paste problem

[astuntz]

Recently, when I try to cut and paste text, even very small amounts,
the
computer says 'not enough memory to complete this operation. I've tried
restarting the computer, I've tried closing every other application.
I've got
22 GBs free on my computer, and I can't figure out why I'm getting this
message

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

What version of Word, what version of OS? Are you cutting and pasting
between applications or only within Word?

And note that 22gbs free refers to hard drive space--not enough memory would
refer to the amount of RAM you have installed, or the amount that is free
(so closing other applications should help with that). How much RAM do you
have installed?

However, "not enough memory" is a generic error message that doesn't always
mean that anyhow, and it probably has nothing to do with memory at all.

 

[astuntz]

Thank you so much for replying!!

I'm using os 10 panther and word 2003, I'm only cutting and pasting
between word. sometimes I try to just move one letter, it gives me the
error message.

How do I tell how much ram I've got installed?

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Do you by any chance have "Allow fast saves" enabled? Check in your Word
Preferences> Save. If it's checked, uncheck it and leave it unchecked! And
check "Always create backup copy."

Then turn on Show/Hide formatting (the backwards paragraph symbol on your
toolbar, called a "pilcrow") so you can see invisible formatting marks. Now
copy your entire document EXCEPT the very last paragraph mark and paste it
into a blank new Word document. Save the document with a different name.
Any better?

You can tell how much RAM you have by going to the Apple menu and clicking
"About this Mac". In the window that opens, look at what it says for
"Memory." (If you ever want to know more about your system, just click on
"More Info.")

You're in Word 2004 not Word 2003, right? And have you ever updated either
your OS or Office? The current version of Panther is OS X 10.3.8. The
current version of Office 2004 is 11.1. You'll find more about keeping
updated here: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/Update.htm>
(If using Safari, hit Refresh once or twice; or use a different browser for
this site.)

There are a few other possibilities for what's gone wrong, but get back to
us with answers to these questions and we'll take it from there.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[astuntz]

thank you so much! I'm at work right now away from my dear old
macintosh, but I'll look at all of this when I get home, and I'll fill
you in.

thanks again

 

[astuntz]

alrighty - so I don't have fast saves enabled, but thanks to your help,
I"m now making backup copies of everything. I tried to show formatting
and paste into a new document, but it still would not allow me to
paste. I have 512 MB DDR SDRAM, which I'm sure means more to you than
it does to me. I'm not sure what version of word this is, when I look
at 'about word' it says 'word X for Mac service release 1" its
copyright is 1983-2001. so maybe I have a very old word? The version of
finder (which I assume is the version of OS) is 10.3.2.

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

"Not enough memory" is a generic error that means "Unable to read from or
write to where I want to."

In your case, it's a locked file.

Since you have already rebooted, I am at a bit of a loss as to how to clear
it (rebooting OS X usually clears the temporary files, which are the usual
source of the problem).

No, the Finder version is not the Mac OS version. Go to the Apple menu
beside the File menu on the Finder and choose About this Mac. Since you
have Finder 10.3.2 I think we can assume you have Mac OS 10.3.8.

Since you have Word X Service Release 1, you have the fix that was designed
to cure this problem (but it didn't...).

I think you might have Tracked Changes turned on, or some other document
corruption.

1) Take that document and save it as a Web Page. Close it, quit Word and
restart it.

2) Open the Web Page version and save it as a Word Document with a
different name. Don't worry about the formatting for a minute and try a
copy and paste. Can you do so now? If so, your original document is bad,
or it has one or more stranded temporary files attached to it. Trash it.

3) If it still won't paste, then chances are Internet Explorer is damaged.
Try re-installing Internet Explorer (Word uses bits of it to perform some
functions).

4) If that doesn't bring it right, quite all of your applications, run Disk
Utility, and Repair Permissions.

These are just the "quick and easy ones". If they don't fix it, come back
and we'll help you get serious!!

Cheers

alrighty - so I don't have fast saves enabled, but thanks to your help,
I"m now making backup copies of everything. I tried to show formatting
and paste into a new document, but it still would not allow me to
paste. I have 512 MB DDR SDRAM, which I'm sure means more to you than
it does to me. I'm not sure what version of word this is, when I look
at 'about word' it says 'word X for Mac service release 1" its
copyright is 1983-2001. so maybe I have a very old word? The version of
finder (which I assume is the version of OS) is 10.3.2.

