How to copy files by win32 API functions and paste by (Ctrl+v) in my Desktop

Question

I want to copy a file by win32 API Functions and "paste" it by (Ctrl+c) in my desktop of other folder of windows.

I Know CopyFileEx and copies file with it but this function copy and paste. I want to just copy file in my main() program (by win32 API function) and "paste" it in desktop or other folder of windows.

I don't want to use SHFileOperation function.

Answer 1

If you want the actual file to be copied to the destination folder when the clipboard content is pasted to it, you need to put the path string onto the clipboard using the CF_HDROP format, eg:

// error handling omitted for brevity...

LPWSTR path = ...;
int size = sizeof(DROPFILES)+((lstrlenW(path)+2)*sizeof(WCHAR));
HGLOBAL hGlobal = GlobalAlloc(GMEM_MOVEABLE, size);
DROPFILES *df = (DROPFILES*) GlobalLock(hGlobal);
ZeroMemory(df, size);
df->pFiles = sizeof(DROPFILES);
df->fWide = TRUE;
LPWSTR ptr = (LPWSTR) (df + 1);
lstrcpyW(ptr, path);
GlobalUnlock(hGlobal);
SetClipboardData(CF_HDROP, hGlobal);

Update: Alternatively, see the following article on the "The Old New Thing" blog:

Copying a file to the clipboard so you can paste it into Explorer or an email message or whatever

It uses GetUIObjectOfFile() and OleSetClipboard() instead of CF_HDROP. But the end effect is similar - an object placed on the clipboard that represents the target file, and Explorer recognizes that object during a paste operation so it will copy the file to the folder being pasted in.

Answer 2

Here's a minimal working example (console application). It compiles for both unicode and none unicode environments. As this is kind of minimal there's no error handling of any kind (usage see below).

#include <Windows.h>
#include <Shlobj.h> // DROPFILES
#include <tchar.h>  // e.g. _tcslen

int _tmain(int argc, TCHAR* argv[])
{
    // calculate *bytes* needed for memory allocation
    int clpSize = sizeof(DROPFILES);
    for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++)
        clpSize += sizeof(TCHAR) * (_tcslen(argv[i]) + 1); // + 1 => '\0'
    clpSize += sizeof(TCHAR); // two \0 needed at the end

    // allocate the zero initialized memory
    HDROP hdrop   = (HDROP)GlobalAlloc(GHND, clpSize);
    DROPFILES* df = (DROPFILES*)GlobalLock(hdrop);
    df->pFiles    = sizeof(DROPFILES); // string offset
#ifdef _UNICODE
    df->fWide     = TRUE; // unicode file names
#endif // _UNICODE

    // copy the command line args to the allocated memory
    TCHAR* dstStart = (TCHAR*)&df[1];
    for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++)
    {
        _tcscpy(dstStart, argv[i]);
        dstStart = &dstStart[_tcslen(argv[i]) + 1]; // + 1 => get beyond '\0'
    }
    GlobalUnlock(hdrop);

    // prepare the clipboard
    OpenClipboard(NULL);
    EmptyClipboard();
    SetClipboardData(CF_HDROP, hdrop);
    CloseClipboard();

    return 0;
}

---

Usage:

fclip.exe "C:\full\path\to\file.dat" "C:\more\files.dat"

That's it! Feel free to press ctrl + v to paste the files.

Answer 3

I think the Function you are looking for is this: Windows CopyFile

Example:

BOOL WINAPI CopyFile(
  _In_  LPCTSTR lpExistingFileName,
  _In_  LPCTSTR lpNewFileName,
  _In_  BOOL bFailIfExists
);

Answer 4

Normally a path is a String, so how do you want to paste a String to your Desktop? You only can copy a file and paste it to your Desktop, but not a path (String)!

This is how you copy stuff to your clipboard:

BOOL WINAPI EditCopy(VOID) 
{ 
  PLABELBOX pbox; 
  LPTSTR  lptstrCopy; 
  HGLOBAL hglbCopy; 
  int ich1, ich2, cch; 

  if (hwndSelected == NULL) 
      return FALSE; 

  // Open the clipboard, and empty it. 

  if (!OpenClipboard(hwndMain)) 
      return FALSE; 
  EmptyClipboard(); 

  // Get a pointer to the structure for the selected label. 

  pbox = (PLABELBOX) GetWindowLong(hwndSelected, 0); 

  // If text is selected, copy it using the CF_TEXT format. 

  if (pbox->fEdit) 
  { 
      if (pbox->ichSel == pbox->ichCaret)     // zero length
      {   
          CloseClipboard();                   // selection 
          return FALSE; 
      } 

      if (pbox->ichSel < pbox->ichCaret) 
      { 
          ich1 = pbox->ichSel; 
          ich2 = pbox->ichCaret; 
      } 
      else 
      { 
          ich1 = pbox->ichCaret; 
          ich2 = pbox->ichSel; 
      } 
      cch = ich2 - ich1; 

      // Allocate a global memory object for the text. 

      hglbCopy = GlobalAlloc(GMEM_MOVEABLE, 
          (cch + 1) * sizeof(TCHAR)); 
      if (hglbCopy == NULL) 
      { 
          CloseClipboard(); 
          return FALSE; 
      } 

      // Lock the handle and copy the text to the buffer. 

      lptstrCopy = GlobalLock(hglbCopy); 
      memcpy(lptstrCopy, &pbox->atchLabel[ich1], 
          cch * sizeof(TCHAR)); 
      lptstrCopy[cch] = (TCHAR) 0;    // null character 
      GlobalUnlock(hglbCopy); 

      // Place the handle on the clipboard. 

      SetClipboardData(CF_TEXT, hglbCopy); 
  } 

  // If no text is selected, the label as a whole is copied. 

  else 
  { 
      // Save a copy of the selected label as a local memory 
      // object. This copy is used to render data on request. 
      // It is freed in response to the WM_DESTROYCLIPBOARD 
      // message. 

      pboxLocalClip = (PLABELBOX) LocalAlloc( 
          LMEM_FIXED, 
          sizeof(LABELBOX) 
      ); 
      if (pboxLocalClip == NULL) 
      { 
          CloseClipboard(); 
          return FALSE; 
      } 
      memcpy(pboxLocalClip, pbox, sizeof(LABELBOX)); 
      pboxLocalClip->fSelected = FALSE; 
      pboxLocalClip->fEdit = FALSE; 

      // Place a registered clipboard format, the owner-display 
      // format, and the CF_TEXT format on the clipboard using 
      // delayed rendering. 

      SetClipboardData(uLabelFormat, NULL); 
      SetClipboardData(CF_OWNERDISPLAY, NULL); 
      SetClipboardData(CF_TEXT, NULL); 
  } 

  // Close the clipboard. 

  CloseClipboard(); 

  return TRUE; 
}

Code can be found here (paste code too) http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms649016%28v=vs.85%29.aspx