Copying From Product Description - Pastes as HTML on Poshmark, Etsy, and Google Search Bar

[Meggy_b]

Hello, since this last week my copy and paste function has been jacked up. For the past two years, I have been copying and pasting Product Descriptions to Etsy and Poshmark, and it has worked perfectly fine. Recently, this past week it pastes as an HTML rather than the original text. It's really frustrating.  It works completely fine on Ebay and a Google Doc, but when I paste it to Etsy, Poshmark, a Search Bar, Google's Search Bar; it pastes as an HTML. Is there anyway I can change it back. It has been hindering me by ten-fold. Please let me know. Anything

Helps!

[HSDCo]

I have been suffering from the same issue since last week. It's very frustrating. I hope a fix will be shared soon.

[PGDV]

Having the same issue, Shopify support says that the technical team is looking into it. 

[DeltaSwankyGirl]

I'm having the same problem!! Has anyone helped you with this issue?? It's very frustrating!!!

[PGDV]

Not yet.. in the meanwhile I'm using a free tool (https://www.striphtml.com/). 

[Victoria · Accepted solution]

Hi, @DeltaSwankyGirl.

Thanks for joining the thread! 

After doing some digging, it looks as though the HTML being pasted is expected behavior. I understand this is not ideal, so I'll go ahead and submit your feedback to our product development team for review. You can keep an eye on our Shopify Changelog for updates to the platform. In the meantime as a workaround, you can try using an HTML stripper to remove the HTML.

[DeltaSwankyGirl]

It just started this week, it has never done it in the past!

[Texas_Woods]

I'm disappointed that it's an intentional change. Can we know the reason? Maybe that will help us adjust.. at least, it will help me if there is a benefit that can be explained. 

I've just returned to Shopify after a 3 month break in new product additions. It has been extremely frustrating dealing with this change. I first assumed user error and spent an hour troubleshooting that. Then it occurred to me to search online to see if it was a reported bug / feature. Indeed it is. Sadness.

I've already tried changing my workflows to make this in-line with my current process. That did not work. I'm now having to go through and modify spreadsheets to make this work for me again, rather than getting back to the business of adding new products. 

How does this new feature help us, please?

Thanks.

[chrisngrod1]

Dashboard change and this.  Two things I doubt anyone asked for.

Developers... look... We did work!  New "features"!

Developer reverts work later on... We did work!  New "features"!

[LouPa]

Hello Victoria, 

Any update on this? The problem is still occurring and if it's fixed, it's likely to save us days and days of time. We are filling out meta fields and it often pastes the html version of the text. An html stripper does work, but with hundreds and hundreds of product listings we are going to be spending too much time on this. 

Thanks

[EcoJaden]

Hi there Victoria, is there any update on this issue?

[LouPa]

I found a way round this - it's not perfect but it does help. Go to Products and select all the items you want to copy text from by clicking in the little box to the left of it. Select bulk edit, and in the top right corner click the little button to allow you to choose which columns are visible. If you select the description tab you can find and copy the text and it doesn't have html attached. This saved us many hours. 

[LouPa]

I am surprised to see that this reply is the 'accepted solution' - simply stating that it's meant to happen. This doesn't help all the people struggling with it. 

Try this people (also pasted above): 
Go to Products and select all the items you want to copy text from by clicking in the little box to the left of it. Select bulk edit, and in the top right corner click the little button to allow you to choose which columns are visible. If you select the description tab you can find and copy the text and it doesn't have html attached. This saved us many hours. 

[DanKSSca]

Same issue here.  I contacted Plus Support yesterday and they were unable to duplicate the issue?  Makes no sense as all our work computers and my home computer show the same issue.  It is strange that Shopify would do this because if I wanted to copy HTML I would just click into HTML display and copy that.  Clearly the WYSIWYG is WYSI not what you paste...LOL.

[AddictedToFab]

I'm having the same exact problem.  Every time I copy my description then try to paste it outside of Shopify, it turns into HTML format.  I've never had this problem before now.  It needs to be fixed please.