FIX: Adobe Photoshop Could not import the clipboard (Solved)

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One of the most annoying and silly problems I’ve seen in Adobe Photoshop is the error message “Could not import the clipboard because an unexpected end-of-file was encountered”.

The “Could Import the clipboard…” error in Adobe Photoshop, may appear when you open Photoshop, when you try to open a .JPG file, or when you try to Copy-Paste. The error indicates a problem with either Photoshop’s clipboard or the Preferences file, and in this guide we’ll show you how to fix it.

Adobe Photoshop: Could not import the clipboard because an unexpected end-of-file was encountered.

How to FIX: “Could not import the clipboard because an unexpected end-of-file” in Photoshop.

Method 1. Press “Print Screen” key with Photoshop closed.

The easiest method to fix the mentioned problem, is the following:

1. Close Adobe Photoshop.
2. Press the Print Screen (PrtScn) key once to take a screen capture. (this will change clipboard’s content)
3. Open Photoshop and check if the problem is fixed.

Method 2. Reset Photoshop Settings.

The second easy method to fix the “Could not import the clipboard” error in Photoshop, is to restore the Photoshop’s preferences to their original default settings.

1. Close Photoshop.
2. Hold down the CTRL + ALT + SHIFT keys and launch Photoshop.
3. Click Yes in the dialog “Delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings file?”

Method 3. Increase Virtual Memory (Paging file).

If there is not enough RAM available to serve the memory requirements of the various programs, this can lead to the error “”Could not import the clipboard because an unexpected end-of-file was encountered”. To bypass this problem, proceed and increase the Windows Virtual Memory (Paging file), as instructed below:

1. Press Windows + R keys to open the run command box.
2. Type sysdm.cpl & click OK.

3. At Advanced tab select Performance Settings.

4. At Performance Options, click the Advanced tab and then click Change.

5. In “Virtual Memory” window:

a. Uncheck the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives checkbox.
b. Select the Custom Size option.

c. Now type into both the “İnitial size(MB)” and “Maximum size(MB)” boxes a value that is at least two or two and half (2,5) the amount of RAM installed on your System. *

* For example: If the installed RAM memory is 4GB (4096MB) then type: 8192 (2 x 4096 = 8192).

d. When done click Set and then click OK to apply changes and Restart your computer.

6. Open Photoshop and see if the error is gone.

Method 4. Fix Photoshop “Could import the clipboard…” issue in Registry. *

* Note: This solution applies only to the following Photoshop versions: Photoshop CC 2014, Photoshop CC 2015, Photoshop CC 2017 & Photoshop CC 2018.

1. Open Registry Editor: To do that:

a. Press Windows  + R keys to open the ‘Run’ command box.
b. Type sysdm.cpl & click OK.

2. Navigate to the following key at the left pane, according the installed Photoshop version:

• Photoshop CC 2018: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREAdobePhotoshop120.0
• Photoshop CC 2017:  HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREAdobePhotoshop110.0
• Photoshop CC 2015.5: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREAdobePhotoshop100.0
• Photoshop CC 2015: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREAdobePhotoshop90.0
• Photoshop CC 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREAdobePhotoshop80.0

3. At the right pane, right-click on an empty space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value

4. Name to the new value the name OverridePhysicalMemoryMB and press Enter.
5. Open the new value and…

a. Set Base as Decimal.
b. In the Value Data field, change the value from 0 to a numeric value that reflects your system’s physical memory in Megabytes.* When done, click OK. 

* For example: if you have 4GB RAM type 4096, for 8 GB type 8192, for 16GB type 16384, etc.

6. Close Registry Editor and open Photoshop.

Final Notes: If after following the above methods the problem persists, try to the following:

1. Run Disk Cleanup and delete all the temporary and the useless files.
2. Make sure that you have enough free space on the scratch disk you ‘re using or change the scratch disk (Edit > Preferences > Scratch disks).
3. Update Photoshop.

That’s all folks! Did it work for you?
Please leave a comment in the comment section below or even better: like and share this blog post in the social networks to help spread the word about this solution.

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Konstantinos Tsoukalas

Konstantinos is the founder and administrator of Repairwin.com. Since 1995 he works and provides IT support as a computer and network expert to individuals and large companies. He is specialized in solving problems related to Windows or other Microsoft products (Windows Server, Office, Microsoft 365, etc.).

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