Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

This ugly workaround worked for me.

I had Python code in Notebooks. Cut'n paste did not work, not with Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V nor with the menu-driven approach. Copied to MS Word to no avail. Then saved as txt-file and imported the txt-file as a dataset with one variable in SPSS. Then copied the lines of code from the Dataset to the Syntax page. The copy worked, minor editing remains.

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

I have also been encountering this problem for years, but have similarly noticed it becoming much more frequently a problem more recently. I have tried, Edit > Paste, Windows + V etc. etc. and nothing actually seems to solve the problem consistently. As I assume it is not something that is going to be fixed anytime soon I guess we just have to put up with it? As was said, not great for such expensive software.

The only workaround I have is to load the syntax files up in Notepad and edit there, only bringing them back into SPSS to run them. Very annoying and very inefficient, but a damn sight quicker than waiting for SPSS to actually do anything about it.

This ugly workaround worked for me.

I had Python code in Notebooks. Cut'n paste did not work, not with Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V nor with the menu-driven approach. Copied to MS Word to no avail. Then saved as txt-file and imported the txt-file as a dataset with one variable in SPSS. Then copied the lines of code from the Dataset to the Syntax page. The copy worked, minor editing remains.

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

I have also been encountering this problem for years, but have similarly noticed it becoming much more frequently a problem more recently. I have tried, Edit > Paste, Windows + V etc. etc. and nothing actually seems to solve the problem consistently. As I assume it is not something that is going to be fixed anytime soon I guess we just have to put up with it? As was said, not great for such expensive software.

The only workaround I have is to load the syntax files up in Notepad and edit there, only bringing them back into SPSS to run them. Very annoying and very inefficient, but a damn sight quicker than waiting for SPSS to actually do anything about it.

This ugly workaround worked for me.

I had Python code in Notebooks. Cut'n paste did not work, not with Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V nor with the menu-driven approach. Copied to MS Word to no avail. Then saved as txt-file and imported the txt-file as a dataset with one variable in SPSS. Then copied the lines of code from the Dataset to the Syntax page. The copy worked, minor editing remains.

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

This ugly workaround worked for me.

I had Python code in Notebooks. Cut'n paste did not work, not with Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V nor with the menu-driven approach. Copied to MS Word to no avail. Then saved as txt-file and imported the txt-file as a dataset with one variable in SPSS. Then copied the lines of code from the Dataset to the Syntax page. The copy worked, minor editing remains.

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

That's brilliant!
That solved my "How do I avoid retyping a LOT of lines of syntax?" problem.

Urban Landreman
Hennepin County Public Health

This ugly workaround worked for me.

I had Python code in Notebooks. Cut'n paste did not work, not with Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V nor with the menu-driven approach. Copied to MS Word to no avail. Then saved as txt-file and imported the txt-file as a dataset with one variable in SPSS. Then copied the lines of code from the Dataset to the Syntax page. The copy worked, minor editing remains.

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

Hi Urban,

I agree, that is a brilliant work around, however, for me, there is a more efficient workaround. I used to have to reboot SPSS until someone on this forum mentioned copying something out of the data file (I just copy one cell), paste that into the syntax window, recopy what I wanted to originally paste (say from Word, Excel, Explorer, etc.) and then I'm able to paste that into the syntax window. This works EVERY TIME for me.

Looking forward to when the real fix happens!

Chris

That's brilliant!
That solved my "How do I avoid retyping a LOT of lines of syntax?" problem.

Urban Landreman
Hennepin County Public Health

This ugly workaround worked for me.

I had Python code in Notebooks. Cut'n paste did not work, not with Ctrl-C / Ctrl-V nor with the menu-driven approach. Copied to MS Word to no avail. Then saved as txt-file and imported the txt-file as a dataset with one variable in SPSS. Then copied the lines of code from the Dataset to the Syntax page. The copy worked, minor editing remains.

