Short answer: Over RDP, ordinary Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V work in both directions with no clipboard box in the way. If they do not, clipboard redirection is switched off in your connection settings — turn it on under Local Resources and reconnect.
Applies to: Windows, Mac, iPad, Android and Chromebook RDP clients · Infosaic cloud desktops
This is the single biggest day-to-day difference between connecting by RDP and connecting through a browser. In a browser session the clipboard has to travel through a small box in a hidden menu, because a web page is not allowed to reach into your computer’s clipboard whenever it likes. Over RDP there is no such restriction, and copy and paste simply works.
Copy a paragraph from an email on your own machine, click into a document on the cloud desktop, press Ctrl+V. Copy a spreadsheet cell from the cloud desktop, paste it into a message on your laptop. There is nothing to open and nothing to click.
Why does copy and paste work over RDP but not in the browser?
Your computer and your cloud desktop are two separate machines with two separate clipboards. Something has to carry the contents from one to the other.
A browser cannot do that freely — if any web page could read your clipboard, a great deal of private information would leak. So browser access gives you a deliberate, visible step: the clipboard box in the Ctrl+Alt+Shift menu.
An RDP client is a program you installed and trusted, so it is allowed to keep the two clipboards in step automatically. That is the whole of the difference.
How to turn the clipboard on if it is not working
Every client has the setting, in a slightly different place. Change it while you are disconnected, then reconnect — the setting is read when the session starts.
- Windows — Remote Desktop Connection. Open it, click Show Options, go to the Local Resources tab and tick Clipboard. Save the connection so you do not have to do it again.
- Mac — Windows App. Right-click your desktop tile, choose Edit, open Devices & Audio and tick Clipboard.
- iPad, iPhone and Android — Windows App. Clipboard sharing for text is on by default; there is no switch to find.
- Chromebook. Same as Android, through the Play Store app.
What can and cannot be copied
Text always works. Plain text, formatted text, spreadsheet cells, a URL — all of it moves cleanly in both directions.
Images usually work from Windows client to cloud desktop and back. Very large images can be slow on a poor connection.
Files are a different mechanism. Copying a file in File Explorer and pasting it into the session may work on Windows clients where drive redirection is enabled, but it is not the reliable route. Use redirected drives instead — see the RDP troubleshooting guide for why the two get confused.
On a Mac: Windows App maps Cmd to Ctrl inside the session, so Cmd+C on the Mac and Ctrl+V in Windows do exactly what you expect. You do not have to retrain your fingers.
If the clipboard stops working mid-session
This happens occasionally and is almost always the same small Windows process getting stuck. In order of effort:
- Copy something else first. Copy a single word, then try your real copy again. This clears a surprising number of cases.
- Disconnect and reconnect. The clipboard channel is rebuilt when the session starts. Your programs stay open.
- Restart the clipboard process. Inside the cloud desktop, open Task Manager, find rdpclip.exe on the Details tab and end it. Windows restarts it automatically within a few seconds.
- Check the setting did not get lost. If you connect from a different computer, that computer has its own settings and the clipboard tick may never have been made there.
If none of that helps, the browser clipboard box is always available as a fallback for moving one piece of text.
Questions and answers
Does copy and paste work over RDP by default?
On most clients yes. Windows Remote Desktop Connection has a Clipboard tick under Local Resources that is normally on, and the mobile apps share text automatically.
Why can I copy one way but not the other?
That is usually a stuck clipboard process rather than a setting. Copy something small on the failing side, and if that does not help, disconnect and reconnect.
Can I copy files over RDP with Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V?
Sometimes, on Windows clients with drive redirection enabled, but it is not reliable. Use redirected drives and drag the file in File Explorer instead.
Can I copy images?
Usually yes. Large images can be slow to transfer on a weak connection, so paste and wait a moment before assuming it failed.
What is rdpclip.exe?
It is the small Windows program that keeps the two clipboards in step during a remote session. Ending it in Task Manager makes Windows start a fresh copy, which fixes most clipboard faults.
Does the clipboard work in browser access too?
Yes, but through the clipboard box in the Ctrl+Alt+Shift menu rather than automatically. That extra step exists for security reasons in the browser.
Is anything I copy stored on the server?
Clipboard contents live in memory for the session. They are not saved to a file by the remote desktop mechanism itself.
Why does formatting change when I paste?
The receiving program decides what to do with formatted text. Paste as plain text, usually Ctrl+Shift+V, when you want the destination formatting to win.
Related articles
- How to copy and paste between your computer and your cloud desktop
- Browser access or RDP: which should you use?
- What you need to connect to your cloud desktop by RDP
- Mac: connect to your cloud desktop with Windows App
Still stuck?
Open a support request from your control panel — that is the fastest route, because it reaches the team who can already see your account and your desktop. You can also email [email protected].