The clipboard acts as a central depository for data sharing among applications. When a user performs a cut or copy operation in an application, the application puts the selected data on the clipboard in one or more standard or application-defined formats. Any other application can then retrieve the data from the clipboard, choosing from the available formats that it understands. The clipboard is a very loosely coupled exchange medium, where applications need only agree on the data format. The applications can reside on the same computer or on different computers on a network.
Key Point All Win32-based applications should support the clipboard for those data formats that they understand. For example, a text editor or word processor should at least be able to produce and accept clipboard data in pure text format. For more information, see Clipboard.