What is the command line equivalent of copying a file to clipboard?
What is the command line equivalent to pressing CTRL+C over a file in the file manager so that the file (not the filename) is copied to the clipboard?
A situation where this can be useful and fast, for example, is when you want to copy to the clipboard a file from the directory you are in the terminal to quickly paste the file in the directory you are in the file manager. There are others.
command-line files clipboard
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
add a comment |
What is the command line equivalent to pressing CTRL+C over a file in the file manager so that the file (not the filename) is copied to the clipboard?
A situation where this can be useful and fast, for example, is when you want to copy to the clipboard a file from the directory you are in the terminal to quickly paste the file in the directory you are in the file manager. There are others.
command-line files clipboard
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
This really doesn't look like a duplicate to me. One answer is about general copy paste generally, and this one is about copy a file specific subject
– Ulysse BN
Aug 25 '17 at 19:07
I second Ulysse
– Yasser Hussain
Sep 12 '17 at 7:19
add a comment |
What is the command line equivalent to pressing CTRL+C over a file in the file manager so that the file (not the filename) is copied to the clipboard?
A situation where this can be useful and fast, for example, is when you want to copy to the clipboard a file from the directory you are in the terminal to quickly paste the file in the directory you are in the file manager. There are others.
command-line files clipboard
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
What is the command line equivalent to pressing CTRL+C over a file in the file manager so that the file (not the filename) is copied to the clipboard?
A situation where this can be useful and fast, for example, is when you want to copy to the clipboard a file from the directory you are in the terminal to quickly paste the file in the directory you are in the file manager. There are others.
command-line files clipboard
command-line files clipboard
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
edited 5 mins ago
Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy
74.4k9155325
74.4k9155325
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
asked Nov 1 '12 at 7:46
StrapakowskyStrapakowsky
3,839112638
3,839112638
This really doesn't look like a duplicate to me. One answer is about general copy paste generally, and this one is about copy a file specific subject
– Ulysse BN
Aug 25 '17 at 19:07
I second Ulysse
– Yasser Hussain
Sep 12 '17 at 7:19
add a comment |
This really doesn't look like a duplicate to me. One answer is about general copy paste generally, and this one is about copy a file specific subject
– Ulysse BN
Aug 25 '17 at 19:07
I second Ulysse
– Yasser Hussain
Sep 12 '17 at 7:19
This really doesn't look like a duplicate to me. One answer is about general copy paste generally, and this one is about copy a file specific subject
– Ulysse BN
Aug 25 '17 at 19:07
This really doesn't look like a duplicate to me. One answer is about general copy paste generally, and this one is about copy a file specific subject
– Ulysse BN
Aug 25 '17 at 19:07
I second Ulysse
– Yasser Hussain
Sep 12 '17 at 7:19
I second Ulysse
– Yasser Hussain
Sep 12 '17 at 7:19
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
When you press Ctrl-C over a file in the file manager, the file's contents IS NOT copied to the clipboard. A simple test: select a file in file manager, press Ctrl-C, open a text editor, press Ctrl-V. The result is not file's contents but its full path.
In reality the situation is a bit more complicated because you can't do the opposite - copy a list of filenames from a text editor and paste them into file manager.
To copy some data from command line to X11 clipboard you can use xclip command, which can be installed with
sudo apt-get install xclip
to copy contents of a file or output of some command to clipboard use
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i
the text can be then pasted somewhere using middle mouse button (this is called "primary selection buffer").
If you want to copy data to the "clipboard" selection, so it can be pasted into an application with Ctrl-V, you can do
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i -selection clipboard
To be able to copy files from the command line and paste them in a file manager, you need to specify a correct "target atom" so the file manager recognizes the data in the clipboard, and also provide the data in correct format - luckily, in case of copying files in a file manager it's just a list of absolute filenames, each on a new line, something which is easy to generate using find command:
find ${PWD} -name "*.pdf"| xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
(at least this works for me in KDE). Now you can wrap into a small script which you can call, say, cb:
#!/bin/sh
xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
then you put it in ~/bin, set executable bit on it and use it like this:
find ${PWD} -name "*.txt"| cb
Nice, isn't it?
