Windows Clipboard

What is Windows Clipboard?

The Windows Clipboard is a block of system memory that can be used to store temporarily data. Multiple memory objects can be in the clipboard. Each memory object on the clipboard can be in any data format, called a clipboard format. Each format is identified by an unsigned integer value. Once the data has been copied to the clipboard it can be pasted into another location.

The clipboard is a built-in Windows component that works transparently. When you copy or cut, the data is put onto it by the application you are working on. When you paste, the application you are working on retrieves the needed data for you.

How does Windows Clipboard work?

You typically carry out clipboard operations by choosing commands from an application's Edit menu. Following is a brief description of the standard clipboard commands.

Cut Places a copy of the current selection on the clipboard and deletes the selection from the document. The previous content of the clipboard is destroyed.
Copy Places a copy of the current selection on the clipboard. The document remains unchanged. The previous content of the clipboard is destroyed.
Paste Replaces the current selection with the content of the clipboard. The content of the clipboard is not changed.

Limitations of Windows Clipboard

The cut / copy / paste capability of Windows Clipboard works well for transferring a single item of data but is not useful if you want to move a lot of data or keep data longer than until your next cut or copy. Windows overwrites the Clipboard whether you were ready or not.