Clipboard Copy, Cut and Paste

The following clipboard commands do not open an edit window in the Script Editor. These commands are inserted directly into the script. No modifications are required. Expand the Clipboard category in the Script Editor and select the command needed.

Clipboard Copy

Clipboard Copy is the same as issuing a Ctrl + c in Windows. It copies to the clipboard whatever is selected (highlighted). This function should follow commands in the macro script that highlight the text or image.

Clipboard Cut

Clipboard Cut is the equivalent of issuing a Ctrl + x in Windows. It deletes the selected (highlighted) text or image and copies it to the Windows clipboard. Follow this command by saving the clipboard contents to a variable or issuing a clipboard paste command.

Clipboard Empty

This command clears or empties the clipboard of all its contents.

Clipboard Paste

Clipboard Paste is the same as issuing a Ctrl + v in Windows. The Paste command inserts the contents of the Windows clipboard into the application currently running.

Clipboard Start Copy / Clipboard End Copy

The Clipboard Start Copy command instructs the macro to consider anything that follows in the macro to be copied to the clipboard. It copies everything in the script to the clipboard until it finds the Clipboard End Copy command.

In most cases the Text Type command is much more convenient than using the Clipboard Start Copy and Clipboard End Copy commands. Insert the text into the Text Type command and select the Use Clipboard and Paste Text option.

üNote 1: The Clipboard Copy, Cut and Paste commands will not work in applications that do not support the standard Windows shortcuts of Ctrl + c, Ctrl + x or Ctrl + v. Most applications support these Windows standards, but there are some that do not.

üNote 2: Windows requires a small amount of time to process a Clipboard function. If the macro is ignoring a copy, cut or paste during playback, the macro may be going faster than Windows can process the clipboard functions. 

To make sure the macro doesn't play too fast, click on Options > Preferences > Playback > Delays. Bump the default clipboard delay value from 250 milliseconds to a larger delay. Some experimentation may be necessary to determine the optimal value for the system. The other alternative is to insert a Delay after the clipboard command to allow Windows the necessary time.