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
1
I heard that xclip also supports file copying withxclip-copyfileandxclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when usingxclip-copyfileand thenxclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
|
show 6 more comments
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.$ man xclip-copyfile
– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "89"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2faskubuntu.com%2fquestions%2f210413%2fwhat-is-the-command-line-equivalent-of-copying-a-file-to-clipboard%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
When you press Ctrl-C over a file in the file manager, the file's contents IS NOT copied to the clipboard. A simple test: select a file in file manager, press Ctrl-C, open a text editor, press Ctrl-V. The result is not file's contents but its full path.
In reality the situation is a bit more complicated because you can't do the opposite - copy a list of filenames from a text editor and paste them into file manager.
To copy some data from command line to X11 clipboard you can use xclip command, which can be installed with
sudo apt-get install xclip
to copy contents of a file or output of some command to clipboard use
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i
the text can be then pasted somewhere using middle mouse button (this is called "primary selection buffer").
If you want to copy data to the "clipboard" selection, so it can be pasted into an application with Ctrl-V, you can do
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i -selection clipboard
To be able to copy files from the command line and paste them in a file manager, you need to specify a correct "target atom" so the file manager recognizes the data in the clipboard, and also provide the data in correct format - luckily, in case of copying files in a file manager it's just a list of absolute filenames, each on a new line, something which is easy to generate using find command:
find ${PWD} -name "*.pdf"| xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
(at least this works for me in KDE). Now you can wrap into a small script which you can call, say, cb:
#!/bin/sh
xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
then you put it in ~/bin, set executable bit on it and use it like this:
find ${PWD} -name "*.txt"| cb
Nice, isn't it?
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
1
I heard that xclip also supports file copying withxclip-copyfileandxclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when usingxclip-copyfileand thenxclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
|
show 6 more comments
When you press Ctrl-C over a file in the file manager, the file's contents IS NOT copied to the clipboard. A simple test: select a file in file manager, press Ctrl-C, open a text editor, press Ctrl-V. The result is not file's contents but its full path.
In reality the situation is a bit more complicated because you can't do the opposite - copy a list of filenames from a text editor and paste them into file manager.
To copy some data from command line to X11 clipboard you can use xclip command, which can be installed with
sudo apt-get install xclip
to copy contents of a file or output of some command to clipboard use
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i
the text can be then pasted somewhere using middle mouse button (this is called "primary selection buffer").
If you want to copy data to the "clipboard" selection, so it can be pasted into an application with Ctrl-V, you can do
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i -selection clipboard
To be able to copy files from the command line and paste them in a file manager, you need to specify a correct "target atom" so the file manager recognizes the data in the clipboard, and also provide the data in correct format - luckily, in case of copying files in a file manager it's just a list of absolute filenames, each on a new line, something which is easy to generate using find command:
find ${PWD} -name "*.pdf"| xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
(at least this works for me in KDE). Now you can wrap into a small script which you can call, say, cb:
#!/bin/sh
xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
then you put it in ~/bin, set executable bit on it and use it like this:
find ${PWD} -name "*.txt"| cb
Nice, isn't it?
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
1
I heard that xclip also supports file copying withxclip-copyfileandxclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when usingxclip-copyfileand thenxclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
|
show 6 more comments
When you press Ctrl-C over a file in the file manager, the file's contents IS NOT copied to the clipboard. A simple test: select a file in file manager, press Ctrl-C, open a text editor, press Ctrl-V. The result is not file's contents but its full path.
In reality the situation is a bit more complicated because you can't do the opposite - copy a list of filenames from a text editor and paste them into file manager.
To copy some data from command line to X11 clipboard you can use xclip command, which can be installed with
sudo apt-get install xclip
to copy contents of a file or output of some command to clipboard use
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i
the text can be then pasted somewhere using middle mouse button (this is called "primary selection buffer").
