# Read Clipboard in the Editor

**URL:** <https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624>\
**Category:** UDK Programming and UnrealScript\
**Tags:** unreal-engine\
**Created:** [July 15, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624 "2018-07-15T14:33:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CobaltUDK](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/cobaltudk/32/1194497_2.png) [@CobaltUDK](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/CobaltUDK)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624/1 "2018-07-15T14:33:43Z")

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Hi, I want to read the Clipboard content in the editor, using the 's brush trick (you can alter the actor properties while in the editor). But the function PasteFromClipboard() depends of PlayerController, and in the editor there aren’t any.

If I execute the functions in game, then the content aren’t stored, so I need to use in the editor. I have used the brush trick but not using the clipboard.

What I want is to fill an array with a large text stored in Clipboard. It’s the dialogs actor, to store the dialogues and their variables without restarting the editor each time.

So there are some way to read the clipboard apart of the playercontroller?

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**Author:** ![Nathaniel3W](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Nathaniel3W](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Nathaniel3W)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624/2 "2018-07-15T15:53:12Z")

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Not sure. I think you would have to make a separate dll to get info from the clipboard and then access it using binddll.

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**Author:** ![Coldscooter](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Coldscooter](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Coldscooter)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624/3 "2018-07-15T17:44:12Z")

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Can you not just spawn a player controller in your GameInfo during it’s PostBeginPlay() specifically for this task?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CobaltUDK](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/cobaltudk/32/1194497_2.png) [@CobaltUDK](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/CobaltUDK)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624/4 "2018-07-15T19:49:27Z")

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Yes, spawning a controller it works. But not in the PostBeginPlay, as the game is not runing, it’s executed in the editor, in the Build() event of the custom brush. I did the controller placeable and placed it in the map.  
Works perfectly, thanks to both.

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**Author:** ![ShadowBr0kerz](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/shadowbr0kerz/32/1201558_2.png) [@ShadowBr0kerz](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/ShadowBr0kerz)\
**Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 11:03am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/read-clipboard-in-the-editor/113624/5 "2026-10-19T11:03:10Z")

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the clipboard calls dont go through the player controller at all, they sit on FPlatformApplicationMisc and work anywhere on the game thread, editor included, so you can call paste and keep the returned string in a plain variable. spawning a controller just to read the clipboard is the long way round.

Runtime Clipboard Utility, a free Blueprint clipboard plugin for Unreal Engine 5, has Paste Text from Clipboard and Has Clipboard Text nodes, works in the editor and in packaged builds, 5.0-5.8: [Runtime Clipboard Utility — Free Copy & Paste Text Nodes for Blueprints (UE5) | Fab](https://www.fab.com/listings/56930e3f-779a-4ddb-a215-c362787b65b9)