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

Not sure if you've resolved this issue. I've been having the same issue and I was just randomly trying different things. If this happens again, try copying something from the Output window, and then copy what you actually want to copy from the external app and then paste into the syntax window. This worked for me just now.

I have been having the same copy/paste issue described since at least back to v27 (I'm on v29 now), and the frequency seems to be increasing. The one additional context I would add is that after I copy something from OUTSIDE a syntax window (ctrl-c), when I paste into a syntax window (ctrl-v), it will often paste the last thing I had copied from WITHIN a syntax window. The only consistent solution I've found is to close and then restart SPSS. As described, this is a HUGE time waste.

Dear Jon:

Nope, none of your suggestions work. I am usually trying to copy from Word 2016 to an SPSS syntax file, but without success. Can you think of anything else to do? This is very annoying when trying to annotate a syntax file or do other things, such as copy questionnaire responses into a VALUE LABELS command. Sometimes I am working on very complicated analyses with several open syntax files, databases, and output files. In order restore copy/paste, I have to close everything down and start over. Not great behavior from a $3,000 program, eh?

Sorry, I don't know the root cause, but I have intermittent clipboard problems between programs other than SPSS, so I don't know whether these are OS problems or something specific within SPSS. However, one other workaround would be to save the file you want to copy to disk as an sps file and then open it in Statistics. Have you also tried closing the target file/window and reopening it before the paste?

I would also suggest reporting this via Help > Report an issue.

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

I've had the same problem for several versions of SPSS (I'm currently on 29). You can of course close and re-open SPSS, which restores the clipboard to 'normal' operation, but this is pretty annoying. A more 'elegant' workaround is to copy any text from an open SPSS data editor window. After that, copying & pasting between SPSS and other applications works again, at least for some time (please see the discussion here). Admittedly, this is a workaround but not a solution ...

------------------------------
Frank Furter

Original Message:
Sent: Sat January 08, 2022 05:31 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Sorry, I don't know the root cause, but I have intermittent clipboard problems between programs other than SPSS, so I don't know whether these are OS problems or something specific within SPSS. However, one other workaround would be to save the file you want to copy to disk as an sps file and then open it in Statistics. Have you also tried closing the target file/window and reopening it before the paste?

I would also suggest reporting this via Help > Report an issue.

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Me too! This is such a pain. IBM SPSS: Please please fix this ASAP!!!

I've noticed that the suggested "fixes" work intermittently as well. I have not found one (other than closing the program) to work reliably. And I'm not so sure about that either... I can remember rebooting my laptop at times to "reset" the clipboard.

What's killing me about this today? New laptop. Latest version of SPSS. And STILL this bug shows up, and the syntax window may only have been open for 5-15 minutes. I agree with all the other posters that this is very annoying and doesn't help me work efficiently.

I see that I opened a case with IBM SPSS on May 17, 2023 about this issue. So, still no fix. Come on you guys!

------------------------------
Carolyn Stapleton

Original Message:
Sent: Tue October 17, 2023 01:55 AM
From: Frank Furter
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I've had the same problem for several versions of SPSS (I'm currently on 29). You can of course close and re-open SPSS, which restores the clipboard to 'normal' operation, but this is pretty annoying. A more 'elegant' workaround is to copy any text from an open SPSS data editor window. After that, copying & pasting between SPSS and other applications works again, at least for some time (please see the discussion here). Admittedly, this is a workaround but not a solution ...

------------------------------
Frank Furter

Original Message:
Sent: Sat January 08, 2022 05:31 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Sorry, I don't know the root cause, but I have intermittent clipboard problems between programs other than SPSS, so I don't know whether these are OS problems or something specific within SPSS. However, one other workaround would be to save the file you want to copy to disk as an sps file and then open it in Statistics. Have you also tried closing the target file/window and reopening it before the paste?

I would also suggest reporting this via Help > Report an issue.

