Windows command-line tools are excellent for troubleshooting and automation. However, if someone asks you to run a built-in console command and copy the output displayed to diagnose a problem, these Command Prompt fundamentals will come in handy. Let’s see the different methods to copy data from Command prompt to Clipboard.
Selecting the text to be copied differs from the standard selection method in the command prompt window. Using the traditional way, you can select the text with a single mouse click. In the command prompt window or Windows Terminal, you cannot directly operate with the mouse in this manner. The same method, of course, does not work.
Methods To Copy From Command Prompt to Clipboard
Below are some of the working methods to copy text from Command prompt to Clipboard. Make sure you check all of them before putting them to use.
- Using the Edit Menu
- Using Keyboard Hotkeys
- Using the Clip command extension
It will work for all the users. Ensure to turn on the Clipboard feature in Windows.
1] Using the Edit Menu
To open a command prompt window, press WinKey + R. The Run dialog will appear. Type cmd or cmd.exe in the given space and hit OK.
The command prompt window will appear. Now follow these steps to use the edit menu to copy text from the command prompt:
- Select the text or commands you wish to copy. Now, right-click anywhere in the title bar.
- In the menu that appears, click on edit.
- Then, click copy.
- The text has now been copied to your clipboard. You can paste it into any text field as usual.
2] Using Keyboard Hotkeys
Follow these steps to copy text from the command prompt using keyboard hotkeys:
-
- Open the command prompt and select the text you wish to copy.
- Press Alt+Space on your keyboard.
- Now, on your keyboard, press the E key.
- Now, all you need to do is press the Enter key to copy the selected text
Now you can paste the copied text anywhere. If you don’t want to keep your text’s formatting when you paste it, use the Ctrl + Shift + V keys. It will cause your pasted text to adopt the formatting of the destination you’re pasting the text to.
3] Using the Clip Command Extension
Whenever you execute a command in Command prompt, you can directly copy the result by adding the Clip extension to the command. Here’s how to do it:
- Open the command prompt and enter the command you wish to use.
- Now press the space key and enter | clip at the end of the command. For example, if you use the Systeminfo command, you need to type Systeminfo |clip to copy the output directly.
- Once you have entered the command, press the Enter key on your keyboard to execute the command. The output will then directly be copied to the clipboard. You can paste it anywhere as usual.
The output is not displayed in the command prompt window when you use the Clip command extension. It is directly copied to the Clipboard in place. So if you wish to check whether the output is adequately copied or not, you can do so by accessing the Clipboard by pressing the Windows+V keys on your keyboard.
It was all for our article on how to copy from Command prompt to Clipboard. Windows terminal comes with Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V shortcuts enabled by default. You can do the same in the command prompt by heading over the command prompt properties and toggling Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V options. We hope you found the article helpful. Please make sure you share this with everybody.
Why Are My CTRL Keys in the Command Prompt Not Working?
Sometimes, you may find Ctrl keys unresponsive within the command prompts. Apart from the previous method, you can follow the simple steps- Go to Properties > Options and select the field that says Enable Ctrl key shortcuts; and select OK.
Is It Possible To Copy and Paste Files in the Command Prompt?
Yes, you can use the command prompt to copy and paste the file path to any file on your computer. However, before you can do so, you must first reveal the file path. Use the command dir “search term*” /s to look for the files you want in any destination drive. This command returns the precise directory location of the target files. You can then use the Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V shortcuts to copy and paste any listed file paths.
Is It Possible To Copy and Paste into Windows Terminal?
Yes. The shortcuts Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V are enabled by default in the Windows Terminal, which is a more advanced version of the command prompt.
How Do You See a Text That I Copied Earlier?
If you’ve enabled the Windows Clipboard, you can see some of the recently copied text by pressing Win + V. This feature allows you to copy multiple items and paste them anywhere. It saves time because you don’t have to switch or scroll around as much.
