FIX "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again" in Excel. (Solved)

In this tutorial you'll find instructions to fix Microsoft's Excel problem during copy-paste from an Online Excel file : "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again".

Microsoft Excel is a powerful software used to store, analyze and present data. Unfortunately, however, sometimes after copying data from another spreadsheet, appears the message "Retrieving data. Please wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again"and the user is unable to paste the copied data.

Why Does This Error Occur?

Usually, the "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again" message appears when you try to copy data from an online MS Excel version and paste them into the desktop version of Excel.

The error is caused because after copying, the copied data become for some reason corrupted or unavailable (e.g. due to a bad internet connection) and Excel cannot access them.

The problem has been reported repeatedly for several years, but Microsoft has never issued a hotfix or patch. Fortunately, below we list some solutions that will help you fix the Excel error "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again".

How to fix: Excel "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again".

Method 1: Deselect the Copied Text and Repeat the Copy-Paste Process.

The simplest way to fix the mentioned problem is to unselect the data that you want to copy, to wait a few seconds and then to copy and paste the data again.

Unfortunately, while this solution is usually successful, it does not permanently eliminate the "Retrieving Data, please wait…" error, which is annoying when you want to do a lot of data copying. If you are looking for a permanent solution, you should proceed to the next methods.

Method 2: Open the File With the Desktop Version of Excel

The most functional method to permanently solve the "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again" in Microsoft Excel, is to download the Online Excel file locally, to open it with the desktop version of Excel and perform the copying. To do that:

1. In the Online Excel app, click the File menu…

2. …and select Save as > Download a copy and download a copy of the Excel worksheet on your PC.

3. Then click to open the downloaded Excel file with the desktop version of Microsoft Excel.

4. Click on the Enable Editing option to get started with editing the document.

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5. Now try to copy or cut the cells. You won't get the "Retrieving data. Wait a few seconds and try to cut or copy again" error.

Method 3: Clear Browser's Cached Images & Files

Another possible cause of this error is the temporary cached images and files stored on your computer by your browser.

To delete the temporary Internet files in your browser:

1.  Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to open the Clear browsing data window.

2. Select All Time, then leave only the Cached images and files selected, and click Clear Data.

3. Restart your browser, re-open the online excel file and try to copy-paste again.

Method 4: Use a Different Browser

If the problem is not fixed, with the above methods, try with another browser and see if the problem persists. The error is most commonly reported on Internet Explorer and Edge browsers so you should try using Chrome or Firefox instead.

That's it! Which method worked for you?
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