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

I've had the same problem for several versions of SPSS (I'm currently on 29). You can of course close and re-open SPSS, which restores the clipboard to 'normal' operation, but this is pretty annoying. A more 'elegant' workaround is to copy any text from an open SPSS data editor window. After that, copying & pasting between SPSS and other applications works again, at least for some time (please see the discussion here). Admittedly, this is a workaround but not a solution ...

------------------------------
Frank Furter

Original Message:
Sent: Sat January 08, 2022 05:31 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Sorry, I don't know the root cause, but I have intermittent clipboard problems between programs other than SPSS, so I don't know whether these are OS problems or something specific within SPSS. However, one other workaround would be to save the file you want to copy to disk as an sps file and then open it in Statistics. Have you also tried closing the target file/window and reopening it before the paste?

I would also suggest reporting this via Help > Report an issue.

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

I've had the same problem for several versions of SPSS (I'm currently on 29). You can of course close and re-open SPSS, which restores the clipboard to 'normal' operation, but this is pretty annoying. A more 'elegant' workaround is to copy any text from an open SPSS data editor window. After that, copying & pasting between SPSS and other applications works again, at least for some time (please see the discussion here). Admittedly, this is a workaround but not a solution ...

------------------------------
Frank Furter

Original Message:
Sent: Sat January 08, 2022 05:31 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Sorry, I don't know the root cause, but I have intermittent clipboard problems between programs other than SPSS, so I don't know whether these are OS problems or something specific within SPSS. However, one other workaround would be to save the file you want to copy to disk as an sps file and then open it in Statistics. Have you also tried closing the target file/window and reopening it before the paste?

I would also suggest reporting this via Help > Report an issue.

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

@David Dwyer

In my installation, the issue still persists despite updating to version 29.0.2.0. OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 22H2. 

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

@David Dwyer

In my installation, the issue still persists despite updating to version 29.0.2.0. OS: MS Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 22H2. 

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

To our loyal IBM SPSS Statistics customers: We are still working on this issue, and there is both good and bad news to report about it:

We have under limited conditions conditions been able to reproduce the problem on Windows. We are still working on discovering the triggers and developing solutions, but please also see below.

The bad news is that this appears to be a long-standing Windows clipboard issue that affects other products and customers as well. Apparently it has been around for awhile and various solutions have been proposed by third parties. Thus far we have not been able to develop a viable work-around other than simply restarting the program, but we haven't given up and are still working on a C++ solution that circumvents the Java clipboard.

Some links for reference:

• https://thegeekpage.com/solved-fix-copy-paste-not-working-on-windows-10
• Clipboard problem: Copy/Paste not working on Windows Apps - Microsoft Q&A
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/copy-and-paste-suddenly-stopped-working-in-windows/a540f2eb-e809-4e74-9f84-839b6fda5d19
• https://github.com/apache/netbeans/issues/3962
• https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-5980/Pasting-from-clipboard-not-working-reliably-in-Windows 

I wanted to share the above information with all users who have been affected by this problem. We are now writing a native C++ DLL (for Windows only) to circumvent Java, and also adding retry logic to the copy and paste functionality in an effort to work around this Windows issue. That change will be in the upcoming version 31 release at the end of June of this year. However it appears that this is a general Windows issue that will require fixes from Microsoft. 

Thanks to everyone for their patience and help in tracking down this issue.

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 13, 2025 06:01 PM
From: jeanelle sheeder
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Hello Everyone! 

I have been dealing with this issue for some time and think I may have stumbled across a rather simple solution. I would be curious if others have success with this.

STEPS:

1. You will need to save whatever you are wanting to paste as a tab-delimited text file. Simplest to use Excel.
2. Import this data into SPSS as a data file. You may need to play with the settings (like what you are using for a text qualifier) to get it to read in right.
3.  Copy and paste from the SPSS data window into the SPSS syntax window.

In my case I was using the MYSQL 'concatenate' command to create syntax (which is pretty slick by the way) but was unable to copy/paste from MYSQL into SPSS. I decided to use a tab-delimited file and chose 'none' as a text qualifier. This way I could read in the syntax with the needed quotes in place. I didn't need to make any edits to the syntax after pasting and it worked perfect.

