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Copy function

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Applies to: Canvas apps Model-driven apps

Copies text to the clipboard on the device where the app is running.

Description

The Copy function takes any text value and copies it to the clipboard. Regardless of the contents of the text, the clipboard will contain plain text without any special mime type. The function is considered a side-effects function and as a result it can only be used in behavior properties.

Note

The Copy() function is limited to the access given to clipboard by the host of the app. As a result, embedded apps scenarios such as Power Apps in SharePoint, embedded apps in Power BI, Teams, etc. don't support Copy(). Other embedded scenarios might not support the function either. Makers should use IfError() to ensure the action to copy to clipboard was effective and if not, to properly alert the user that the copy failed.

Syntax

Copy( text )

  • text - Required. The text to be copied to the clipboard.

Examples

Text Input with Copy Button

The Copy function can be used to create a style of input controls seen in many apps, where a button right now to the input text allows for a quick copy of the input's text to the clipboard.

  1. Insert a Text input control on a screen. By default, the name will be TextInput1.
  2. Insert a Button control on the screen, next to the input control.
  3. Set the button's OnSelect property to Copy( TextInput1.Text ).

When the button is selected, the text from the text input control will be copied to the clipboard.

Processing text to put on clipboard

The Copy function accepts text, which can be itself an expression that manipulates text from your app in some way. For example, an app may have an employee record that contain the employee's first name, last name, and title. A formula could put this information on the clipboard as one piece of text. The following example uses string interpolation to combine the data into one string:

Copy( $"{employeeRecord.Name} {employeeRecord.LastName} ({employeeRecord.Title})" )