Correct — copy and paste, and manual retyping, both break the digital link and are not permitted. This surprises people because a copy-paste feels digital, but the rule is about an unbroken automated chain, and a human hand in the middle breaks it regardless of the technology involved. Acceptable links include formulas within or between spreadsheets, linked cells, CSV or XML import and export, emailing a file that is then imported, and API connections. The soft-landing period that temporarily tolerated copy-paste ended in April 2021, so there is no grace left. Where we find breaks, they are almost always in the same place: a till, a booking system or a sales platform whose totals someone keys in weekly. That hop is what needs automating.