I hope this helps or at least sparks some new thoughts. 

To our loyal IBM SPSS Statistics customers: We are still working on this issue, and there is both good and bad news to report about it:

We have under limited conditions conditions been able to reproduce the problem on Windows. We are still working on discovering the triggers and developing solutions, but please also see below.

The bad news is that this appears to be a long-standing Windows clipboard issue that affects other products and customers as well. Apparently it has been around for awhile and various solutions have been proposed by third parties. Thus far we have not been able to develop a viable work-around other than simply restarting the program, but we haven't given up and are still working on a C++ solution that circumvents the Java clipboard.

Some links for reference:

• https://thegeekpage.com/solved-fix-copy-paste-not-working-on-windows-10
• Clipboard problem: Copy/Paste not working on Windows Apps - Microsoft Q&A
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/copy-and-paste-suddenly-stopped-working-in-windows/a540f2eb-e809-4e74-9f84-839b6fda5d19
• https://github.com/apache/netbeans/issues/3962
• https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-5980/Pasting-from-clipboard-not-working-reliably-in-Windows 

I wanted to share the above information with all users who have been affected by this problem. We are now writing a native C++ DLL (for Windows only) to circumvent Java, and also adding retry logic to the copy and paste functionality in an effort to work around this Windows issue. That change will be in the upcoming version 31 release at the end of June of this year. However it appears that this is a general Windows issue that will require fixes from Microsoft. 

Thanks to everyone for their patience and help in tracking down this issue.

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 13, 2025 06:01 PM
From: jeanelle sheeder
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Hi @Bradley Fulton,

Glad you found a workaround for you. Curious, does this workaround persist throughout the rest of an SPSS session or does the copy/paste bad behavior creep up again?

Also, the workaround which works best for me is to copy any cell from the data window into the syntax editor and then I can copy/paste from another program. This works for awhile until that bad behavior creeps up again...sometimes right away, sometimes through the rest of the session.

------------------------------
Chris Keran

Original Message:
Sent: Fri May 09, 2025 10:18 AM
From: Bradley Fulton
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hello Everyone! 

I have been dealing with this issue for some time and think I may have stumbled across a rather simple solution. I would be curious if others have success with this.

STEPS:

1. You will need to save whatever you are wanting to paste as a tab-delimited text file. Simplest to use Excel.
2. Import this data into SPSS as a data file. You may need to play with the settings (like what you are using for a text qualifier) to get it to read in right.
3.  Copy and paste from the SPSS data window into the SPSS syntax window.

In my case I was using the MYSQL 'concatenate' command to create syntax (which is pretty slick by the way) but was unable to copy/paste from MYSQL into SPSS. I decided to use a tab-delimited file and chose 'none' as a text qualifier. This way I could read in the syntax with the needed quotes in place. I didn't need to make any edits to the syntax after pasting and it worked perfect.

I hope this helps or at least sparks some new thoughts. 

------------------------------
Bradley Fulton

Original Message:
Sent: Wed April 09, 2025 01:39 PM
From: Curtis Browning
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

To our loyal IBM SPSS Statistics customers: We are still working on this issue, and there is both good and bad news to report about it:

We have under limited conditions conditions been able to reproduce the problem on Windows. We are still working on discovering the triggers and developing solutions, but please also see below.

The bad news is that this appears to be a long-standing Windows clipboard issue that affects other products and customers as well. Apparently it has been around for awhile and various solutions have been proposed by third parties. Thus far we have not been able to develop a viable work-around other than simply restarting the program, but we haven't given up and are still working on a C++ solution that circumvents the Java clipboard.

