Clipboard.SetDataObject Method (Object, Boolean)

If the copy parameter is false, the data will be deleted from system Clipboard when the application exits.

This method attempts to set the data ten times in 100-millisecond intervals, and throws an ExternalException if all attempts are unsuccessful.

Note

An object must be serializable for it to be put on the Clipboard. If you pass a non-serializable object to this method, it will fail without throwing an exception. See System.Runtime.Serialization for more information on serialization. The Clipboard class can only be used in threads set to single thread apartment (STA) mode. To use this class, ensure that your Main method is marked with the STAThreadAttribute attribute.

The following method is run in an application. It places a persistent copy of the selected text data in the text box on the system Clipboard. This code assumes button1, textBox1, and textBox2 have been created and placed on a form.

private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) {
    // Takes the selected text from a text box and puts it on the clipboard. 
    if(textBox1.SelectedText != "")
       Clipboard.SetDataObject(textBox1.SelectedText, true);
    else
       textBox2.Text = "No text selected in textBox1";
 }

In a different application, the following method retrieves the text from the system Clipboard and pastes the text into textBox2. This code assumes button2 and textBox2 have been created and placed on a form.

private void button2_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) {
    // Declares an IDataObject to hold the data returned from the clipboard. 
    // Retrieves the data from the clipboard.
    IDataObject iData = Clipboard.GetDataObject();

    // Determines whether the data is in a format you can use. 
    if(iData.GetDataPresent(DataFormats.Text)) {
       // Yes it is, so display it in a text box.
       textBox2.Text = (String)iData.GetData(DataFormats.Text); 
    }
    else {
       // No it is not.
       textBox2.Text = "Could not retrieve data off the clipboard.";
    }
 }

.NET Framework

.NET Framework Client Profile

• UIPermission 

  for adding data to the system Clipboard that is of type String or is in one of the following data formats: Text, UnicodeText, or CommaSeparatedValue. Associated enumeration: UIPermissionClipboard.OwnClipboard

• UIPermission 

  for adding data of any type or format to the system Clipboard. Associated enumeration: UIPermissionClipboard.AllClipboard

Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role supported with SP1 or later; Itanium not supported)

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Reference