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I tried to cut/copy a file from one folder and paste it in another folder using the right-click context menu. However, the paste option is not working. The problem does not happen within same folder. How to solve this issue?

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  • Is "Paste" in the right click menu in dark or light letters? Light letters mean you have no permission to use the paste function in that folder.
    – Jos
    May 19, 2020 at 18:17
  • It is in light...I am trying to copy/paste a file from Desktop to Documents folder....in the previous LTS versions I never experienced such an issue. May 23, 2020 at 16:38
  • What are the permissions of your Documents folder?
    – Jos
    May 23, 2020 at 18:54
  • Permission to create and delete files has been given for the owner, group, and others. Still the problem is not solved. May 24, 2020 at 15:55
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    Another example. Open FireFox, and browse to some page. Select the full URL in the address bar and hit <CTRL>-X. Close FireFox. Open up Text Editor, LibreOffice, or etc. and type <CTRL>-V and enjoy the nothing that pastes!
    – Lexible
    Jul 26, 2020 at 4:09

5 Answers 5

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There are fundamental bugs in ubuntu 20.04 that have not been fixed. This is such a basic problem I can't believe it is being treated as a 'medium' severity error.

In https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mutter/+bug/1852183 they claimed to have fixed it, but they haven't - it has just changed a bit. See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mutter/+bug/1879968

In 20.10 with all updates it's been fixed for some weeks now.

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  • 4
    To add to this: I recently installed Ubuntu Studio 20.10, and I saw the same issue. Copy-and-paste failed frequently for me. Maybe 50-75% of the time, or more. Feb 1, 2021 at 6:42
  • 1
    @Subhadip Roy, how does this answer address your question? The way your question was written implies you are copying and pasting files using Nautilus (Files manager) in Ubuntu 20.04. However, the first linked bug is about Libre Office, and the second linked bug is about Wine apps. Are you experiencing issues with copy/paste in Libre Office? Or, are you using a Wine App to copy/paste files?
    – Enterprise
    Nov 9, 2021 at 14:29
  • "In 20.10 with all updates it's been fixed for some weeks now." - Nope it hasn't been fixed. I did an update today and restarted the computer. Bug still exists.
    – Nav
    Jan 22, 2022 at 14:39
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    Still a problem with Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (Jan 2023). Only on the terminal. I changed preferences and sort of came back. Basically a reboot did the trick.
    – will
    Jan 31, 2023 at 3:45
4

Solution:

  1. Access your "Desktop" folder from "Home".
  2. Copy/cut from there and paste to any folder.

Note: Copying from your desktop directly may not work except you change the permission of the Desktop folder from "Home".

1

Suddenly Ubuntu 20.4 is not allowing me to copy/cut and paste saved docs from desktop directly into folders within my documents. If you are having this problem create a folder on Desktop first, then copy/cut and paste all you saved docs from Desktop to the folder and then it will allow you to cut/copy and paste to any other folder in your documents.

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I had the same issue...

In ubuntu 20.04 just use file manager. (nautilus etc..)

or install or upgrade to 20.10 or 22.10. This has been fixed in versions I said and I think in newer versions than this answer =)

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In case you can't copy paste to Windows.. this is an issue due to Windows 8 / 10 FastStartUp, where Windows doesn't completely shut down, but enters a hybrid shutdown mode (something like partial hibernation).

Try see here: Can't paste files into a Windows directory while using Ubuntu 22.04

and here : Unable to mount Windows (NTFS) filesystem due to hibernation

Hope it might help somebody.

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