Some links for reference:

• https://thegeekpage.com/solved-fix-copy-paste-not-working-on-windows-10
• Clipboard problem: Copy/Paste not working on Windows Apps - Microsoft Q&A
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/copy-and-paste-suddenly-stopped-working-in-windows/a540f2eb-e809-4e74-9f84-839b6fda5d19
• https://github.com/apache/netbeans/issues/3962
• https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-5980/Pasting-from-clipboard-not-working-reliably-in-Windows 

I wanted to share the above information with all users who have been affected by this problem. We are now writing a native C++ DLL (for Windows only) to circumvent Java, and also adding retry logic to the copy and paste functionality in an effort to work around this Windows issue. That change will be in the upcoming version 31 release at the end of June of this year. However it appears that this is a general Windows issue that will require fixes from Microsoft. 

Thanks to everyone for their patience and help in tracking down this issue.

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 13, 2025 06:01 PM
From: jeanelle sheeder
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Hi Everyone,

FWIW, after putting in the retry logic and making a direct native call in C++ for the syntax editor copy/paste problem on Windows, our QA has been unable to reproduce the issue using the code for the upcoming version 31 release. We will be very interested to learn whether the work-around also works for those of you experiencing this difficult and frustrating problem on Windows.

Thanks,

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Mon May 12, 2025 08:40 AM
From: Chris Keran
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Bradley Fulton,

Glad you found a workaround for you. Curious, does this workaround persist throughout the rest of an SPSS session or does the copy/paste bad behavior creep up again?

Also, the workaround which works best for me is to copy any cell from the data window into the syntax editor and then I can copy/paste from another program. This works for awhile until that bad behavior creeps up again...sometimes right away, sometimes through the rest of the session.

------------------------------
Chris Keran

Original Message:
Sent: Fri May 09, 2025 10:18 AM
From: Bradley Fulton
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hello Everyone! 

I have been dealing with this issue for some time and think I may have stumbled across a rather simple solution. I would be curious if others have success with this.

STEPS:

1. You will need to save whatever you are wanting to paste as a tab-delimited text file. Simplest to use Excel.
2. Import this data into SPSS as a data file. You may need to play with the settings (like what you are using for a text qualifier) to get it to read in right.
3.  Copy and paste from the SPSS data window into the SPSS syntax window.

In my case I was using the MYSQL 'concatenate' command to create syntax (which is pretty slick by the way) but was unable to copy/paste from MYSQL into SPSS. I decided to use a tab-delimited file and chose 'none' as a text qualifier. This way I could read in the syntax with the needed quotes in place. I didn't need to make any edits to the syntax after pasting and it worked perfect.

I hope this helps or at least sparks some new thoughts. 

------------------------------
Bradley Fulton

Original Message:
Sent: Wed April 09, 2025 01:39 PM
From: Curtis Browning
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

To our loyal IBM SPSS Statistics customers: We are still working on this issue, and there is both good and bad news to report about it:

We have under limited conditions conditions been able to reproduce the problem on Windows. We are still working on discovering the triggers and developing solutions, but please also see below.

The bad news is that this appears to be a long-standing Windows clipboard issue that affects other products and customers as well. Apparently it has been around for awhile and various solutions have been proposed by third parties. Thus far we have not been able to develop a viable work-around other than simply restarting the program, but we haven't given up and are still working on a C++ solution that circumvents the Java clipboard.

Some links for reference:

• https://thegeekpage.com/solved-fix-copy-paste-not-working-on-windows-10
• Clipboard problem: Copy/Paste not working on Windows Apps - Microsoft Q&A
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/copy-and-paste-suddenly-stopped-working-in-windows/a540f2eb-e809-4e74-9f84-839b6fda5d19
• https://github.com/apache/netbeans/issues/3962
• https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-5980/Pasting-from-clipboard-not-working-reliably-in-Windows 

I wanted to share the above information with all users who have been affected by this problem. We are now writing a native C++ DLL (for Windows only) to circumvent Java, and also adding retry logic to the copy and paste functionality in an effort to work around this Windows issue. That change will be in the upcoming version 31 release at the end of June of this year. However it appears that this is a general Windows issue that will require fixes from Microsoft. 

Thanks to everyone for their patience and help in tracking down this issue.

