Copy and Paste confirmed for 3rd party Windows Phone 7 apps also

January 6, 2011 | By Surur

There is a strange rumour going round that Copy and Paste will only be available for native Windows Phone 7 apps.

This statement from Charlie Kindel, Windows phone 7 general manager, should reassure everyone that this is not the case, and hopefully lay that rumour to rest in the weeks while we wait for the update to arrive on our devices.

See the tweet here.

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

Tagged copy and paste, update, windows phone 7

adamucf

Ummmm the demo they did at the presser was the annoying chick copying and pasting from OneNote into the (as yet unreleased) Amazon app…… People are just dumb.

http://twitter.com/danrivhor @danrivhor

You're totally right, but I still need to see the girl, I have seen many comments about that girl
http://twitter.com/adamzea @adamzea

Yeah, but can you copy from something like the Twitter app into OneNote? I think that was the question.

http://twitter.com/thedavidk @thedavidk

the question is where you can copy from, not where you can paste to as outlined here: http://mobilitydigest.com/windows-phone-copy-and-…
The exact wording of MSs statement on the availablity of copy and paste is this:
Soon you’ll be able to copy text from emails, text messages, web pages, and Office Mobile documents, and paste it anywhere you can type.
Notice that the things you can copy from are all native? The paste is clearly everywhere but the copying has been the question. And OneNote is native
jimski

No, the demo was a copy/paste from a Microsoft app to a third party app. Press release only mentioned, email, messaging and Office apps. If they had copied from Amazon to OneNote there would have been no questions or speculation.

With everyone waiting in nervous anticipation for something that should have already been in there, I can understand their anxiety. Although I assumed it meant everything.

sab0tage

I think it will depend on how the app is written, I suspect you will be able to copy text from textblocks and textboxes rather than other controls such as labels.

David

No, it's not as dumb as you suggest. These "dumb" people who raised the question included several experienced WP7 developers. It was clear you can paste in the 3rd party apps, but some things suggested you cannot copy from them. It's great this wasn't confirmed.
Vinnie

The man's words were "of course C&P will work in silverlight WP7 apps." C&P as in COPY AND PASTE. He didn't just say "you can paste into Silverlight WP7 apps." Now stop worrying.
brian dunnington

in a follow-up post, Charlie Kindel said: "@smartyp It's really simple: There is no copy & paste API in WP7 update. Edit controls just get end user behavior automatically #wp7dev"

note the 'Edit controls…' – combined with the native-only wording on the update info page, it definitely sounds like you can only *copy* from native apps OR 'edit' controls, which probably only includes textboxes (not counting anything copied from stuff rendered in a WebBrowser control). that was my original question – can you copy normal text from 3rd party apps, such as the the text of a tweet – the answer is still not confirmed but it is looking like a no.

(also, it is rumored that the copy/paste functionality in the Messaging (SMS) app is different than that demoed. the MS update page even says 'In many cases you just tap a word…' when referring to how you use the feature, which would seem to mean that there are some cases where that is not true. if plain text was not automatically copyable by the OS, this would also explain this strange inconsistency)

oslik

It will probably work with standard text boxes and some other enclosed controls.

But it's a bad news for me, because I planned to use a custom text box control in one of my theoretically possible (vaporware future apps. Perhaps some solution will mysteriously appear.

http://www.facebook.com/chris.woelfel Chris Woelfel

I swear I want to slap people. Seriously people. SERIOUSLY!
Milad

is Microsoft going to lay an egg again? wouldn't be the first time.
oslik

Full clipboard API creates a way for the automatic inter-app communication. There is a premise that Microsoft wants to maintain a strict app sandboxing, although even now can apps share a pictures hub, for example, and exchange data by camouflage them as pictures.

So some devs (for example, @vbandi is a person behind SurfCube) logically expected some limitations and both the CES demo and Microsoft's page suggested just one-way copying. The reality is even simpler – devs are going to get no clipboard control. Only built-in controls will use it.

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