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Copying and Pasting Text

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Tegan
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You can copy and paste text between your computer and the remote computer in both directions while you’re connected.

  • Only plain text is supported. Formatting such as bold, fonts and colours is lost when you paste.
  • Images and files can’t be copied and pasted. To move files, see Transferring Files Between Computers.

Keyboard shortcuts

Use the normal shortcuts for whichever computer you’re copying from or pasting to:

Platform Copy Paste
Windows CTRL+C CTRL+V
Mac CMD+C CMD+V
Mac, controlled from a Windows or Linux computer ALT+C ALT+V

Copying text from your computer to the remote computer

  1. On your computer, select the text and copy it.
  2. In the RealVNC window, click where you want the text to go.
  3. Paste using the shortcut for the remote computer.

Copying text from the remote computer to your computer

  1. In the RealVNC window, select the text and copy it using the shortcut for the remote computer.
  2. On your computer, click where you want the text to go.
  3. Paste using the shortcut for your computer.

Other users can see what you copy

Anything you copy on the remote computer is available to everyone connected to it at the same time, not just you.

Sending text as keystrokes

Some screens on the remote computer won’t accept pasted text. The most common example is the Windows sign-in or lock screen. For these, RealVNC can type the text in for you, one keystroke at a time.

  1. In the RealVNC window, click the field you want to fill on the remote computer.
  2. Press F8 to open the shortcut menu.
  3. Choose Send Clipboard as Keystrokes or Send Password as Keystrokes.
    RealVNC shortcut menu with Send Clipboard as Keystrokes and Send Password as Keystrokes highlighted
    The F8 shortcut menu at the Windows sign-in screen

Check the selected field first

The text is typed into whichever field is selected on the remote computer. Check you’ve selected the right field first, so you don’t type your password somewhere it can be seen.

Send Clipboard as Keystrokes

Types the text currently copied on your computer. Available in RealVNC Viewer 7.12.0 and later.

Works best with English text

Send Clipboard as Keystrokes works best with English letters, numbers and common symbols. Accented letters, other languages and emoji may be typed in the wrong place or left out.

When it’s available

By default, this option only appears while the remote computer is showing its sign-in or lock screen. RealVNC can only detect the sign-in screen when RealVNC Server is running in Service Mode on Windows. If the remote computer is a Mac or Linux computer, set ClipboardKeystrokesEnable to 1 (see below).

Changing when Send Clipboard as Keystrokes is available

The RealVNC Viewer parameter ClipboardKeystrokesEnable controls this:

  • 0 turns the option off.
  • 1 makes it available at all times.
  • 2 makes it available only at the sign-in or lock screen. This is the default.

To change it:

  1. Open the advanced settings:
    • RealVNC Connect: go to Settings > Outbound > Advanced.
    • RealVNC Classic Viewer: go to File > Preferences > Expert.
  2. Find ClipboardKeystrokesEnable in the list. You can type it into the filter box to find it quickly.
  3. Change the value:
    • RealVNC Connect: the change saves automatically.
    • RealVNC Classic Viewer: click Apply or OK.
  4. Close any open connections and reconnect.

For other ways to set this parameter, such as a configuration file or policy, see the RealVNC Viewer Parameter Reference.

Send Password as Keystrokes

Types the password you used to connect, so you don’t have to type it again at the Windows sign-in screen.

When it’s available

This option only appears while the remote computer is showing its sign-in or lock screen, and only when RealVNC Server is running in Service Mode on Windows. It disappears from the menu 30 seconds after you connect.

Troubleshooting

If copy and paste isn’t working, check the following:

  • Is the text larger than 256 KB? If so, the paste fails and whatever you copied before it is pasted instead. Try copying a smaller amount of text at a time.
  • Has copy and paste been turned off on the remote computer? RealVNC Server can block copy and paste for everyone or for particular users. If you have access, check Options > Users & Permissions in RealVNC Server. Also check that the RealVNC Server parameters AcceptCutText (pasting to the remote computer) and SendCutText (copying from it) are set to TRUE.
  • Has copy and paste been turned off in RealVNC Viewer? Check that the RealVNC Viewer parameters ClientCutText (pasting to the remote computer) and ServerCutText (copying from it) are set to TRUE. To find them, follow the steps in Changing when Send Clipboard as Keystrokes is available.
  • Is Caps Lock on? Caps Lock can stop keyboard shortcuts such as CTRL+V from working. Turn it off and try again, or see Keyboard shortcuts stop working in RealVNC Connect to change this behaviour.
  • Does the remote computer support the language of the text? If the remote computer can’t display the language you’re pasting, the text won’t come out correctly.
  • Are you pasting at the Windows sign-in or lock screen? Normal paste doesn’t work there. Use Send Clipboard as Keystrokes instead (see Sending text as keystrokes).
  • Are the characters coming out wrong when you send text as keystrokes? This can happen if your computer and the remote computer use different keyboard layouts, for example UK and US. Symbols such as @, " and £ are the most likely to be affected. Make sure both computers use the same keyboard layout, or check the text after it’s been typed.
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