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 13, 2025 06:01 PM
From: jeanelle sheeder
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

Hi @Bradley Fulton,

Glad you found a workaround for you. Curious, does this workaround persist throughout the rest of an SPSS session or does the copy/paste bad behavior creep up again?

Also, the workaround which works best for me is to copy any cell from the data window into the syntax editor and then I can copy/paste from another program. This works for awhile until that bad behavior creeps up again...sometimes right away, sometimes through the rest of the session.

Hello Everyone! 

I have been dealing with this issue for some time and think I may have stumbled across a rather simple solution. I would be curious if others have success with this.

STEPS:

1. You will need to save whatever you are wanting to paste as a tab-delimited text file. Simplest to use Excel.
2. Import this data into SPSS as a data file. You may need to play with the settings (like what you are using for a text qualifier) to get it to read in right.
3.  Copy and paste from the SPSS data window into the SPSS syntax window.

In my case I was using the MYSQL 'concatenate' command to create syntax (which is pretty slick by the way) but was unable to copy/paste from MYSQL into SPSS. I decided to use a tab-delimited file and chose 'none' as a text qualifier. This way I could read in the syntax with the needed quotes in place. I didn't need to make any edits to the syntax after pasting and it worked perfect.

I hope this helps or at least sparks some new thoughts. 

To our loyal IBM SPSS Statistics customers: We are still working on this issue, and there is both good and bad news to report about it:

We have under limited conditions conditions been able to reproduce the problem on Windows. We are still working on discovering the triggers and developing solutions, but please also see below.

The bad news is that this appears to be a long-standing Windows clipboard issue that affects other products and customers as well. Apparently it has been around for awhile and various solutions have been proposed by third parties. Thus far we have not been able to develop a viable work-around other than simply restarting the program, but we haven't given up and are still working on a C++ solution that circumvents the Java clipboard.

Some links for reference:

• https://thegeekpage.com/solved-fix-copy-paste-not-working-on-windows-10
• Clipboard problem: Copy/Paste not working on Windows Apps - Microsoft Q&A
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/copy-and-paste-suddenly-stopped-working-in-windows/a540f2eb-e809-4e74-9f84-839b6fda5d19
• https://github.com/apache/netbeans/issues/3962
• https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-5980/Pasting-from-clipboard-not-working-reliably-in-Windows 

I wanted to share the above information with all users who have been affected by this problem. We are now writing a native C++ DLL (for Windows only) to circumvent Java, and also adding retry logic to the copy and paste functionality in an effort to work around this Windows issue. That change will be in the upcoming version 31 release at the end of June of this year. However it appears that this is a general Windows issue that will require fixes from Microsoft. 

Thanks to everyone for their patience and help in tracking down this issue.

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 13, 2025 06:01 PM
From: jeanelle sheeder
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration

The problem still persists. And the work around is really only useful if you have a large amount of syntax you're trying to paste. If it's a small amount of syntax it's really easier just to retype it, which isn't a huge deal but still annoying. 

Hi @Bradley Fulton,

Glad you found a workaround for you. Curious, does this workaround persist throughout the rest of an SPSS session or does the copy/paste bad behavior creep up again?

Also, the workaround which works best for me is to copy any cell from the data window into the syntax editor and then I can copy/paste from another program. This works for awhile until that bad behavior creeps up again...sometimes right away, sometimes through the rest of the session.

Hello Everyone! 

I have been dealing with this issue for some time and think I may have stumbled across a rather simple solution. I would be curious if others have success with this.

STEPS:

1. You will need to save whatever you are wanting to paste as a tab-delimited text file. Simplest to use Excel.
2. Import this data into SPSS as a data file. You may need to play with the settings (like what you are using for a text qualifier) to get it to read in right.
3.  Copy and paste from the SPSS data window into the SPSS syntax window.

