The Windows clipboard is a standard and general-purpose mechanism for exchanging data between different applications. Its use is straightforward, based on the simple idea of holding a single selection of data on the ‘clipboard’ – a common area of memory managed by Windows. This metaphor is exploited through three simple actions, based on the current position or selection in an application:
Copy: places a copy of the currently selected data on the clipboard, replacing anything previously placed there.
Cut: places a copy of the currently selected data on the clipboard, replacing anything previously placed there, then deletes the original as if it were ‘moved’ to the clipboard.
Paste: inserts the contents of the clipboard at the current position.
Some applications place several copies of a selection on the clipboard, in a variety of formats, e.g., formatted or plain text from a word-processor. When you select Paste in an application, it usually selects the richest format it can understand (if any) so, for example, a word-processor will paste formatted text rather than plain text. Some applications provide a
Paste Special command which lets you choose which of the available formats on the clipboard should be used.