Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?

Yes, the problem is still there, whether I reset Firefox (done yesterday) or restart in safe mode (just did it again). The problem is very curious, as I've been using Firefox and Word 97 for years with nothing like this. The problem only occurs when copying from Firefox and trying to paste into Word 97. If I launch Word 97 anew, I can paste the clipboard 1 time, then contents of clipboard becomes lost. However, if I paste contents into SEARCH/REPLACE dialog box, that works. I have both Word 2013 and Word 97 on my PC, but generally use only 97. I have reinstalled 97 (although with not much luck on the updates SD 1 and 2) and have repaired Office 2013. I'm generally pretty good at figuring things out, but the oddity of this problem escaped me. I've also reset clipboard using RUN. Any ideas? It's not a big problem, but it's really annoying me.

Are you only copying text?

I've called the big guys to help you. Good luck.

So far, the copying problem only concerns text, but only because generally I don't copy images, and I have no doubt I'd have the same problem with images. As Word 97 is stable, and Firefox is variable, I suspect the problem is with Firefox, even if problem persists with Safe Mode

I copy back and forth all the time. No problems.

Start your Computer in safe mode with networking. Then start Firefox. Try Safe web sites. Is the problem still there?

Starting The Computer In Safe Mode;
Free Online Encyclopedia

I'll try rebooting in safe mode, to see if that changes anything. When you say that you copy back and forth all the time, are you referring to Word 97? As I said, I can copy fine from Firefox to anything else, including Word 2013, it's only when trying to paste into Word 97 that I discover the clipboard is empty (so that "paste" is greyed out). As this is a very specific and unusual problem, which only began 48 hours ago, I haven't a clue as to why, as I don't recollect making any changes to my PC.

I'm not sure. All I see is "Word Starter"

I don't know what Word Starter is. This problem only concerns Word 97, and copying from Firefox (latest edition). I did a Safe Boot, but this changes nothing. When I first launch Word 97 with blank doc, I can paste 1 time, and then clipboard is empty. And pasting into another Word doc, already created, ends in failure each time. I uninstalled a few recent things, like Adobe Reader, but this changes nothing. No doubt, Word 97 has been corrupted in some way, although I did reinstall it (but not remove/install). Or perhaps something else updated or changed in my system to cause a conflict with Word 97, which is, admittedly, old software. There is an article in Microsoft support on this problem, at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/555173, but it hasn't enabled me to fix the problem.

Firefox 44 reduced the number of formats it puts on the clipboard or makes available in drag-and-drop. In particular, these were non-Unicode formats. (There is a good chance that some "legacy" formats will be restored in a later version because it turns out there are more incompatible applications in use among users than was envisioned during beta testing. However, it's too soon to know exactly when such a change might be made (i.e., in Firefox 45 or later vs. an update to Firefox 44).)

That said, Word97 should support those Unicode formats, so I'm not sure whether those changes are the issue or it's something else in Firefox 44.

For what it's worth, Word 2010 works fine, too.

Thanks. Out of curiosity, do you work for Firefox? Secondly, for testing purposes, as every time Firefox updates, strange things often happen, is it possible for me to backtrack to an earlier version of Firefox without the automatic update? By the way, I run an online film festival and in testing streaming playback (actually progressive) I've had a lot of problems with Firefox, and video playback seems much better under Explorer, although I hate Explorer, and thus I've advised my clients to use Explorer instead of Firefox, generally. I've seen on other video websites similar warnings. Any comment?

I don't work for Mozilla (maker of Firefox). There are a few Mozilla employees who post here, but it's mostly volunteers.

Firefox isn't designed to allow easy previous version rollbacks, but you can get old version installers using this support article: Install an older version of Firefox. Usually you can run the older installer, but in some cases, data files are converted so some glitches can occur.

Video performance varies between operating systems and graphics drivers, especially with MP4 / H.264 video, because Firefox's HTML5 player uses external libraries on the system for decoding and acceleration. Other browsers with fully integrated rendering code tend to be more consistent across platforms/versions.

Thanks. when I get time, I'll try to backtrack in Firefox, just to see what's what. Perhaps what you mentioned about Unicode and version 44 has something to do with it. In any event, it's Firefox which constantly changes, not Word 97, so I suspect the glitch on the side of Firefox, and I've seen many, such as loss of keyboard shortcuts in YahooMail (now working OK). I might also remove and reinstall Word 97, although I don't like messing around with it. As for videos, MP4/H264 is the preferred format, although as I understand, Adobe Flash is generally used before reverting to HTML5. I'm not sure how things operate in Explorer on this score.

I wouldn't bother uninstalling/reinstalling Word 97. Why do you still use it so often?

I translate filmscripts. And have always used Word 97. It can display pages in screen center, which is very nice, and which I'm unable to do in 2013. Plus I have a lot of shortcuts for formatting scripts. Perhaps one day, I'll try to figure out Word 2013. But sometimes bigger is not always better.

FWIW, I liked Word 2003 (last toolbar UI) and Word 2010 best so far.

If you need to preserve formatting from the browser, using Word 2013 as an intermediary -- paste into 2013 then select, copy, and paste into 97 -- probably is easiest. If you do not need to preserve formatting, it sounds as though you could use Windows 8 Notepad.

If you are constantly pasting small bits, that would be quite inconvenient. You might try this utility and see whether it works around the problem: http://stevemiller.net/puretext/ (paste plain text using Windows+v instead of Ctrl+v).

Thanks. As I said, I don't copy and paste to Word 97 every day. I have tried a few add-ons, but nothing seems to replace the basic copy and paste function. A new test reveals that copying an image and pasting it into Word 97 does in fact work, but not text. Also, copying a URL at page top doesn't work either, which surprised me. Ultimately, as my goal at this point is to discover the CAUSE of conflict, I'll probably roll back Firefox one day to see what happens. Although I have been aware of this problem for only the past 48 hours, might I ask when exactly was the last Firefox update? My current version seems to be 44.0.

Firefox 44 was released on Tuesday. You might be able to determine when you got it from the Windows Control Panel (Uninstall a Program) or from the support information page, which is either:

• "3-bar" menu button > "?" button > Troubleshooting Information
• (menu bar) Help > Troubleshooting Information
• type or paste about:support in the address bar and press Enter

In the first table, do you have a button labeled Show Update History?

I don't trust Windows's system restore feature not to corrupt data, so if you were thinking of using that, I suggest making a backup of your Firefox profile folder. Some tips on that: Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.

Thanks, like Sherlock Holmes, I think we are nearing our goal. Indeed, the 44 update was on the 26th, which is coincident with the start of my headaches (I had checked for "new software" already, but didn't focus in on Firefox itself at the time I did that, assuming it was "clean"). So, like so many other glitches with Firefox (and everything else under the sun), I'll wait until things go back to normal on their own, without rolling back Firefox, as there would be little point in that, and little to gain. I would appreciate, however, it if you could pass on to those in charge that I for one am "dismayed" by their new copy function, which apparently is the root of my current problem. Thanks a lot for all your help! Jonathan

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web Link} by holding down the <Shift>
(Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox. Is the problem still there?

Copy As Plain Text {web link} Removes formatting from copied text.

Install an older version of Firefox {web link}

For some strange reason I just received what appears to be a copy of your 1st message...