In my case I was using the MYSQL 'concatenate' command to create syntax (which is pretty slick by the way) but was unable to copy/paste from MYSQL into SPSS. I decided to use a tab-delimited file and chose 'none' as a text qualifier. This way I could read in the syntax with the needed quotes in place. I didn't need to make any edits to the syntax after pasting and it worked perfect.

I hope this helps or at least sparks some new thoughts. 

To our loyal IBM SPSS Statistics customers: We are still working on this issue, and there is both good and bad news to report about it:

We have under limited conditions conditions been able to reproduce the problem on Windows. We are still working on discovering the triggers and developing solutions, but please also see below.

The bad news is that this appears to be a long-standing Windows clipboard issue that affects other products and customers as well. Apparently it has been around for awhile and various solutions have been proposed by third parties. Thus far we have not been able to develop a viable work-around other than simply restarting the program, but we haven't given up and are still working on a C++ solution that circumvents the Java clipboard.

Some links for reference:

• https://thegeekpage.com/solved-fix-copy-paste-not-working-on-windows-10
• Clipboard problem: Copy/Paste not working on Windows Apps - Microsoft Q&A
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/copy-and-paste-suddenly-stopped-working-in-windows/a540f2eb-e809-4e74-9f84-839b6fda5d19
• https://github.com/apache/netbeans/issues/3962
• https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/JBR-5980/Pasting-from-clipboard-not-working-reliably-in-Windows 

I wanted to share the above information with all users who have been affected by this problem. We are now writing a native C++ DLL (for Windows only) to circumvent Java, and also adding retry logic to the copy and paste functionality in an effort to work around this Windows issue. That change will be in the upcoming version 31 release at the end of June of this year. However it appears that this is a general Windows issue that will require fixes from Microsoft. 

Thanks to everyone for their patience and help in tracking down this issue.

------------------------------
Curtis Browning
SPSS Statistics Architect

Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 13, 2025 06:01 PM
From: jeanelle sheeder
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I now have version 30.0 and still have this issue.  This is so frustrating and dumb.  It would be GREAT if you could please fix it! 

I can verify that the workaround of pasting the text into a cell and then copying and pasting into the syntax editor does work. I just make a string variable with 10,000 bytes and paste my code in it. 

Thanks!

------------------------------
jeanelle sheeder

Original Message:
Sent: Fri July 19, 2024 08:03 AM
From: Frederic Dahl
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Unfortunately Using Version 29.0.2.0 did not fix the problem for us. Currently we are incontact with support because of it.

------------------------------
Frederic Dahl

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 01:40 PM
From: David Dwyer
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

Hi @Michael Hannon

This problem was logged with IBM SPSS Statistics Development and is discussed in Known Issue DT214350. It has now been addressed in IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0.2.0.  Please update to version 29.0.2.0.

------------------------------
David Dwyer
SPSS Technical Support
IBM Software

Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 05, 2024 08:44 AM
From: Michael Hannon
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I landed on this page while trying to figure out my own issue.  It seems ridiculous to me that this was known for years and not fixed.  I can't write syntax if I'm thinking about how to copy/paste instead of the code.  FIX THIS.

------------------------------
Michael Hannon

Original Message:
Sent: Tue December 07, 2021 05:02 PM
From: Community Support Admin
Subject: Cannot copy/paste from another program into syntax editor

I noticed a long discussion of this topic several years ago, but did not see any solution. I use SPSS v. 27 with Windows 10 Pro 64-bit. After some time working on the SPSS syntax editor, I can no longer copy text from another program, such as Word or Excel, into my syntax file. This is a serious annoyance; I work with survey data and like to define variable labels by copying the actual question from the questionnaire into the VARIABLE LABELS command. Previous discussions suggested emptying the Windows copy/paste buffer; pasting the text first to another program, such as Notepad; and copying something within the syntax file, but none of these fix the problem for me. So far, the only sure-fire solution is to close down SPSS entirely, then restart it. But in the middle of a complex analysis, this is a serious pain and a substantial waste of time. Can someone at IBM please provide a solution to this annoying problem?

#SPSSStatistics
#Support
#SupportMigration