XL: Too Many Cells Pasted When You Copy Data to Lotus 1-2-3

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SUMMARY

When you copy cells from Microsoft Excel and paste them into Lotus 1-2-3 Release 1.0 or 1.1 for Windows, you may notice that the cells appear in the wrong location. Also, the contents of other cells in your 1-2-3 worksheet may be cleared.

This error does not occur in Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows, version 4.0.

This error may occur in Quattro Pro for Windows, versions 1.0 and 5.0.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, do either of the following:

• When you copy data from Microsoft Excel to Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows, include cell A1 in the copy operation. This will cause the .WK1 clipboard data matrix to be identical to the actual range, and you will be able to copy and paste successfully.

  -or-

• When you copy data from Microsoft Excel and paste it in Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows, paste the data into an unused section of the 1-2-3 worksheet or in a new 1-2-3 worksheet. Then, copy the information from this location and paste it to the desired location on the worksheet.

MORE INFORMATION

This error occurs because of the way Microsoft Excel creates .WK1 (Lotus 1-2-3 format) clipboard data. When the .WK1 clipboard data is created, Microsoft Excel creates a matrix that ranges from cell A1 to the lower-right cell of the copied range instead of creating a matrix with the same size as the copied range.

For example, if you copy the range H8:J10, a matrix three cells wide by three cells across should be pasted to the .WK1 clipboard. However, a matrix of 10 cells wide by 10 cells across (A1:J10) is created instead.

When this matrix is pasted into Lotus 1-2-3, the upper-left corner of the matrix is pasted into the active cell, and the rest of the matrix "lands" in cells below and to the right of the active cell.

This error does not occur in Lotus 1-2-3 Release 4.0 for Windows, because of the way in which .WK1 clipboard data from Microsoft Excel is received by 1-2-3.