If you want to copy data to the "clipboard" selection, so it can be pasted into an application with Ctrl-V, you can do
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i -selection clipboard
To be able to copy files from the command line and paste them in a file manager, you need to specify a correct "target atom" so the file manager recognizes the data in the clipboard, and also provide the data in correct format - luckily, in case of copying files in a file manager it's just a list of absolute filenames, each on a new line, something which is easy to generate using find command:
find ${PWD} -name "*.pdf"| xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
(at least this works for me in KDE). Now you can wrap into a small script which you can call, say, cb:
#!/bin/sh
xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
then you put it in ~/bin, set executable bit on it and use it like this:
find ${PWD} -name "*.txt"| cb
Nice, isn't it?
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
When you press Ctrl-C over a file in the file manager, the file's contents IS NOT copied to the clipboard. A simple test: select a file in file manager, press Ctrl-C, open a text editor, press Ctrl-V. The result is not file's contents but its full path.
In reality the situation is a bit more complicated because you can't do the opposite - copy a list of filenames from a text editor and paste them into file manager.
To copy some data from command line to X11 clipboard you can use xclip command, which can be installed with
sudo apt-get install xclip
to copy contents of a file or output of some command to clipboard use
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i
the text can be then pasted somewhere using middle mouse button (this is called "primary selection buffer").
If you want to copy data to the "clipboard" selection, so it can be pasted into an application with Ctrl-V, you can do
cat ./myfile.txt|xclip -i -selection clipboard
To be able to copy files from the command line and paste them in a file manager, you need to specify a correct "target atom" so the file manager recognizes the data in the clipboard, and also provide the data in correct format - luckily, in case of copying files in a file manager it's just a list of absolute filenames, each on a new line, something which is easy to generate using find command:
find ${PWD} -name "*.pdf"| xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
(at least this works for me in KDE). Now you can wrap into a small script which you can call, say, cb:
#!/bin/sh
xclip -i -selection clipboard -t text/uri-list
then you put it in ~/bin, set executable bit on it and use it like this:
find ${PWD} -name "*.txt"| cb
Nice, isn't it?
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
edited Nov 1 '12 at 22:51
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
answered Nov 1 '12 at 8:29
SergeySergey
36.6k98799
36.6k98799
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
1
I heard that xclip also supports file copying withxclip-copyfileandxclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when usingxclip-copyfileand thenxclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
|
show 6 more comments
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
1
I heard that xclip also supports file copying withxclip-copyfileandxclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when usingxclip-copyfileand thenxclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Nice, but only works for text and it's not the file really, just the text. Suppose you have a jpg file?
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:33
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
Yes, I knew this effect that if you copy a file from the file manager if you paste it in another folder you paste the file, but if you paste in a text editor you get the file path.
– Strapakowsky
Nov 1 '12 at 9:34
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
In case of binary files (jpg etc.) everything is much more complicated. Here I asked a question inspired by yours - unix.stackexchange.com/questions/53503/… - have a read about "target atoms" and stuff
– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:48
1
1
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with
xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with
xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.– Gladen
Nov 1 '12 at 9:50
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when using
xclip-copyfile and then xclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
Wow, @Gladen, I think you need to post it as a separate answer. Although it does work when using
xclip-copyfile and then xclip-pastefile, but doesn't seem to work with Ubuntu file manager...– Sergey
Nov 1 '12 at 9:54
|
show 6 more comments
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.$ man xclip-copyfile
– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
add a comment |
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.$ man xclip-copyfile
– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
add a comment |
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
I heard that xclip also supports file copying with xclip-copyfile and xclip-pastefile. I haven't really used it though, but it might be a solution.
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
answered Nov 1 '12 at 10:03
GladenGladen
1,94331337
1,94331337
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.$ man xclip-copyfile
– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
add a comment |
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.$ man xclip-copyfile
– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.
$ man xclip-copyfile– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
That just copies the file names, not the contents of the files. Just take a look at the man page examples, i.e.
$ man xclip-copyfile– Craig
May 8 '17 at 15:19
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to Ask Ubuntu!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2faskubuntu.com%2fquestions%2f210413%2fwhat-is-the-command-line-equivalent-of-copying-a-file-to-clipboard%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
This really doesn't look like a duplicate to me. One answer is about general copy paste generally, and this one is about copy a file specific subject
– Ulysse BN
Aug 25 '17 at 19:07
I second Ulysse
– Yasser Hussain
Sep 12 '17 at 7:19