Weird happenings in Excel 2000

[kiwimuso]

Running Windows XP SP3 and all updates and Office 2000 I have recently encountered with this weird happening in Excel.

I can be working in Excel quite happily, then suddenly the ability copy/paste formulas vanishes. In fact the ability to copy anything vanishes.
I was working on a small spreadsheet, and wanted to propagate a formula down a column but when I highlighted the cell containing the formula and did a Ctl+C, nothing happened. As in the cell didn't suddenly become surrounded by wavy dotted lines. If I tried the same thing by right clicking on the cell, the Copy function was greyed out.

It has happened to me twice in fairly quick succession and I have fixed it by doing a Restore System Settings in Acronis TI, but if anyone knows why this happened and if it can be prevented it would be much appreciated.

The second time it happened after I had just restored the system settings, I was in Excel propagating formulas quite happily, when the copy suddenly stopped working again.

Not a show stopper, but a bloody nuisance all the same. And I have no intention of upgrading to a later version of Office as I hate the damned ribbon and 2000 does all I need it to do. Ditto XP, and at least I can find what I want when I want it.

Incidentally, I had the same sort of rubbish happen in Outlook, but I haven't been able to restore that. When sending an email normally I just go Alt+S and it goes. Suddenly it stopped working. Alt+S still puts the focus on the Send button but I have to actually press the Enter key to actuate. Again, not a show stopper, just wondering why MS software decides that it knows best.

In both cases, no other keyboard shortcuts, whcih is what I normally use when I can, have been affected, or at least none that I have come across.

Thanks in anticipation.

[duthiet]

Dear Kiwimuso:

I had a very similar problem. Try this solution

Open VBA and in the immediate window put in the following code:

Application.EnableEvents = False

Switch back to Excel and see if copy and paste is working.

If this works you may want to make this into a Macro and put it on a toolbar.

Just remember, to have full Excel functionality you should change the False back to True.

Good luck

[RussB]

I am surprised that there are not more issues.
Given that 1 year of software life is equal to about 20 years in human life.
Your software is about 240 years old!
Most are long gone before this.

[MartinM]

Software neither ages nor wears out.

It is an appalling state of mind, fostered by the IT industry, that it does and that regular replacement is a "good thing".

In many cases, due to the enormous load of conversion and re-learning, it is not.

[RussB]

How did that "kool-aid" taste?