Writing a string to NSPasteBoard

Question

I cannot get this method to return YES:

- (BOOL) writeToPasteBoard:(NSString *)stringToWrite
{
    return [pasteBoard setString:stringToWrite forType:NSStringPboardType];
}

I have verified that stringToWrite is coming through properly, the method just always returns NO.

Any ideas?

Here is the rest of the class:

@interface ClipBoard : NSObject {
    NSPasteboard *pasteBoard;
}

- (BOOL) writeToPasteBoard:(NSString *)stringToWrite;
- (NSString *) readFromPasteBoard;
@end

@implementation ClipBoard
- (id) init
{
    [super init];
    pasteBoard = [NSPasteboard generalPasteboard];
    return self;
}

- (BOOL) writeToPasteBoard:(NSString *)stringToWrite
{
    return [pasteBoard setString:stringToWrite forType:NSStringPboardType];
}

- (NSString *) readFromPasteBoard
{
    return [pasteBoard stringForType:NSStringPboardType];
}

@end

Answer 1

Here is the working version of the method:

- (BOOL) writeToPasteBoard:(NSString *)stringToWrite
{
    [pasteBoard declareTypes:[NSArray arrayWithObject:NSStringPboardType] owner:nil];
    return [pasteBoard setString:stringToWrite forType:NSStringPboardType];
}

Answer 2

Swift 2:

Copy a string to the general pasteboard with Swift 2:

let pasteboard = NSPasteboard.generalPasteboard()
pasteboard.declareTypes([NSPasteboardTypeString], owner: nil)
pasteboard.setString("Hello", forType: NSPasteboardTypeString)

Answer 3

Apple is suggesting people move away from NSStringPboardType and use NSPasteboardTypeString instead.

Answer 4

As of 10.6, the following implementation is also possible:

- (BOOL) writeToPasteBoard:(NSString *)stringToWrite
{
    [pasteBoard clearContents];
    return [pasteBoard writeObjects:[NSArray arrayWithObject:stringToWrite]];
}

It's important to notice that #clearContents has to be called before something new can be written to the pasteboard, otherwise #writeObjects: keeps returning NO.

The new #writeObjects: methods is possible for objects that conform to the NSPasteboardWriting protocol. There's also an NSPasteboardReading Protocol, but using it wouldn't make the implementation any simpler.

Answer 5

Before you copy a string on NSPasteboard it's better to clear the contents and then save.

Swift 4

    // Set string
    NSPasteboard.general.clearContents()
    NSPasteboard.general.setString("I copied a string", forType: .string)
    // Read copied string
    NSPasteboard.general.string(forType: .string)

Objective-C

    // Set string
    [[NSPasteboard generalPasteboard] clearContents];
    [[NSPasteboard generalPasteboard] setString:@"I copied a string" forType:NSPasteboardTypeString];
    // Read string
    [[NSPasteboard generalPasteboard] stringForType:NSPasteboardTypeString];

And also there are other available types for copying items on NSPasteboard. Like:

• NSPasteboardTypeString
• NSPasteboardTypePDF
• NSPasteboardTypeTIFF
• NSPasteboardTypePNG
• NSPasteboardTypeRTF

You can find more details on https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nspasteboardtype.

Answer 6

Swift 4 version:

NSPasteboard.general.clearContents()
NSPasteboard.general.setString("Hello World", forType: .string)

Answer 7

For the record, to copy a string to the system clipboard, you can use

NSPasteboard *pasteBoard = [NSPasteboard generalPasteboard];
[pasteBoard declareTypes:[NSArray arrayWithObject:NSStringPboardType] owner:nil];
[pasteBoard setString:string forType:NSStringPboardType];

Answer 8

This works on Mojave 10.14.5 and does not use any deprecated APIs:

NSPasteboard *pasteboard = [NSPasteboard generalPasteboard];
[pasteboard declareTypes:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:NSPasteboardTypeString, nil] owner:nil];
[pasteboard setString:@"Hello clipboard!" forType:NSPasteboardTypeString];