One frustration common to many Excel users is dealing with the way Excel handles cutting and copying to the Clipboard. It is particularly frustrating that you can select a range and copy it by pressing Ctrl+C, and then the copy “disappears” if you take any other action besides pasting right away. It would be great if copying and cutting worked just like it does in other applications, where the information is maintained in the Clipboard until it is explicitly replaced by something else.

Unfortunately, there is no way to do this in Excel. There is a bit of a work-around, however, that Microsoft added in Excel 2000. Beginning in this version they implemented the Clipboard toolbar, as is available in other Office applications. Display the toolbar, and the last couple of things you cut or copied are visible in a palette of Clipboard entries.

If you need even more functionality, however, you may want to look into a Clipboard extender. This classification of program goes way beyond what the Clipboard can do, allowing you to save and name cuts and copies and to use those named items days, weeks, or months later–even after a reboot. There are many different Clipboard extenders available on the market. One example is SmartBoard 2000, a shareware Clipboard extender from Oakley Data Systems. You can find out more information at http://www.sb2k.com/.