I have been using PopClip for a very long time and lately I have only been disappointed in this program. Since the most popular copying function for me simply does not work. I followed all the recommendations that are described in solving copying problems, but this only helps for a while, then copying stops working again. I turned off Bartender, but this also does not help. What else can I do to make the program work?
Letās get to the bottom of it together. First, can you please do the following procedure:
The following procedure can help if PopClipās Copy function is not working properly. It removes PopClip from the Accessibility permission list and then adds it again.
- Quit PopClip
- Go to System Settings ā Privacy & Security ā Accessibility
- In the list, highlight PopClip and then remove it using the āāā (minus) button. (Fully remove it, donāt just uncheck it.)
Remove from the list with minus button
- Use the ā+ā (plus) button add PopClip again to the list.
I have made this recommendation more than once. This helps for a while but then the problem returns again.
Are there any other recommendations to solve this problem?
I donāt know of any other known issues regarding the copy function not working.
Could you please describe in more detail exactly the nature of the problem using details of exactly what steps you do and what pop clip does and at which point It diverges from the expected behaviour. and also the name of the app that youāre using and the type of text area you are selecting The more information I have that may help me understand what is happening.
The copy function still stops working periodically. I donāt do any special actions. Copying may not work immediately after rebooting the Mac. And it will start working if you follow the recommendations above. If copying doesnāt work, then you selected text from the application menu, chose copy, and MacOS makes a quiet sound. I donāt know if this is related or not, but after a clean installation of MacOS 15.0, everything worked fine until I installed a plugin, either Google Translate or Search.
For the same period of time ā since about the date of the first post in this thread ā Iāve had a problem that looks the same but is actually a paste problem, not a copy problem.
After some action, the last-copied text isnāt pasted using āv. I know that the text was copied because I see it in my clipboard manager, Pastebot. However, āv does NOT paste the text that was last copied; it pastes the text that was copied immediately prior. The result looks like the copy didnāt work but itās actually the paste that didnāt work.
Once I paste from Pastebot (instead of using the keyboard shortcut, āv,) then this problem goes away and āv pastes the last-copied text as expected.
I hadnāt reported this because I hadnāt done the legwork to determine what causes āv to access the wrong item on my clipboard stack. I had assumed that it was related to some mistake in my date-formatting PopClip Extension.
I know that this paste problem is not related to upgrading to macOS 15 Sequoia; Iām stuck on the last version of macOS 12 Monterey because my iMac wonāt support anything later. Another weird thing about my setup is that I have a second clipboard manager, CopyPaste. But itās not running while Iām having my paste problem so this shouldnāt make any difference, right?
Anyway, perhaps the OPās problem is with paste, not copy.
I am actually having the same problem, and I tried the process to remove and add back PopClip to the accessibility menu. Iām still running the latest MacOS Sonoma at the moment. I recorded a shot video with the symptoms I see, you can watch it here:
From what I can see, when I click the copy button presented by PopClip, I hear the MacOS error sound clip, and the window containing the highlighted text loses focus. I also use the DeepL translation app a lot and have the PopClip extension for it, which also uses a copy command and has the same problem. So at least for me, the problem seems to be around something causing PopClip to lose focus on the target window just before it copies, so then it tries to copy nothing (if that makes sense).
PopClip is easily my favorite Mac utility, and such a big part of my daily workflow, so hopefully I can get this sorted 
I can provide any additional info or test things if that helps.
thanks!
Iām wondering if there could be another 3rd party utility that is interacting in the situation here. Could you possibly try disabling/quitting all background apps that might be running, except PopClip, and see if it still does it?
Also is this happening in every target app or just some? Does it affect only the Copy action or does it affect some other actions as well?
Hi Nick - thatās for the quick reply. It does seem to happen in any app, and it only seems to be tied to PopClip features that use the copy (such as copy and the shortcut to translate selected text in DeepL).
After a bit of trial and error, by disabling and texting other background apps, it looks like the problem is with Better Mouse (https://better-mouse.com). Iām using the latest version of their software, Version 1.5.4908. I backed up my custom configuration in that app, and reset it to the default settings, but the problem persists, so I donāt think it is a configuration change, but the app itself.
Iām kinda bummed out that two of my all-time favorite MacOS utilities seem to be clashing, so if thereās any ideas you might have to resolve this, Iād be happy to hear. Otherwise, I might have to go back to that awful Logitech options software 
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Thatās interesting and useful. Iāll download Better Mouse to try and see what is happening.
I confirm I am seeing the same behaviour when Better Mouse is running. (Also I note it seems to only happen when Better Mouse is launched after PopClip.)
When you click Copy in PopClip, PopClip is generating a synthetic command-C key press and sending it into the system. Somehow it seems to fail when BetterMouse is running. I donāt know why 
I suspect Better Mouse may be using a keyboard event tap which is somehow preventing PopClipās key press from propagating.
@grizfan I contacted the BetterMouse developer and a solution is found:
[ā¦] the interference is brought by the click-through feature of BetterMouse. When you click the copy button of PopClip, BM will first try to activate PopClip and cause the cmd-c PopClip sends lose its target.
The solution is simple, just add an exception item of PopClip in BM and uncheck the left click-through toggle in the button binding panel.
Thanks! that worked perfectly 
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Hey Nick, Thanks for all of your work on PopClip! Canāt imagine working without it.
Quick suggestion, maybe consider adding the solution to the troubleshooting section on the website? It seems like more and more of us are encountering this exact scenario as we navigate away from Logitechās app and explore other great tools.
Keep up the fantastic work!
Great point! Added.