Why am I unable to copy graphs and tables from Stata into other applications?

Some users may experience problems with pasting graphs and tables from Stata to other applications.

Beginning with Stata 10 for Macintosh, Stata copies images to the Clipboard in the PDF format for the best possible output. However, some legacy applications such as Microsoft Office 2004 only support pasting of images from the Clipboard in the PICT format. This can cause problems for users who attempt to copy an image within Stata and paste the image to another application. If you are unable to copy images from Stata to your application, open the General Preferences dialog and check the Copy Images to the Clipboard as PICT checkbox.

The PICT format does not support rotated text and has been deprecated by Apple in favor of the PDF format. Rotated text in a Stata graph will appear horizontal on the pasted PICT image. If possible, we encourage you to upgrade the application to which you are pasting Stata output or graphs to one that supports Clipboard data in the PDF format, such as Microsoft Office 2008. Once you have upgraded your application, uncheck the Copy Images to the Clipboard as PICT checkbox in Stata so that Stata will copy images to the Clipboard in the PDF format for the best possible output.