Thank you so much for your help!

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

No, the Finder version is not the Mac OS version. Go to the Apple menu
beside the File menu on the Finder and choose About this Mac. Since you
have Finder 10.3.2 I think we can assume you have Mac OS 10.3.8.

No, you can only assume one of the Mac OS builds between 10.3.2 and 10.3.8
inclusive. They all have Finder 10.3.2. As you say, "About this Mac" will
reveal which.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
ignored.

PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using -
**2004**, X or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions
otherwise.

 

[astuntz]

Alright, I do have 10.3.7 os X. When I tried to save as webpage, it
said 'a file error has occured. Check your network connections or make
sure the disk is properly inserted and not defective'. Should I still
run disk utilities? I don't use my internet explorer, I use safari
instead (the computer still opens new links in ie though).

Thanks so much for your help! I wish I could work on this in the
daytime as well, but I'm at the office then....

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

I would say that document is well and truly corrupt. Word is attempting to
rebuild it on save, and it can't read one of the temporary files.

If you had ever saved that document to a removable disk, then removed the
disk before closing the document, that would do it.

What may work is for you to turn on Show/Hide so you can see your paragraph
marks. The CAREFULLY copy everything EXCEPT the very last paragraph mark in
the document. Copy that last Paragraph Mark and you will copy the problem,
so don't...

Now create a new blank document and paste into it. Save under a new name.

If you have been copying in from web pages, this is another way documents
can get corrupted. Word X is not very good at HTML and it can get confused.

To make Safari your default browser,
1. Open Safari and choose Safari > Preferences, then click General.
2. Choose Safari from the Default Web Browser pop-up menu.

However, you may be better off to download yourself a copy of Firefox from
Mozilla.org. Its as fast as Safari but it works a lot better, and can
handle a much wider range of web pages properly.

To make Firefox your default browser, you have to open Safari and make the
change as described above.

Cheers

Alright, I do have 10.3.7 os X. When I tried to save as webpage, it
said 'a file error has occured. Check your network connections or make
sure the disk is properly inserted and not defective'. Should I still
run disk utilities? I don't use my internet explorer, I use safari
instead (the computer still opens new links in ie though).

Thanks so much for your help! I wish I could work on this in the
daytime as well, but I'm at the office then....

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[astuntz]

The problem is, it's not just one document, but every time I try to cut
and paste, no matter the word file...I tried to show all and copy all
but the last paragraph mark, but it wouldn't' let me paste into a new
document. I haven't been copying much from web pages, I don't think...

any suggestions?

PS - thanks for the tip on having safari as my default browser -- IE
drives me crazy.

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi astuntz (do you have a real name??),

Back a while ago in this thread, someone suggested repairing disk
permissions. Did you ever do so?

And Daiya and I pointed you to the MVP site's Troubleshooting page. Did you
ever try trashing preferences, checking for conflicting Add-ins, and the
other procedures listed there?

How about this: Try creating a new user (System Prefs> Accounts). Can you
paste successfully from this user?

If you've been through everything and your problem still exists, then I
would suggest doing a complete removal (don't neglect this step) and
reinstallation of Office. The instructions are here:
<http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/RemoveReinstall.htm>
(If using Safari, hit Refresh once or twice; or use Internet Explorer for
this site.)

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

And Daiya and I pointed you to the MVP site's Troubleshooting page. Did you

ever try trashing preferences, checking for conflicting Add-ins, and the
other procedures listed there?

That is, work your way through the standard troubleshooting suggestions
listed on this page, and see if any of them help. Test the new user first,
as if it works in a new user, one of the less drastic tips listed here ought
to work.

http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/TroubleshootingIndex.htm
(hit refresh a few times in Safari, or use a different browser)

How about this: Try creating a new user (System Prefs> Accounts). Can you
paste successfully from this user?

DM

 

[astuntz]

Hello - thank you all for your continued suggestions -- yes, I have a
full name, Agatha.

I did disk utility repair disk conditions,I followed the
troubleshooting index instructions for damaged preferences -- is this
what you mean by trashing preferences? I also checked for conflicting
Add-ins, and followed other precautions short of removing and
reinstalling office. I created a new user, but that didn't work either.

Is it time for removing and reinstalling office?

Do you think that 'disk full' fix would work in this case?

Thanks so much for your creative solutions!