JavaScript get clipboard data on paste event (Cross browser)

Question

How can a web application detect a paste event and retrieve the data to be pasted?

I would like to remove HTML content before the text is pasted into a rich text edi

Answer 1

This one does not use any setTimeout().

I have used this great article to achieve cross browser support.

$(document).on("focus", "input[type=text],textarea", function (e) {
    var t = e.target;
    if (!$(t).data("EventListenerSet")) {
        //get length of field before paste
        var keyup = function () {
            $(this).data("lastLength", $(this).val().length);
        };
        $(t).data("lastLength", $(t).val().length);
        //catch paste event
        var paste = function () {
            $(this).data("paste", 1);//Opera 11.11+
        };
        //process modified data, if paste occured
        var func = function () {
            if ($(this).data("paste")) {
                alert(this.value.substr($(this).data("lastLength")));
                $(this).data("paste", 0);
                this.value = this.value.substr(0, $(this).data("lastLength"));
                $(t).data("lastLength", $(t).val().length);
            }
        };
        if (window.addEventListener) {
            t.addEventListener('keyup', keyup, false);
            t.addEventListener('paste', paste, false);
            t.addEventListener('input', func, false);
        }
        else {//IE
            t.attachEvent('onkeyup', function () {
                keyup.call(t);
            });
            t.attachEvent('onpaste', function () {
                paste.call(t);
            });
            t.attachEvent('onpropertychange', function () {
                func.call(t);
            });
        }
        $(t).data("EventListenerSet", 1);
    }
}); 

This code is extended with selection handle before paste: demo