yank to system clipboard

[dzhwinter]

i use suggestion in #1504 , "*y for cut text into system clipboard, but it run in wrong behaviour. And pop up an message "x-set-selection: Symbol's funtion definition is void: x-own-selection-internal "
anyone have ideas?

[dzhwinter]

emacs 24.5
ubuntu 14.04
spacemacs 1.01.3
nothing else in message buffer.
thanks advance

[dzhwinter]

sorry but, is there any progress in yank context into X-clipboard?
i update my spacemacs to 0.103 bump v2.
It still just pop a message "x-set-selection: Symbol's funtion definition is void: x-own-selection-internal " and yank nothing in my clipboard.
i found what is going wrong.
i use emacs 24.5-nox in terminal (ssh to server ), of course emacs has no knowledge about X11 system clipboard.
As a result, unless use third tool like 'xclip' here. And i found someone has done that. just use xclip package.

[StreakyCobra]

@dzhwinter Are you more lucky with the last spacemacs release about this?

Normally y and p use directly the system clipboard, IIRC, except if you are using emacs in terminal.

[dzhwinter]

i have solved that.
I am using emacs in terminal. In fact, I my daily work, i always connect to server with ssh and I have no choice but emacs-nox (with GUI always failed and freeze window because of the unstable connection).
I use xsel with this config for clip and paste content in terminal. For who search here.

(defun configlayer/init-xclip ()
  (use-package xclip
    :defer t
    :init
    (defun copy-to-clipboard ()
      "Copies selection to x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!")
            (call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
            )
        (if (region-active-p)
            (progn
              (shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "xsel -i -b")
              (message "Yanked region to clipboard!")
              (deactivate-mark))
          (message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!")))
      )

    (defun paste-from-clipboard ()
      "Pastes from x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (clipboard-yank)
            (message "graphics active")
            )
        (insert (shell-command-to-string "xsel -o -b"))
        )
      )

[robbyoconnor]

It works fine for me without this change...

[nightscape]

@dzhwinter sorry for that silly question, Emacs noob here.
Where does one put that code snippet? At the end of ~/.spacemacs?
And does one have to activate it manually somehow? To which keys is it bound then?

[nightscape]

Ok, I think I can answer this myself now:
I put the above code snippet in .spacemacs in the section (defun dotspacemacs/user-config () ...) and added two lines from #2347

(defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()

    ; ...

    (defun copy-to-clipboard ()
      "Copies selection to x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!")
            (call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
            )
        (if (region-active-p)
            (progn
              (shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "xsel -i -b")
              (message "Yanked region to clipboard!")
              (deactivate-mark))
          (message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!")))
      )

    (defun paste-from-clipboard ()
      "Pastes from x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (clipboard-yank)
            (message "graphics active")
            )
        (insert (shell-command-to-string "xsel -o -b"))
        )
      )
  (evil-leader/set-key "o y" 'copy-to-clipboard)
  (evil-leader/set-key "o p" 'paste-from-clipboard)
)

Now when I press SPC there is a new o → +prefix entry in the menu which contains p → paste-from-clipboard y → copy-to-clipboard.
So SPC o y copies the selection to the system clipboard and SPC o p pastes the system clipboards contents at the current cursor position.
Nice!!

[qiuwei]

@nightscape 's code snippets work great for me.

I only need to use pbcopy/pbpaste instead of xsel to make it work on a Mac.

Thanks.

[ninrod]

@qiuwei have you managed to integrate pbcopy within the above snippet? thanks in advance.

[qiuwei]

@ninrod yes, pbcopy and pbpaste work great on my mac.

[ninrod]

nice. just for posterity's sake, if you want to make it work for mac, it is easy enough: (you could even query the system type and make it work anywhere).

(defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()

    ; ...

    (defun copy-to-clipboard ()
      "Copies selection to x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!")
            (call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
            )
        (if (region-active-p)
            (progn
              (shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "pbpaste")
              (message "Yanked region to clipboard!")
              (deactivate-mark))
          (message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!")))
      )

    (defun paste-from-clipboard ()
      "Pastes from x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (clipboard-yank)
            (message "graphics active")
            )
        (insert (shell-command-to-string "pbpaste"))
        )
      )
  (evil-leader/set-key "o y" 'copy-to-clipboard)
  (evil-leader/set-key "o p" 'paste-from-clipboard)
)

[andreicristianpetcu]

Can this be added to Spacemacs? I think this should be a builtin feature.

[aniketd]

This feature is a basic need for sure.

[TheBB]

Just make a PR!

