Copy Excel table, switch worksheets and pasteclip into AutoCAD

[BWYarger]

I have a problem with copying an Excel table, switching worksheets, and pasteclipping into AutoCAD.  The content of the paste is dependant on the active worksheet, not what was copied.  This doesn't happen with other programs, such as Word.  For example: I copy Sheet1!a1:B4, switch tabs to Sheet2, (no other activity) then switch programs to AutoCAD to pasteclip and I get Sheet2!a1:b4.  Is there a way around this without having sheet2 being the active sheet in Excel?

[pendean]

Walks through each exact step and process in both commands please: also identify your Excel and LT versions.

[BWYarger]

I am typically using LT 2011 and Excel XP on Windows XP (32 bit), but it also happens with LT 2014 and Excel 2010 on Windows 7 (64 bit).  I could try it on other combinations, but at this point those are the extreme cases unless I fire up our old version of LT 2005, which only happens once a year or less.

The steps are: Copy from Excel's Sheet1 (using control+C), make sheet 2 active by clicking on the sheet2 tab, make AutoCAD LT active and paste (using control +v).  I end up with the data from sheet 2, but if I then make Word active and paste (using control+v), I get sheet1's data, even though the previous paste was sheet2's data.  If we get things resolved, then I will try it on Civil 3D with Excel 2007 on Vista (64 bit).

I talked with an Excel expert that thinks the problem lies more with Excel's clipboard than with AutoCAD.  Apparently Excel's clipboard is different than Window's clipboard, but Word and Notepad being Microsoft products deal with the differences in a different way than AutoCAD does.

[steven-g]

Strange it works here without problem.

[pendean]

I can't replicate your issue here either, which is no help to you: any chance you can share an xls file?

[BWYarger]

Attached are an Excel file and a drawing file.  I copied sheet 1 from Excel XP using control+c and pasted in to LT's 2011 drawing area using control+v.  I got the right information.  I then went back and changed the active sheet in Excel to sheet 2 by clicking the tab, but did not copy, and went back to LT and pasted again.  This time I got the information from sheet 2.

I also tried this on a third machine with Civil 3D 2012 (64 bit) and Excel 2007 on Vista Business (64 bit) and got the same result.

Be sure you are switching active sheets in Excel. 

[pendean]

nothing got attached 😞

[BWYarger]

Missing attachment

[BWYarger]

Is the third time the charm?  I am getting an error message when trying to attach the files.  I tried a zip file combining both, and just attaching the drawing file in case there was an issue with zips.  I still don't see that it attached correctly.

[BWYarger]

There is nothing special about the files.  I was able to replicate the problem on sevaral machines using new Excel and drawing files each time.  I will try it on another machine tonight that is outside of my office.

[pendean]

ZIp them together first perhaps.

[BWYarger]

I tried zipping them together first, but it failed just like the other attempts.  I am now trying from a different computer.

[pendean]

Not to shoot your testing down, but this only happens if you keep the cells selected in the 'copy mode' on sheet 1 when you click on sheet 2 and do nothing. If you cancel the copy-cells highlighted in Excel or select anything on sheet 2 in excel, the content of the clipboard it terminated.
It sounds like a little procedural change on your part is all that is needed: and may explain why I could not replicate as i never-ever take a chance on wiping out cells by keeping them selected after a copy function.
I think I can actually take advantage of this tip however, as I often haven several indentical pages in one Excel sheet that I need to copy into AutoCAD, and I often seelct each set separately. Now I don;t ever have to do it again 🙂

[Shawn_Niles]

Hello Brad, If Dean's suggestion worked to resolve this, could you please select it as an accepted solution? If not, please let us know so we can continue troubleshooting.

[BWYarger]

It is not a solution as far as I am concerned.  It can lead to inserting the wrong selection from Excel.  I have a workaround, but it also causes other problems in Excel to compensate for the problem in AutoCAD. 

[pendean]

So far I believe it's a simple procedural change on your part, not much else: unless you can identify these "other problems" more clearly.