Copying and pasting text turns it to outlines
Copying and pasting text turns random parts of it to outlines. if you Option-drag the text, it works fine, keeps all the text in tact. this happens even in the same document, other documents.
Makes working pretty much impossible between documents and just a pain in the same document.
Some applications for managing buffer can not handle the vector data stored by Illustrator and force it to fall back to outlines and rasterized copies.
This time it was Launchpad app, quitting it solved the problem.
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Dietrich commented
As I ran into this Issue today and had to do some testing by opening and closing my applications, I just wanted to add the deepl application on macOS.
Just in case there are more people out there wondering about this strange behaviour. I've never had to deal with something like that until today.
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@Mark, thanks for the update. Yep, these are the most problematic. It feels like they strip the part from the buffer data Ai uses for text, leaving only the graphic part of it. I bet there is nothing Ai can do about it :/ The only solution would be to find a manager that don’t alter the data and keep all of it. I wonder if anyone was able to find a proper one (for each platform).
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Mark Chambers commented
I had the same issue and realized it's going to be a software conflict with a clipboard utility.
In my case it was Raycast, the Clipboard History plugin. Disabling it solved the problem. (Interestingly this affected Illustrator 2024 but not 2023.)
Clipy is another program that causes this to happen. Simply add Illustrator to the exclude list in Clipy's settings.
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@Eric, nope, I don’t use Launchbar, but it’s nice for them to have an option like this! Thank you for posting it here, perhaps it can help others to fix the problem, if it ever happens for them.
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@Paul, I can’t confirm it. The text gets copied just fine, stays live and retains its appearance. If it has a style (you text does not, but I reapplied the one you have saved) — it gets added to Styles in a new doc.
So perhaps it’s something else but Illustrator still?
Try to disable / close other apps, helpers, launchpads/launchbars, end try to see who else deals with the buffer. Also try to juggle options in Clipboard section in Preferences first, just to be sure. -
Paul Huntsberry commented
Dragging the text into the new document works and keeps the text editable, but won't place it exactly in the same position and the graphic style is not copied over. Using Ctrl-V loses the graphic style and the editable text.
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Eric wood commented
Egor,
are you using launchbar by chance? if so, go into the settings for it and then to clipboard settings. under the edit for applications to ignore, add illustrator and it will fix it. -
Paul Huntsberry commented
I would think that when I copied the text with the graphic style, the graphic style would also be copied over into the new document and the text would remain editable. The graphic style doesn't copy over and each letter is converted to compound paths of individual letters and grouped.
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Paul Huntsberry commented
I'm having this issue with Illustrator 2023 (27.0.1) on macOS 12.5.1, where if I have editable text in one document with a Graphic Style applied to it and then I copy the text block into a new blank document, all the text will be converted to outlines and grouped instead of keeping it as editable text. I would like the text to remain editable.
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Yep, please do!
I've heard of another cases like this, and perhaps some changes can be done from their side. I know nothing about any changes form Ai side about handling the buffer.
Comment back with this, if and when you have a reply. -
Eric wood commented
ok, since this has worked for years and years, either a change was made in illustrator or launchbar.
I will reach out to the develop of that to bring it o attention, but there is a conflict that has opened up after working for at least 10 years together.
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Eric wood commented
!!! I think we found the culprit !!!
I use an app called launchbar, and it does handle some clipboard items. I just quit it and opened the document and copied and pasted, and it worked as expected.
so launchbar is conflicting with AI it seems. hope that helps.
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Eric, do you by any chance use a clipboard manager of any kind? Something that operates with the buffer content in any way?
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It's out of my hands now, Eric. Thanks for the email! If anything clear comes out of this, someone form the team will post an update here. Let's hope they find out something.
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Eric wood commented
Egor, did anything ever come out of this? I emailed where you wanted describing all the info needed.
thanks!
(Edited by admin) -
Eric, it feels very broken. The fact that is happens for all three last versions makes it even more scary. There is definitely something weird happens to the document and/or machine/fonts/preferences.
Sure, please share the complete package (File > Package). Send it over sharewithai@adobe.com and put the link to this issue in the body of the email (https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/601447/suggestions/45020731)
Let's hope that the investigation finds something.
Meanwhile I am thinking — does the dragging the artwork from one tab to another helps? Why add something in a Library, when you just drop it into another document as is. Works for me (but yeah, I'm on Windows).
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Eric wood commented
under the prefs, I have tried pretty much every combination of turning things on and off. same result.
I don't even know what a buffer manager is! so I am going to say no. I am on Mac, maybe that is on the windows side?
it is consistent across reboots, restarts, showing away prefs, reinstalling.
here is the thing about fonts. I am using the same 2 fonts for all of the text, and when I copy and paste it, some of the text remains editable, some it turns to outlines. some of each, but it is always the exact same ones.
I can't make a new file with this artwork, since copy and paste does not work. if I make a copy of the file, delete every single thing other than this design, it still does it.
I started to get this dialog now. then I hit ok and it turns the file into wire mode, and I cannot put it back into preview mode. get the same dialog until I delete the art that was just pasted. so that makes it unusable.
the workaround I have to use is to copy the artwork to a library, then drag out a copy of it anywhere I need and hope that it doesn’t break that file. I have to change a number in every instance of this artwork as part of the design, so this is just a nightmare.
making a new blank document, I make a copy of the library element. then all of the text is editable, but if I copy that element after changing the number, to paste it another part of the layout or design, it is outlines. so I have to either option drag it, or start it over from the library. and if I have to make a 2nd document that goes along with this design, then I have to start from scratch every single time, since I cannot copy paste from one document to another.
and copying that object to the library just to bring it over to another document is the worst solution I can think of from a productivity standpoint. a dozen steps rather than a copy paste.
I have tried going back 3 versions of illustrator to see if any of those worked, all the same.
I can send you a file if it will help, but this just sucks.
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Eric, what options are enabled for you in Preferences > Clipboard Handling section?
Does toggling Include SVG Code make a difference?
Do you by any chance use any buffer managers?
Is the behaviour consistent is you launch Ai solo, after a complete reboot?
Does it happen with old documents, or only one particular?
Have you tried using different fonts?More details needed!