Copy paste in Notes doesn't work

Hello -- lots of posts on this issue in the community, wanted to reply in this thread because it's fairly active.

I've been experiencing this issue for years, and I've been experiencing it fairly consistently to the point where I can predict when it's going to happen.

It almost always happens after I have copied/pasted medium chunks of text with a lot of checklist formatting, checked or unchecked, from one note to another.

After I do one or two of those is when the glitch usually hits. I'm pretty sure the checklist formatting is somehow the culprit.

This is pretty consistent for me -- every Sunday or so, I make my to do list for the week, which includes copy/pasting a bunch of checklist-formatted text from the previous week's to do list. It rarely -- if ever -- happens otherwise. And it almost always happens when I am doing this specific task.

The only fix I've found is to quit/restart the app and try again. It happens so consistently it's pretty much part of my weekly workflow. :)

This has been happening consistently for years, across multiple versions of up to date macOS installs, at least two different laptops, a myriad of various software coming and going from my machine, etc etc.

Seeing a lot of trouble tracking this down beyond an intermittent problem, hope this helps the detectives on the case.

@AppleMike2014 -

"Further, it's infuriatingly intermittent, so I'm unable to reproduce the error reliably, on-demand. Just 30 min ago, it pasted text from elsewhere in the note that I didn't copy, which is what prompted me to search forums and found this one still active. My go-to fix is to open the note in a separate window before trying and again, which resolves it 100% of the time."

Tried this one time and it worked like a charm. Very good workaround! Thank you!

Hi P. Phillips and dialabrain,

First thank you for being super-helpful in these forums.

Like many others, this copy-and-paste issue in Notes has dogged me over the years, likely before 2019 when tusken_ryder reported Notes, copy paste doesn't work - Apple Community ("Me too'd" 990+ times), and followed me through at least 4 versions of macOS (now on Ventura 13.5) and two Macs (2015 MBP, 2020 M1 MBP).

Further, it's infuriatingly intermittent, so I'm unable to reproduce the error reliably, on-demand. Just 30 min ago, it pasted text from elsewhere in the note that I didn't copy, which is what prompted me to search forums and found this one still active. My go-to fix is to open the note in a separate window before trying and again, which resolves it 100% of the time.

I note this isn't the first time either of you have tried to help others with this particular issue, and also there's a recommendation to run EtreCheck and provide a Full Report, so I will post it separately below.

In case you ask, please note I only recently started using clipboard manager iClip, and the behaviour has been present for years prior.

(Went away to read the report... then somehow triggered Note's copy-and-paste issue.)

Okay, right now I'm experiencing Note's buggy behaviour, which I logged below:

Then suggest updating to Ventura 13.3 as previously suggested

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support (CA)

About the security content of macOS Ventura 13.3 - Apple Support

Then, Test this issue again.

If Fixed - Bravo

If still having the same ongoing issue ►

Download the Application Etrecheck directly from the Developer.

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer.

It makes a coherent and readable inventory of both the Hardware and Software used on the computer 

The application is free or paid from added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - >>>> using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last ) <<<<

The Text " product is market ready " was placed in an exiting note of Notes Application.

Use the command c to copy From Notes to this reply produces >>

product is market ready

Are any of the below installed and used on this computer ?

Disk Cleaner 

This will include CleanMyMac , aka “ BrickMyMac “

MacKeeper,

Dr Cleaner Pro Plus

Open Cleaner one Pro

Macmechanic

Here's the full report from EtreCheckPro — I wanted to preserve the bolded text by pasting it directly below, but the 5000 char post limit meant I needed to chop it into 5 posts so settled for using Additional Text.

Are you copying text FROM one note to another note or into a different application?

Do you have any 3rd party clipboard managers installed?

Randall_2023 wrote:

Are you copying text FROM one note to another note or into a different application?

FWIW, the question does state it works Note to Note but not otherwise.

Do you have any 3rd party clipboard managers installed?

Safe Mode should eliminate that issue.

Just saying. 😎

Have you updated to Ventura 13.3?

Works fine with my Ventura installs.

See if it works while in Safe Mode.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Good point regarding " 3rd party clipboard managers installed " as you have experiences with this if I recall correctly 😀

You're welcome.