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Disabled Copy & Paste in 29.01 is like losing an arm!! Need do-able workaround ASAP.

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I am beyond furious that all the workarounds that made copy and paste function have now been disabled in 29.0.1. The FF overlords are imposing their will on the masses. I am an adult and can make security decisions for myself. Losing cut & paste is like losing an arm. Before I switch another browser, does anyone know a workaround to restore this critical browser function? I have seen the javascript idea but it's a bit complicated. The Clipboard Helper plugin and altering configuration no longer work. No add-on works either. I am desperate for an uncomplicated fix. Anybody?!

I am beyond furious that all the workarounds that made copy and paste function have now been disabled in 29.0.1. The FF overlords are imposing their will on the masses. I am an adult and can make security decisions for myself. Losing cut & paste is like losing an arm. Before I switch another browser, does anyone know a workaround to restore this critical browser function? I have seen the javascript idea but it's a bit complicated. The Clipboard Helper plugin and altering configuration no longer work. No add-on works either. I am desperate for an uncomplicated fix. Anybody?!

All Replies (6)

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You should still be able to use the keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+V, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+X) to paste, copy and cut.

As for web sites performing clipboard operations, see

If you absolutely have to, you can downgrade to Firefox ESR until this is resolved.


Feel free to vote for reports to keep track of any progress, but please don't post comments unless you have technical information to add. See the Bugzilla etiquette page for details.

  • Bug 913734 - Remove domain policy goop from CAPS
  • Bug 1004260 - Firefox 29 broke clipboard access; restore the CAPS allowclipboard policy until the Clipboard API allows click-to-copy
  • Bug 1012662 - implement click-to-copy and click-to-cut permissions (semi-trusted events)
  • Bug 1013165 - Add "allow clipboard access" preference to about:permissions
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I appreciate your response but I specifically want to avoid having to take hand off mouse to use keyboard commands. I find it slow, annoying and cumbersome esp since these are commands I use constantly all day.

I am usually pretty good with tech stuff but I didn't understand a lot of what you wrote after that.

Since I am pretty desperate, would you please explain what you meant?

I don't want to downgrade FF to ESR as I just blew hours configuring 29 the way I wanted before discovering the dead cut and paste function. Also don't really understand what ESR is.

Thanks for help.

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Copy and Paste works perfectly fine In Firefox 29, I use it all the time as do all our users. Can you please elaborate what isn't working? Is it the Keyboard shotcuts, right clicking to select text, only on certain pages, etc? Thanks!

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This is well documented problem with FF 29. There are other posts on the same topic but none with a solution.

Prior to 29, copy and paste in rich text editors (like Wordpress) failed but there was a workaround: changing the config file and installing Clipboard Helper add-on. With FF 29, that workaround now fails as Clipboard Helper no longer works. The only other workaround I've found is adding javascript commands but user comments indicate it is complicated to do.

My goal: I am trying to being able to use the normal Copy, Cut, Paste features in rich text editors and not have to take hand off mouse to use slow keyboard commands like Control V.

To see the problem, using FF 29, go to a rich text editor and try to paste something into it * using the icons in the editing program *. You will receive a message that "your browser's security settings don't allow that action." You are stuck having to paste into a box first or use keyboard commands or similar. You can't take advantage of the features included in the text editor at all. Very frustrating esp if you use Wordpress all the time.

Modified by youthchange

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I copied this from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/allowclipboard-helper/?src=search

Reviews Rated 4 out of 5 stars

by L2JDrLecter on May 14, 2014 · permalink · translate

Stopped working since 29.0.1, user settings are blatantly ignored by FF. With other versions it works great. no longer works Rated 4 out of 5 stars

by dtpets on May 11, 2014 · permalink · translate

this no longer works the latest firefox update..Someone please fix asap No longer works since I updated FF to version 29.0 Rated 4 out of 5 stars

by Hugo_Pt on May 6, 2014 · permalink · translate

I use this add-on frequently to allow clipboard access to OneNote Online application. It worked fine until yesterday. However, soon after I updated Firefox to latest 29.0 version, I noticed that it no longer works!

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youthchange wrote:

My goal: I am trying to being able to use the normal Copy, Cut, Paste features in rich text editors and not have to take hand off mouse to use slow keyboard commands like Control V.

Right-click the text box. Can you use the Paste, Copy and Cut commands in the context menu?

youthchange wrote:

Since I am pretty desperate, would you please explain what you meant? 

There's no way to grant sites clipboard access in Firefox 29. It may be re-introduced at some point in the future, or a new method may be introduced instead.
In rich text editors, you should still be able to use the keyboard shortcuts and probably context menu items, but the buttons provided by the site likely won't work.

youthchange wrote:

Also don't really understand what ESR is.

ESR is a special version for organizations. It's currently based off Firefox 24 but it has most security patches that the release version has.