Clipboard Transfer Not Working

Symptoms

Something you copy on one side of a Full Control session cannot be pasted on the other side: text, an image, or files and folders. Or the transfer works only sometimes, only in one direction, or from one computer but not from another.

Most of these cases are not faults but the way clipboard transfer is designed to work. Go through the causes below; each comes with a check or a fix.

How Clipboard Transfer Works

The clipboard is synchronized in Full Control mode only. In View Only mode nothing is transferred.
Text and formatted text are transferred automatically, in both directions.
Files and folders are transferred automatically, in both directions, since Remote Utilities 7.9 for Windows and 2.1.1 for macOS and Linux.
Images are never transferred automatically. They need the Get remote clipboard or Set remote clipboard command.
Only what you copy during the session is transferred automatically.
Nothing is pasted by itself. The transfer only fills the clipboard on the other side; you paste where you need it.

The Get remote clipboard and Set remote clipboard commands are in the Full Control window menu ( Additional commands icon ). Get remote clipboard takes what is in the clipboard of the remote computer right now and puts it into yours; Set remote clipboard does the opposite. Both work with text, images and files. See Get and Set the Remote Clipboard Manually.

Causes and Solutions

The session is in View Only mode

Clipboard transfer works in Full Control mode only. Switch the session to Full Control and copy again. After switching back from View Only, use Get remote clipboard or Set remote clipboard if you want to be sure what is on the other side.

You are copying an image

An image copied in one program does not reach the other side by itself, in either direction, on any version. After copying it, choose Get remote clipboard for an image copied on the Host, or Set remote clipboard for an image copied on your computer, then paste it into a program on the other side.

To test, use a small picture copied in Paint (or another image editor), not an image copied from a web browser or a full-screen capture. If text does not go through in the same session either, clipboard transfer is blocked as a whole: check the Viewer and Host settings below.

The content was copied before the session started

Automatic transfer sends only what changes during the session. Whatever was already in the clipboard when you connected, or when the Host or Viewer was started, stays where it is. Copy it again, or, if it is still in the clipboard, choose Set remote clipboard to send it to the Host, or Get remote clipboard to fetch something copied on the Host before you connected.

The paste came too early

The clipboard arrives on the other side a fraction of a second after you copy on a fast link, later on a slow one. If a paste produces the previous content, wait a moment and paste again. On a Mac allow about five seconds before pasting.

Automatic synchronization is turned off in the Viewer

In the Viewer go to Tools→Options→Remote screen and check Do not automatically synchronize clipboard. When it is selected, nothing moves on its own in either direction, and Get remote clipboard and Set remote clipboard are the only way to transfer the clipboard. Clear the option to restore automatic transfer. See Viewer options.

Clipboard transfer is disabled on the Host

On the remote computer, open Settings for Host→Other and check Disable clipboard transfer. It can block the clipboard In both directions or Host-to-Viewer only. In the blocked direction neither the automatic transfer nor the Get remote clipboard and Set remote clipboard commands work. If you are away from the Host, you can change its settings from the Viewer; see Remote settings and Host options.

Files: one side runs an older version

Files and folders go through the clipboard only when both the Viewer and the Host run Remote Utilities 7.9 or later on Windows, or 2.1.1 or later on macOS and Linux. An older Viewer or Host simply never sees files in the clipboard, while text keeps working. Update both sides; see Update Remote Utilities.

Files: File Transfer is not allowed

Files through the clipboard obey the same permissions as the File Transfer mode. The File Transfer mode must be allowed on the Host (Settings for Host→Modes), and the account you connect with must have permission to use it. Otherwise the files are not offered to the other side, or the paste ends with an error.

Files: the Viewer for Linux has no fuse3 package

The Viewer for Linux needs the fuse3 package to receive files from a Host. The installer recommends it; if it was skipped, install fuse3 with your distribution's package manager.

Files: the session window was not active when you copied

Files copied on your computer are offered to the Host only while the session window is active, so that your copies are not exposed to every connected Host. Copying while another window has the focus is fine: the files are offered when you return to the session window.

Files: pasted into a program that cannot receive them

The receiving side gets the files only at the moment of pasting, and only some programs can take them that way:

Windows: paste in File Explorer, in a folder or on the desktop. Programs that accept only files already on disk, such as Telegram or WhatsApp, do not see files from the other side. Paste the files into a folder first and attach them from there.
macOS: paste in Finder. Finder shows "Preparing to copy" without a progress bar until the file has arrived; that is not a hang. A program that reads the pasted file by itself, such as Mail or a chat app, gets an empty file until the same files have been pasted in Finder once.
Linux: paste in any file manager.

Clipboard or screen-capture software on the Host

A screenshot tool, clipboard manager or similar program running on the Host can take over the clipboard there, so that what you copy never reaches Remote Utilities, even with Get remote clipboard. This has been confirmed with Greenshot, which shows an "Exported to: Copy to clipboard" notice when it does so. Clipboard managers, comparison tools and text expanders on either computer can have the same effect.

To check, exit such programs on the Host (usually from their tray icon) and repeat the test: copy a small picture in Paint on the Host, choose Get remote clipboard, and paste into Paint on your computer. If the transfer now works, change the program's settings so that it no longer takes over the clipboard (for a screenshot tool: what the Print Screen key does and where a capture is sent), or keep it closed while you work remotely.

It works from one computer but not from another

The Host is a virtual machine. If one computer seems to get images or other content without any command, check whether the Host is a virtual machine running on that computer. The hypervisor's own shared clipboard then carries the content, not Remote Utilities. To check, close the session window, copy something new on the Host and try to paste it on that computer. If it still pastes, the clipboard is not going through Remote Utilities, and the results from that computer do not show how clipboard transfer behaves elsewhere.
Only one Viewer is affected. If other Viewers transfer the clipboard to and from the same Host, the problem is on that Viewer computer. Check its Viewer option above and any clipboard software on it.

Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V do nothing, but Get and Set work

If Get remote clipboard and Set remote clipboard transfer the content correctly, the clipboard channel is fine and the keystrokes are not reaching the remote computer. See Certain keys not working in Full Control mode.

The place on the remote computer does not accept pasting

The Windows sign-in screen, a UAC prompt, a program running as a different user, a virtual machine console and similar places do not accept pasting at all. For text, copy it on your computer and choose Send clipboard as keystrokes in the Full Control window menu: the Viewer types the text into the remote computer as if you had typed it. Make sure the right input field has the focus first. See Clipboard Transfer.

You are connecting from the mobile app

The mobile app transfers text, including formatted text, in both directions. Images and files are not transferred; copying files through the clipboard is a feature of the desktop Viewer and Host.

Still Not Working?

Make sure the Viewer and the Host both run the latest version, then contact support with the versions and operating systems on both sides, what you copy and in which direction, and, if possible, a short video of the attempt.

Tags: Features