Copy Paste problem after installing VirtualBox 5.2.6

[JimBox]

Hi all,

After installing VirtualBox 5.2.6 I encountered a problem with the shared clipboard function.

Host: macOS High Sierra 10.13.2
Guest: Windows 10 Pro, version 1709, Build 16299.192
Guest Edition version installed 5.2.6
Shared Clipboard setting: Bidirectional

The problem: Before VirtualBox 5.2.6 I could copy text from a website in the guest browser and paste it in the host browser / other applications. After installing 5.2.6 this doesn't work anymore. BUT I can copy text from the address bar and text from web forms in the guest browser and paste them in the host browser or any other application on the host.

Copying from host to guest works fine.

I tried removing and installing the guest editions, changed the shared clipboard settings to guest to host and back again, but still I can't copy text from websites in the guest and paste them into the host. Any ideas how to solve this problem? As a workaround I copy and paste the text of a website in the address bar of the guest browser and then copy it so I can paste it in the host applications, but this is tiresome.

[socratis]

Before VirtualBox 5.2.6

How long ago? When was the last working version? If you downgrade to that, does it get fixed? There was a change in 5.2.2, that's the main reason I'm asking...

The only thing that you could copy/paste reliably was simple text. The fix in 5.2.2 fixed a *crash* in the clipboard if you were trying to copy/paste rich text. So, what you're seeing is most probably the aftermath of the bug fix. See: https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/15782

[JimBox]

Thanks for your reply socratis, much appreciated!

I installed VirtualBox 5.2.4 and the problem remained. Tried VirtualBox 5.1.32 and now it works again!

[isthisonetaken]

I had the same problem after upgrading from 5.1.X (can't remember, but pretty sure it was a 5.1 version) to 5.2.6 ... using Mac OS El Capitan as the host OS and Windows 7 as guest OS the copy/paste stopped working in either direction (regardless of the setting of "Devices -> Shared Clipboard") ... I tried upgrading the host OS to Mac OS Sierra and the "Shared Clipboard" feature still doesn't work.

I downgraded VirtualBox to 5.1.32 version and the clipboard is now working between the guest and host OSes

Also, not sure if it is related or just another "issue" ... but I noticed that with 5.2.6 in the guest OS the menu item "Devices -> Insert Guest Additions CD image..." does not auto-start the guest additions installer ... I had to open the CD image via the "Explorer" window and choose "Open Autoplay". With 5.1.32 the guest additions CD auto starts correctly.

[socratis]

@Everyone
I have to remind you once more that copy/paste works only for simple text; Notepad <-> TextEdit. If that fails, then attach a ZIPPED VBox.log.

@isthisonetaken
The auto-run is a guest feature, it has nothing to do with VirtualBox. I still get the notification that the CD was inserted, but it doesn't auto-run, because I've disabled it, from within the guest...

[DCC]

Thanks for this. I had previously been able to copy and paste from an application I was using, but since upgrade, not been able to. I copied into notepad and then to my mac host and it worked a treat.

[allendc]

I am also have a issue with VirtualBox 5.2.6 on a windows 7 64bit machine running Linux Ubuntu 64 bit.
I enabled Bi-directional copy/paste and have had not success in copying to windows Notepad from Linux Ubuntu gedit.
This worked fine in the prior release of VirtualBox, but I was running Linux Ubuntu 32 bit on the windows 7 64bit machine.

Thank you

David

[socratis]

You have a Windows host and a Linux guest.
You posted on a thread with an OSX host with a Windows guest.
You can't have the same problem exactly. Ticket #15782 was about a crash in the OSX and Linux hosts. So, please find an appropriate thread for your post. Or open a new one...

[blegh_enduser]

I am having this same issue with VirtualBox 5.2.6 running a Windows 10 guest on a OSX Host. The ability to copy formatted / rich text from MSOFFICE 2016 apps (along with others) to the host clipboard is no longer working however, as reported, plain text works without issue. From reading another thread, it was brought up that the copy/paste of formatted text was a 'bonus' feature of sorts and there was no guarantee of it working and it even causing crashes in prior versions. I did not want to insert myself into that debate and instead have begun looking for Windows 10 plugins/apps that would modify the Windows 10 clipboard directly into plain text upon the initial copy thinking this would also affect the host clipboard. So far I have only found things that will modify the pasting out of the clipboard once it makes it in so I have had no luck. Copy/pasting to a text editor then recopying is a bit tedious so if someone finds another workaround in the form of an app please let us know.

