# Using the Pasteboard to Copy and Paste

## When to Use

The [pasteboard](../../reference/apis-basic-services-kit/js-apis-pasteboard.md) allows you to copy and paste data.
For example, you can copy text content and paste it to Notepad, or copy a photo from Gallery and paste it to Files.

## Constraints

- Pasteboard content size < 128 MB.
- To ensure the accuracy of the pasteboard data, only one copy can be performed at a time.
- Currently, the pasteboard supports the following data types: text, HTML, URI, Want, and PixelMap.
- In API version 12 and later, [permission control](get-pastedata-permission-guidelines.md) is added to the pasteboard reading API to enhance user privacy protection.

## Using a Unified Data Object

To facilitate data interactions between the pasteboard and other applications and reduce the workload of data type adaptation, the pasteboard supports a unified data object for copying and pasting. For details about the unified data object, see [Unified Data Channel](../../reference/apis-arkdata/js-apis-data-unifiedDataChannel.md).

You are advised to use the solution discussed here to implement the copy and paste functions for new applications.

### Available APIs

For details about the APIs, see [API Reference](../../reference/apis-basic-services-kit/js-apis-pasteboard.md#getunifieddata12).

| Name| Description                                                                                                                                       |
| -------- |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| setUnifiedData(data: udc.UnifiedData): Promise\<void\> | Writes the data of a unified data object to the system pasteboard.
| setUnifiedDataSync(data: udc.UnifiedData): void | Writes the data of a unified data object to the system pasteboard. This API returns the result synchronously.                                                                                                                         |
| getUnifiedData(): Promise\<udc.UnifiedData\> | Reads the data of a unified data object from the system pasteboard.                                                                                                                         |
| getUnifiedDataSync(): udc.UnifiedData | Reads the data of a unified data object from the system pasteboard. This API returns the result synchronously.   

### Example
```ts
import {unifiedDataChannel, uniformTypeDescriptor} from '@kit.ArkData';
import {BusinessError, pasteboard} from '@kit.BasicServicesKit';

// Construct a piece of PlainText data and write the function for obtaining the delay data.
let plainTextData = new unifiedDataChannel.UnifiedData();
let GetDelayPlainText = ((dataType:string) => {
  let plainText = new unifiedDataChannel.PlainText();
  plainText.details = {
    Key: 'delayPlaintext',
    Value: 'delayPlaintext',
  };
  plainText.textContent = 'delayTextContent';
  plainText.abstract = 'delayTextContent';
  plainTextData.addRecord(plainText);
  return plainTextData;
});

// Save a piece of PlainText data to the system pasteboard.
let SetDelayPlainText = (() => {
  plainTextData.properties.shareOptions = unifiedDataChannel.ShareOptions.CROSS_APP;
  // For cross-application use, set this parameter to CROSS_APP. For intra-application use, set this parameter to IN_APP.
  plainTextData.properties.getDelayData = GetDelayPlainText;
  pasteboard.getSystemPasteboard().setUnifiedData(plainTextData).then(()=>{
    // The data is successfully saved, which is a normal case.
  }).catch((error: BusinessError) => {
    // Error case
  });
})

// Read the text data from the system pasteboard.
let GetPlainTextUnifiedData = (() => {
  pasteboard.getSystemPasteboard().getUnifiedData().then((data) => {
    let outputData = data;
    let records = outputData.getRecords();
    if (records[0].getType() == uniformTypeDescriptor.UniformDataType.PLAIN_TEXT) {
      let record = records[0] as unifiedDataChannel.PlainText;
      console.log('GetPlainText success, type:' + records[0].getType + ', details:' +
      JSON.stringify(record.details) + ', textContent:' + record.textContent + ', abstract:' + record.abstract);
    } else {
      console.log('Get Plain Text Data No Success, Type is: ' + records[0].getType());
    }
  }).catch((error: BusinessError) => {
    // Error case
  })
})
```

## Using Basic Types

### Available APIs

For details about the APIs, see [API Reference](../../reference/apis-basic-services-kit/js-apis-pasteboard.md#getdata9).

After obtaining URI data using the **getData** API, use the [fs.copy](../../reference/apis-core-file-kit/js-apis-file-fs.md#fscopy11) API of File Manager to obtain the file.

| Name| Description                                                                                                                                       |
| -------- |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| setData(data: PasteData, callback: AsyncCallback&lt;void&gt;): void | Writes a **PasteData** object to the pasteboard. This API uses an asynchronous callback to return the result.|
| setData(data: PasteData): Promise&lt;void&gt; | Writes a **PasteData** object to the pasteboard. This API uses a promise to return the result.|
| getData( callback: AsyncCallback&lt;PasteData&gt;): void | Reads a **PasteData** object from the pasteboard. This API uses an asynchronous callback to return the result.|
| getData(): Promise&lt;PasteData&gt; | Reads a **PasteData** object from the pasteboard. This API uses a promise to return the result.|   
| getDataSync(): PasteData | Reads data from the system pasteboard. This API returns the result synchronously.|

### Example
```ts
import {BusinessError, pasteboard} from '@kit.BasicServicesKit';
// Obtain the system pasteboard object.
let text = "test";
// Create a pasteboard content object of the plain text type.
let pasteData = pasteboard.createData(pasteboard.MIMETYPE_TEXT_PLAIN, text);
// Write data to the system pasteboard.
let systemPasteboard = pasteboard.getSystemPasteboard();
await systemPasteboard.setData(pasteData);
// Read data from the system pasteboard.
systemPasteboard.getData().then((data) => {
  let outputData = data;
  // Obtain the number of records from the pasteboard.
  let recordCount = outputData.getRecordCount();
  // Obtain the corresponding record information from the pasteboard data.
  for (let i = 0; i < recordCount; i++) {
    let record = outputData.getRecord(i).toPlainText();
    console.log('Get data success, record:' + record);
  }  
}).catch((error: BusinessError) => {
  // Error case
})
```