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DataGridView.GetClipboardContent Method

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly:
System.Windows.Forms.dll

Retrieves the formatted values that represent the contents of the selected cells for copying to the Clipboard.

public:
 virtual System::Windows::Forms::DataObject ^ GetClipboardContent();
public virtual System.Windows.Forms.DataObject GetClipboardContent ();
public virtual System.Windows.Forms.DataObject? GetClipboardContent ();
abstract member GetClipboardContent : unit -> System.Windows.Forms.DataObject
override this.GetClipboardContent : unit -> System.Windows.Forms.DataObject
Public Overridable Function GetClipboardContent () As DataObject

Returns

DataObject

A DataObject that represents the contents of the selected cells.

Exceptions

NotSupportedException

ClipboardCopyMode is set to Disable.

Examples

The following code example demonstrates how to programmatically add selected DataGridView content to the Clipboard. This example is part of a larger example available in How to: Enable Users to Copy Multiple Cells to the Clipboard from the Windows Forms DataGridView Control.

private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    // Initialize the DataGridView control.
    this.DataGridView1.ColumnCount = 5;
    this.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(new string[] { "A", "B", "C", "D", "E" });
    this.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(new string[] { "F", "G", "H", "I", "J" });
    this.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(new string[] { "K", "L", "M", "N", "O" });
    this.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(new string[] { "P", "Q", "R", "S", "T" });
    this.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(new string[] { "U", "V", "W", "X", "Y" });
    this.DataGridView1.AutoResizeColumns();
    this.DataGridView1.ClipboardCopyMode = 
        DataGridViewClipboardCopyMode.EnableWithoutHeaderText;
}

private void CopyPasteButton_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
    if (this.DataGridView1
        .GetCellCount(DataGridViewElementStates.Selected) > 0)
    {
        try
        {
            // Add the selection to the clipboard.
            Clipboard.SetDataObject(
                this.DataGridView1.GetClipboardContent());
            
            // Replace the text box contents with the clipboard text.
            this.TextBox1.Text = Clipboard.GetText();
        }
        catch (System.Runtime.InteropServices.ExternalException)
        {
            this.TextBox1.Text = 
                "The Clipboard could not be accessed. Please try again.";
        }
    }
}

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load

    ' Initialize the DataGridView control.
    Me.DataGridView1.ColumnCount = 5
    Me.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(New String() {"A", "B", "C", "D", "E"})
    Me.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(New String() {"F", "G", "H", "I", "J"})
    Me.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(New String() {"K", "L", "M", "N", "O"})
    Me.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(New String() {"P", "Q", "R", "S", "T"})
    Me.DataGridView1.Rows.Add(New String() {"U", "V", "W", "X", "Y"})
    Me.DataGridView1.AutoResizeColumns()
    Me.DataGridView1.ClipboardCopyMode = _
        DataGridViewClipboardCopyMode.EnableWithoutHeaderText

End Sub

Private Sub CopyPasteButton_Click(ByVal sender As Object, _
    ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles CopyPasteButton.Click

    If Me.DataGridView1.GetCellCount( _
        DataGridViewElementStates.Selected) > 0 Then

        Try

            ' Add the selection to the clipboard.
            Clipboard.SetDataObject( _
                Me.DataGridView1.GetClipboardContent())

            ' Replace the text box contents with the clipboard text.
            Me.TextBox1.Text = Clipboard.GetText()

        Catch ex As System.Runtime.InteropServices.ExternalException
            Me.TextBox1.Text = _
                "The Clipboard could not be accessed. Please try again."
        End Try

    End If

End Sub

Remarks

This method retrieves data that represents the region defined by the selected cells. This region is the smallest rectangle that includes all of the selected cells. The value for each selected cell in this region is retrieved by calling the DataGridViewCell.GetClipboardContent method. Blank placeholder values are used for unselected cells in this region. This method combines these values into a DataObject containing several formats for copying to the clipboard. The supported clipboard formats include DataFormats.Text, DataFormats.UnicodeText, DataFormats.Html, and DataFormats.CommaSeparatedValue.

For more information, see the Clipboard class.

Notes to Inheritors

Override this method to provide customized clipboard values. This is useful, for example, to support copying values from custom cell types.

Applies to

See also