OFFXP: Unable to Copy Same Selection of Drawing Objects to the Clipboard As Separate Selection

In any of the Microsoft Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, when you select two or more drawing objects and copy them, the objects appear on the Clipboard as one selection. If you change the position of one or more of the objects in the document relative to the other objects, and then select the same objects and copy them again, a second selection is not added to the Clipboard as expected.

This behavior occurs because the second selection is treated as a duplicate of the first selection, because the objects are identical, even though their arrangement in the document has changed. Therefore, the second selection is not added to the Clipboard, even though its appearance is different from the first selection.

To work around this issue, follow these steps:

1. After you copy the selected objects the first time, arrange the objects in a new position.
2. Select one object alone, and then press CTRL+C to copy it to the Clipboard.
3. While holding down the CTRL key, select both objects.
4. Press CTRL+C to copy the objects to the Clipboard.
   
   Notice that the most recent selection is added to the Clipboard along with the first selection. You can delete the Clipboard item that contains only one object.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.