[mpack]

The ability to copy formatted / rich text from MSOFFICE 2016 apps (along with others) to the host clipboard is no longer working

"No longer"? As far as I know VirtualBox has never had any such feature. Looking at the source code (e.g. in VBoxClipboard-win.cpp (*)) I see explicit support for the following Windows clipboard formats: CF_TEXT (plain 8bit text), CF_UNICODETEXT (unicode text), CF_DIB (BMP/DIB), and CF_BITMAP (GDI bitmap).

No sign of CF_RTF, which is the rich text clipboard format: and I doubt very much that it was ever there.

(*) this is a host support API, but I expect support to be symmetrical, and I'm not qualified to understand OS X host APIs.

[socratis]

The change that was applied to address ticket #15782, is in changeset 69635. It actually modified the HostService, not anything in the guest's code, but I do see a "VBOX_SHARED_CLIPBOARD_FMT_UNICODETEXT", a "VBOX_SHARED_CLIPBOARD_FMT_BITMAP" and a "VBOX_SHARED_CLIPBOARD_FMT_HTML". I'm not sure if the code should first attempt to read the HTML format and last the Unicode text. From the check-in description:

HostServices/SharedClipboard: allow hosts to request data in multiple formats.
bugref:9041: clipboard sharing on macOS host is brittle, Guest->Host direction

When a guest announces clipboard data available in multiple formats, the Darwin host clipboard sends a request for data with all formats combined, but the Additions can only service a request for a single format. This change makes the service code split the combined request up into several single format requests.

BTW, I don't know what MSOffice is doing (don't have it), but from/to LibreOffice on Linux Mint to/from LibreOffice on OSX:

Normal, Bold, Italic, Underlined, Bold Italic, Bold Underlined, Italic Underlined, Bold Italic Underlined, Normal

comes out as:

Normal, Bold, Italic, Underlined, Bold Italic, Bold Underlined, Italic Underlined, Bold Italic Underlined, Normal

There is text, just not formatted text.

[andyp73]

Just run a quick test with VirtualBox 5.2.6 running on macOS 10.13.3 with a Windows 10 release 1709 guest using the formatted text from socratis with MS Word for Mac (which I have ) and to and from Wordpad under Windows copies just as plain text.

-Andy.

[blegh_enduser]

The ability to copy formatted / rich text from MSOFFICE 2016 apps (along with others) to the host clipboard is no longer working

"No longer"? As far as I know VirtualBox has never had any such feature.

My apologies... I should have clarified that when copying formatted / rich text from MSOFFICE 2016 apps on my Windows 10 guest, it used to show up on my host OSX clipboard as plain text allowing me to paste to my host app of choice as plain text. Now, it seems that it never makes it at all. Only copying plain text ever makes it to my OSX host. Intended programmatically or not, this is new behavior. While the debate continues of what should be or not, I am just curious to know if anyone has a more efficient work around than pasting to a guest text editor then copy/pasting again. As a long time user of VirtualBox I suppose I get set in my ways and would prefer not to use anything else

[mpack]

It's hard to imagine what the VirtualBox bug would be that causes this change. You say that you can successfully copy from a plain text editor to the clipboard and the host sees it. Well, that proves that VirtualBox is still detecting CF_TEXT availability and passing it to the host. If you no longer can paste text from Word2016 then the only explanation I can think of is that Word2016 no longer offers CF_TEXT - so the change must be in Word, not in VirtualBox.

What is the "guest text editor" that accepts pastes from Word2016? Is this third party, or is it Microsoft's own latest Notepad? (i.e. Word2016-aware notepad).

It would be useful to run a clipboard viewer in the guest, i.e. a simple one which just lists the available formats. It would be useful to see what the difference is between the Word2016 offering and the text editor one. I suspect the answer may turn out to be that word offers unicode text and the text editor doesn't.

Is there an OS X text editor that understands Unicode text?

[andyp73]

Is there an OS X text editor that understands Unicode text?

jEdit claims to!

-Andy.