How to Fix “Sorry, No Manipulations With Clipboard Allowed” Error.
The copy and paste function makes it easy to copy and move texts, media files and other types of documents in applications. You can copy and paste data using keyboard shortcuts, from the menu bar, or to other Apple devices using the universal clipboard feature.
Despite how easy it is to duplicate data between apps and across devices, some Mac users encounter the “Sorry, clipboard manipulation is not allowed” error when they try to copy and paste texts and files.
If this describes your current predicament, you should read the rest of this article to find out what this error means, its causal factors, and how to fix it.
What Does the “Sorry, No Manipulations With Clipboard Allowed” Error Mean
When you copy text or files to your device, macOS temporarily saves the copied item to virtual storage called the clipboard. The copied item remains on the clipboard until you turn off your Mac or copy a new item. “Unfortunately, no clipboard manipulation is allowed” means that you cannot access or write data to your Mac’s clipboard and therefore cannot copy or paste data.
You will receive this error if the system is handling power with clipboard crashes or if your Mac’s operating system is buggy and out of date. Malware and virus infection can also cause this error. One of the troubleshooting steps below should help resolve the error.
Restart or Refresh the Pasteboard Server
Pasteboard or pboard is an important system process responsible for storing and pasting copied or cut data from one application to another. The pboard server also temporarily stores data that you move elsewhere on your Mac.
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For example, when you drag and drop a file from one folder to another, it is temporarily saved to the “drop artboard” before it is moved to the target folder / location.
You may encounter the “Sorry, clipboard manipulation not allowed” error if the timeline server is down or shuts down unexpectedly. Updating the server sometimes fixes the problem.
Restart Pboard Server from Activity Monitor
- Go to Finder> Applications> Utilities and double-click Activity Monitor.
Alternatively, press Command + Spacebar, type Activity Monitor in the Spotlight search box, and select Activity Monitor.
- Type pboard in the search box in the upper right corner and double-click pboard in the Process Name column.
- Select Exit.
- Select Force End.
This will shutdown and immediately restart the pasteboard server. Close Activity Monitor and check if you can copy and paste data to your Mac now.
Restart the Pboard server using terminal
You can do a lot with macOS Terminal Utility. You can use this tool to detect network settings, empty your Mac’s trash bin, and kill background processes. If the error message persists after updating the Timeline Server using Activity Monitor, try terminating the process from the Terminal Console.
- Go to Finder> Applications> Utilities and double-click Terminal.
A quicker way to launch Terminal is with Spotlight Search. Enter terminal in the search bar and select “Terminal” to launch the application.
- Type or paste sudo killall pboard into the terminal console and press Enter.
- Enter your Mac password and press Enter.
Close the terminal console and check if you can copy and paste texts and files. Note that updating or restarting the timeline server will clear your Mac’s clipboard and delete any previously copied content. This will delete any corrupted data in the clipboard and resolve the “Sorry, no clipboard manipulation allowed” error.
Force Quit the WindowServer
WindowServer handles several components that make up your Mac’s graphical user interface (GUI), such as the dock and menu bar, and other vital background processes. Based on the community discussions, force quitting WindowServer can fix macOS copy and paste issues.
Note that force quitting WindowServer will close all active applications and windows. The operation will also log off the Mac. Although all closed applications are automatically restarted upon login, you may lose unsaved data. Therefore, we recommend that you manually close all applications and windows before resetting WindowServer.
- Start Activity Monitor, type windowserver in the search box, and double-click WindowServer.
- Click the Exit button in the new pop-up window.
- Select Force Quit to continue.
macOS will automatically restart WindowServer when you log in to your account again. Enter your password or sign in with Touch ID and check if force logging out of WindowServer solves the problem.
Update Your Mac
System updates fix crashes that prevent essential system processes from working properly. Click the Apple logo in the menu bar and check if there is an update notification next to System Preferences.
Connect your Mac to the Internet, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu, choose Software Update, and then click the Update Now button.
Restart Your Mac
If there are no updates available for your Mac, or the error persists after installing the update, restarting your Mac should fix the problem. It is very important to restart your Mac after installing a software update, especially if your macOS installer recommends doing so.
Close all active applications, click the Apple logo in the menu bar, and choose Restart.
Scan Mac for Malware and Viruses
As mentioned earlier, this error can be related to malware or virus infection. If you have antivirus installed on your Mac, do a full system scan to check for potential virus infections. Also, check out this collection of the best antivirus for macOS for some reliable options.
If this error continues to appear after following these guidelines, contact Apple Support or visit your nearest Genius Bar to check your Mac for hardware issues.
How to Fix “Sorry, No Manipulations With Clipboard Allowed” Error
How to Fix “Sorry, No Manipulations With Clipboard Allowed” Error