[ghost]

The snippet @ninrod posted has a little error in the copy-to-clipboard function, it calls pbpaste instead of pbcopy. The fixed version would be:

(defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()

    ; ...

    (defun copy-to-clipboard ()
      "Copies selection to x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!")
            (call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
            )
        (if (region-active-p)
            (progn
              (shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "pbcopy")
              (message "Yanked region to clipboard!")
              (deactivate-mark))
          (message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!")))
      )

    (defun paste-from-clipboard ()
      "Pastes from x-clipboard."
      (interactive)
      (if (display-graphic-p)
          (progn
            (clipboard-yank)
            (message "graphics active")
            )
        (insert (shell-command-to-string "pbpaste"))
        )
      )
  (evil-leader/set-key "o y" 'copy-to-clipboard)
  (evil-leader/set-key "o p" 'paste-from-clipboard)
)

[robbyoconnor]

it already yanks to my system clipboard without this...

…

On 12/26/2016 11:47 PM, James Kolce wrote: The snippet @ninrod <https://github.com/ninrod> posted has a little error in the |copy-to-clipboard| function, it calls |pbpaste| instead of |pbcopy|. The fixed version would be: (defun dotspacemacs/user-config () ; ... (defun copy-to-clipboard () "Copies selection to x-clipboard." (interactive) (if (display-graphic-p) (progn (message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!") (call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save) ) (if (region-active-p) (progn (shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "pbcopy") (message "Yanked region to clipboard!") (deactivate-mark)) (message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!"))) ) (defun paste-from-clipboard () "Pastes from x-clipboard." (interactive) (if (display-graphic-p) (progn (clipboard-yank) (message "graphics active") ) (insert (shell-command-to-string "pbpaste")) ) ) (evil-leader/set-key "o y" 'copy-to-clipboard) (evil-leader/set-key "o p" 'paste-from-clipboard) ) — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2222 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AABaMMOMj1Nej9aZO8hgmJIS_BlVkG9cks5rMJh-gaJpZM4FR7eF>.

[ghost]

That's weird, I don't know how that can be possible if it is calling pbpaste in both functions:

I changed this:

(shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "pbpaste")

to this:

(shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) "pbcopy")

Just in case someone else has the same problem. I needed this for me because I was unable to copy/paste and the solution posted before wasn't working.

[robbyoconnor]

I didn't have to do anything... What OS?

[ghost]

MacOS using Terminal.

---

Here is the story:

Previously, using plain Emacs I just used cmd+c to copy from Emacs to other applications and cmd+v to paste from other applications, that was possible because of Terminal and not Emacs itself. But those weren't working with Spacemacs. c-y and m-y work only within Spacemacs but not with other applications.

I think it would work as before by disabling xterm-mouse-mode but I kind of like that feature now. So I had to find a way to copy/paste to/from other applications, and this is the thing that worked after changing the command mentioned in my previous comment. I also changed the keybindings to:

(global-set-key (kbd "M-w") 'copy-to-clipboard)
(global-set-key (kbd "C-y") 'paste-from-clipboard)

Since I just started to use Emacs I don't know if that will have side-effects, but is working well so far.

---

But maybe all this is because I'm doing something wrong, how do you do copy and paste usually?

[robbyoconnor]

That'd be why it works for me -- I use the gui

…

On 12/27/2016 01:05 AM, James Kolce wrote: MacOS using Terminal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is the story: Previously, using plain Emacs I just used cmd+c to copy from Emacs to other applications and cmd+v to paste from other applications, that was possible because of Terminal and not Emacs itself. But those weren't working with Spacemacs. c-y and m-y work only within Spacemacs but not with other applications. I think it would work as before by disabling |xterm-mouse-mode| but I kind of like that feature now. So I had to find a way to copy/paste to/from other applications, and this is the thing that worked after changing the command mentioned in my previous comment. I also changed the keybindings to: (global-set-key (kbd "M-w") 'copy-to-clipboard) (global-set-key (kbd "C-y") 'paste-from-clipboard) Since I just started to use Emacs I don't know if that will have side-effects, but is working well so far. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ But maybe all this is because I'm doing something wrong, how do you do copy and paste usually? — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2222 (comment)>, or mute the thread <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AABaMMHyKnWYPG6rBATdDDLmTGPwqLiNks5rMKqNgaJpZM4FR7eF>.

[andreicristianpetcu]

@jameskolce M-w and C-y seem totally non-intuitive. Y is associated with yank (copy) not paste and you have M- and C- for copy and paste why not C-M-c and C-M-p? Control+alt+c/p from copy/paste?

