Clipboard - "item not collected"

I'm sporadically having a problem where the clipboard will just suddenly and
for no apparent reason stop collecting so I'm unable to copy/paste. Even if
I clear all items collected I am still unable to copy/paste and I constantly
receive the message "item not collected". Upon opening the clipboard I see
some strange graphics and I have no idea where they come from... one minute
the clipboard was empty, the next these 7 icons appear from nowhere... when
the clipboard stops collecting, these icons/graphics are also in the list of
collected items. The only way I am able to begin copying/pasting is to log
off windows and to log back in. Logging out of outlook does not resolve the
issue.

Has anyone encountered an issue such as this and more importantly, how can
it be resolved? It is really driving me nuts as I use this feature a lot in
my work...

thks...

[susied]

I had exactly the same experience, it drove me crazy. I finally figured it out! If you just click on a cell and copy it, you get the message. If you highlight the CONTENTS of the cell (instead of just clicking on the cell) and copy them, Excel will add the entry to the clipboard.