the settings of these programs. If the functionality is not restored, even after changing the settings, then it is better that you remove the software from your system.
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Copy and paste may seem to be simple functionality, but disabling of it may be really annoying. Until now, you might have felt helpless with this petty issue. However these simple tweaks, if followed, can get you relieved from this headache.