[ghost]

@andreicristianpetcu I got those from this table of EmacsWiki:

Also, those are the commands I have been using in Emacs before installing Spacemacs.

I just checked the Yank term and Wikipedia says:

Yank, the name for the copy command in vi and the paste command in Emacs, two commonly used UNIX/Linux text editors

So perhaps you are associating it with Vi (or Vi mode) instead of Emacs?

C-M-c and C-M-P also make sense to me though, so I might consider changing at some point, although I also like that the default key combinations of Emacs work with the clipboard.

But as I said, I'm just starting to use Emacs and I still have a lot to learn, so I appreciate the suggestions.

[andreicristianpetcu]

Sorry for the misinformation. I never used vanilla Emacs and I started using Spacemacs from the start. I used Vim and Neovim before Spacemacs and that's where the confusion over yank comes from :) I see your point and your proposal sounds fine.

[ghost]

Alright thanks, and no worries!

[quangv]

fyi I could not get above to work (using Xshell on Windows 10, connecting to Ubuntu)

But this worked for me.

(xterm-mouse-mode -1)

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37631440/spacemacs-using-the-mouse-to-copy-paste

[goetzc]

There is this other option from @gelisam, which works great:
#5750 (comment)

[cweill]

Try the xclipboard layer in the develop branch.

[drewLough]

I wasn't able to 'copy' (in emacs lingo: kill-ring-save) from the terminal (opened with M-') and paste into other programs (or buffers). However I was able to accomplish it by marking the desired text and use middle-mouse button. It pastes (ie. yanks) the marked text to the terminal prompt, but it also makes it paste-able both in and outside of emacs. hopefully this helps someone who was looking for a quick and dirty(?) way to copy/paste to-and-from the spacemacs terminal. I'm also using wayland, but I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

[bigfish]

in Ubuntu,
sudo apt install xsel

in .spacemacs, I added 'xclip' package to list of additional packages, &
(xclip-mode 1)
in dotspacemacs/user-config fn.

Now I can paste into emacs buffer from system clipboard with 'p' in evil mode (normal).
And anything I yank ('y') I can paste into other apps.

[biocyberman]

Finally this itching problem is solved. This is working code with OS check for Linux and MacOS. I don't use Windows so I don't know how it works

(cond
 ;; OS X
 ((string-equal system-type "darwin") ; Mac OS X
  (progn
    (setq save-to-clipboard-cmd "pbcopy")
    (setq paste-from-clipboard-cmd "pbpaste")
    )
  )
 ;; Linux
 ((string-equal system-type "gnu/linux") ; linux
  (progn
    (setq save-to-clipboard-cmd "xsel -i -b")
    (setq paste-from-clipboard-cmd "xsel -o -b")
    )
  )
 )

(defun copy-to-clipboard ()
  "Copies selection to x-clipboard."
  (interactive)
  (if (display-graphic-p)
      (progn
        (message "Yanked region to x-clipboard!")
        (call-interactively 'clipboard-kill-ring-save)
        )
    (if (region-active-p)
        (progn
          (shell-command-on-region (region-beginning) (region-end) save-to-clipboard-cmd)
          (message "Yanked region to clipboard!")
          (deactivate-mark))
      (message "No region active; can't yank to clipboard!")))
  )

(defun paste-from-clipboard ()
  "Pastes from x-clipboard."
  (interactive)
  (if (display-graphic-p)
      (progn
        (clipboard-yank)
        (message "graphics active")
        )
    (insert (shell-command-to-string paste-from-clipboard-cmd))
    )
  )
(evil-leader/set-key "o y" 'copy-to-clipboard)
(evil-leader/set-key "o p" 'paste-from-clipboard)

[yanowitz]

I've done this integration in a different way, dropping it here for posterity (also, I can't remember if I wrote this many years ago or got it from someone else). I want any cutting and yanking to work with pbcopy/pbpaste (on my mac). I'm new to Spacemacs, but I've used this with emacs (in tty mode) on my mac for years. YMMV. I prefer this to be seamless without my thinking about it.

Obviously, you can just wire up copy or paste if you don't want both. And I leave it as an exercise for the ready to extend this with xsel (see above)

  (defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()
;...
    (if (eq system-type 'darwin)
        (progn
          (defun mac-copy ()
            (shell-command-to-string "pbpaste"))

          (defun mac-paste (text &optional push)
            (let ((process-connection-type nil))
              (let ((proc (start-process "pbcopy" "*Messages*" "pbcopy")))
                (process-send-string proc text)
                (process-send-eof proc))))

          (setq interprogram-cut-function 'mac-paste)
          (setq interprogram-paste-function 'mac-copy)
          ))
  )