Command Method

The command method for transferring objects uses the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands. Place these commands on the Edit drop-down menu and on the pop-up menu for a selected object. You can also include toolbar buttons to support these commands.

To transfer an object, the user:

Makes a selection.
Chooses either Cut or Copy.
Navigates to the destination (and sets the insertion location, if appropriate).
Chooses a Paste operation.

Cut removes the selection and transfers it (or a reference to it) to the Clipboard. Copy duplicates the selection (or a reference to it) and transfers it to the Clipboard. Paste completes the transfer operation. For example, when the user chooses Cut and Paste, remove the selection from the source and relocate it to the destination. For Copy and Paste, insert an independent duplicate of the selection and leave the original unaffected. When the user chooses Copy and Paste Link or Paste Shortcut, insert an object at the destination that is linked to the source.

Choose a form of Paste command that indicates how the object will be transferred into the destination. Use the Paste command by itself to indicate that the object will be transferred as native content. You can also use alternative forms of the Paste command for other possible transfers, using the following general form.

Paste [type name] [as type name | to object name]

Note
For more information about object names, including their type name, see Chapter 10, "Integrating with the System."

For example, Paste Cells as Word Table, where [type name] is Cells and Word Table is the converted type name.

The following summarizes common forms of the Paste command.

Command	Function
Paste	Inserts the object on the Clipboard as native content (data).
Paste [type name]	Inserts the object on the Clipboard as an OLE embedded object. The OLE embedded object can be activated directly within the destination.
Paste [type name] as Icon	Inserts the object on the Clipboard as an OLE embedded object. The OLE embedded object is displayed as an icon.
Paste Link	Inserts a data link to the object that was copied to the Clipboard. The object's value is integrated or transformed as native content within the destination, but remains linked to the original object so that changes to it are reflected in the destination.
Paste Link to [object name]	Inserts an OLE linked object, displayed as a picture of the object copied to the Clipboard. The representation is linked to the object copied to the Clipboard so that any changes to the original source object will be reflected in the destination.
Paste Shortcut	Inserts an OLE linked object, displayed as a shortcut icon, to the object that was copied to the Clipboard. The representation is linked to the object copied to the Clipboard so that any changes to the original source object will be reflected in the destination.
Paste Special	Displays a dialog box that gives the user explicit control over how to insert the object on the Clipboard.

Note
For more information about these Paste command forms and the Paste Special dialog box, see Chapter 11, "Working with OLE Embedded and OLE Linked Objects."

Use the destination's context to determine what form(s) of the Paste operation to include based on what options it can offer to the user, which in turn may depend on the available forms of the object that its source location object provides. It can also be dependent on the nature or purpose of the destination. For example, a printer defines the context of transfers to it.

Typically, you will need only Paste and Paste Special commands. The Paste command can be dynamically modified to reflect the destination's default or preferred form by inserting the transferred object — for example, as native data or as an OLE embedded object. The Paste Special command can be used to handle any special forms of transfer. Although, if the destination's context makes it reasonable to provide fast access to another specialized form of transfer, such as Paste Link, you can also include that command.

Use the destination's context also to determine the appropriate side effects of the Paste operation. You may also need to consider the type of object being inserted by the Paste operation and the relationship of that type to the destination. The following are some common scenarios:

When the user pastes into a destination that supports a specific insertion location, replace the selection in the destination with the transferred data. For example, in text or list contexts, where the selection represents a specific insertion location, replace the destination's active selection. In text contexts where there is an insertion location, but there is no existing selection, place the insertion point after the inserted object.
For destinations with nonordered or Z-ordered contexts where there is no explicit insertion point, add the pasted object and make it the active selection. Also use the destination's context to determine where to place the pasted object. Consider any appropriate user contextual information. For example, if the user chooses the Paste command from a pop-up menu, you can use the pointer's location when the mouse button is clicked to place the incoming object. If the user supplies no contextual clues, place the object at the location that best fits the context of the destination — for example, at the next grid position.
If the new object is automatically connected (linked) to the active selection (for example, table data and a graph), you may insert the new object in addition to the selection and make the inserted object the new selection.

You also use context to determine whether to display an OLE embedded or OLE linked object as content (view or picture of the object's internal data) or as an icon. For example, you can decide what presentation to display based on what Paste operation the user selects; Paste Shortcut implies pasting an OLE link as an icon. Similarly, the Paste Special command includes options that allow the user to specify how the transferred object should be displayed. If there is no user-supplied preference, the destination application defines the default. For documents, you typically display the inserted OLE object as in its content presentation. If icons better fit the context of your application, make the default Paste operation display the transferred OLE object as an icon.

The execution of a Paste command should not affect the content of the Clipboard. This allows data on the Clipboard to be pasted multiple times, although subsequent Paste operations should always result in copies of the original. However, a subsequent Cut or Copy command replaces the last entry on the Clipboard.