Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V

[Matt0987]

I am running VB on a Windows 8 laptop. My VB OS is XP. I am running VB version 4.2.10 r84104.

Ctrl+C copies and Ctrl+V pastes. However, when I highlight copy in the VB, Ctrl+C, and then attempt to Ctrl+V in the host computer the paste does not work.

What have I missed in my set up?

Or, is it something else?

[mpack]

Copy and paste must be enabled in the VM settings. It will only work if the Guest Additions are installed in the Guest. And it will only copy text - not files.

You need to think of the host and the guest as independant PCs, as that is what they consider themselves. The free use of copy and paste between two PCs on a network is not as straightforward as you might assume. There are the security implications of full file access for a start.

If you want to copy files between host and guest then designate a host folder as a shared folder in the VM settings. Apply basic common sense to the content of that folder (i.e. treat executables with suspicion unless you are certain about the source).

[Matt0987]

On my home network I can move files from one computer to another.
Is that possible between the host and client computers?

[Matt0987]

Copy and paste must be enabled in the VM settings. It will only work if the Guest Additions are installed in the Guest. And it will only copy text - not files.

You need to think of the host and the guest as independant PCs, as that is what they consider themselves. The free use of copy and paste between two PCs on a network is not as straightforward as you might assume. There are the security implications of full file access for a start.

If you want to copy files between host and guest then designate a host folder as a shared folder in the VM settings. Apply basic common sense to the content of that folder (i.e. treat executables with suspicion unless you are certain about the source).

The guest additions are indicated as installed. The small VB icon w/ the gold star at the bottom right corner.

Machine, Settings, General, Shared clipboard - Bidirectional. I just set it. Similarly Drag & Drop. Are these the settings you are talking about? Are there others?

[mpack]

On my home network I can move files from one computer to another.
Is that possible between the host and client computers?

Of course that is possible, using shared folders. See the "Shared Folders" section of the VM settings. Again you need to have installed the Guest Additions for this to work, I'm satisfied that you've already done so, but any other readers should take note.

Anyway, can you copy and paste across PCs on your home network, and by that I mean select "Copy" on the desktop of one PC, then walk to another PC and select "Paste" on the desktop of the other PC? I think not, and that is exactly what you are asking to do here. When you copy and paste to/from a shared folder while seated at a single PC then the underlying operation is quite different.

Machine, Settings, General, Shared clipboard - Bidirectional. I just set it. Similarly Drag & Drop. Are these the settings you are talking about?

Yes, the shared clipboard setting is what enables copy and paste. However, it will still only work for text as I've already mentioned. You cannot copy and paste files or other object types or documents. Also drag and drop is only currently (v4.2.x) supported from a host to a Linux guest, i.e. it will not work in either direction for an XP guest.