Clipboard.ContainsData(String) Method

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System.Windows.Forms

Assembly:: System.Windows.Forms.dll

Important

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Indicates whether there is data on the Clipboard that is in the specified format or can be converted to that format.

public:
 static bool ContainsData(System::String ^ format);

public static bool ContainsData (string format);

public static bool ContainsData (string? format);

static member ContainsData : string -> bool

Public Shared Function ContainsData (format As String) As Boolean

Parameters

format: String

The format of the data to look for. See DataFormats for predefined formats.

Returns

Boolean

true if there is data on the Clipboard that is in the specified format or can be converted to that format; otherwise, false.

Exceptions

ExternalException

The Clipboard could not be cleared. This typically occurs when the Clipboard is being used by another process.

ThreadStateException

The current thread is not in single-threaded apartment (STA) mode. Add the STAThreadAttribute to your application's Main method.

Examples

The following example demonstrates this member.

// Demonstrates SetData, ContainsData, and GetData.
public Object SwapClipboardFormattedData(String format, Object data)
{
    Object returnObject = null;
    if (Clipboard.ContainsData(format))
    {
        returnObject = Clipboard.GetData(format);
        Clipboard.SetData(format, data);
    }
    return returnObject;
}

' Demonstrates SetData, ContainsData, and GetData.
Public Function SwapClipboardFormattedData( _
    ByVal format As String, ByVal data As Object) As Object

    Dim returnObject As Object = Nothing

    If (Clipboard.ContainsData(format)) Then
        returnObject = Clipboard.GetData(format)
        Clipboard.SetData(format, data)
    End If

    Return returnObject

End Function

Remarks

The DataFormats class contains pre-defined format names that you can use with this method.

Use this method to determine whether the Clipboard contains data in the specified format or a compatible format before retrieving it with the GetData method.

Note

Data can be converted to another format if it was stored specifying that conversion is allowed, and if the requested format is compatible with the stored format. For example, data stored as Unicode can be converted to text.

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.

Applies to