Annoying Office Clipboard

When I copy cells in Microsoft Excel, after the second copy action in a worksheet the clipboard panel pops up on the right and shrinks the visible portion of my worksheet. How can I disable this feature?

Harold Summer

The basic Windows clipboard holds just one item. As soon as you copy something else, the previous contents vanish. The Office Clipboard, introduced with Office 2000, has the ability to accumulate up to two dozen items and paste back whichever one you choose, or gather multiple clips and paste them all at once. Many of us, however, are accustomed to the standard clipboard behavior and don't really need the Office Clipboard, especially when it intrudes unexpectedly.

When you press Ctrl-C twice, the Office Clipboard takes that as a signal to display what it's holding. It occupies the task pane on the right-hand side of the window in most Office applications, diminishing the space available for editing. If you don't want to see the Clipboard at all, simply click its Options button, uncheck all the options, and click the X icon at the task pane's top right corner. If you want the Clipboard to accumulate clips without getting in your face, leave the Collect Without Showing... option checked. You can always bring the display back by selecting Office Clipboard from the Edit menu. Any settings you select for the Office Clipboard will determine its behavior in all the programs that support it.