How to copy/paste text from remote system?

Question

I used to access a remote system via VNC viewer, but when I copy some text from the remote system and paste it in my text editor(local system), nothing happens. Do I need to install any additional packages to achieve this task?

Updates:
There is no such option found in the Real VNC properties.

Screenshot

I just get the following output:

karthick@karthick:~$ vncconfig         
No VNC extension on display :0.0

Updated:

karthick@karthick:~$ vncserver

Warning: karthick:1 is taken because of /tmp/.X1-lock
Remove this file if there is no X server karthick:1

Warning: karthick:2 is taken because of /tmp/.X2-lock
Remove this file if there is no X server karthick:2

New 'X' desktop is karthick:4

Starting applications specified in /home/karthick/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /home/karthick/.vnc/karthick:4.log

karthick@karthick:~$ vncconfig -display :1 
vncconfig: unable to open display ":1"

enter image description here

This is turning into a bit of a mess. Can you state somewhere what the setup is. What OS is the client? What OS is the server? What client and server software are you using on each? — Oli, May 27 '11 at 15:25
Client runs windows XP and the server runs ubuntu 10.10. And the client runs `Real VNC` and the server runs `vncviewer`. Do you need anyother information ? — karthick87, May 27 '11 at 15:31

score 20 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 05 '11 at 17:45

20

There will be a .vnc directory in your home folder. In this directory there will be few files named like <computer name>:<number>.extension
For example my laptop contains following two files in .vnc directory.

adnan-laptop:1.log
adnan-laptop:1.pid

The :1 in the above file names shows that the vnc server is running on display :1.

Now connect to your VNC server and from the connected session run vncconfig as follows:

vncconfig -display :1

This will show a small window with clipboard related options. Check all the options and dont close the window. Now you should be able to copy paste from/to remote system.

answered Jun 05 '11 at 17:45

binW

12,804
8
49
66

3

karthick@karthick:~$ vncconfig -display :1 vncconfig: unable to open display ":1" – karthick87 Jun 07 '11 at 10:59
@karthick87: what command are you using to run vnc server? have you checked .vnc directory in your home folder? does it contain files like karthick:1.pid? – binW Jun 07 '11 at 11:14
Pls see the updates in my question.. – karthick87 Jun 07 '11 at 13:46
@karthick87: the output of vncserver says that "New 'X' desktop is karthick:4" so you should run "vncconfig -display:4" – binW Jun 07 '11 at 14:11
Now i am getting the following output, karthick@karthick:~$ vncconfig -display :5 No VNC extension on display :5 – karthick87 Jun 07 '11 at 14:20
@binW For me inside the .vnc directory there are multiple entries with display `1`. For example `slc01ags:1.log` and `slc04lyo:1.log`. So how do I specify which display `1`while running the command `vncconfig -display :1`? – Geek Jan 14 '14 at 03:48
The command ```vncconfig -display :1``` works for me but why can't we close the window? Is there a way to set this once and for all? – wsw Sep 19 '16 at 03:10
5

For people reading this answer **DON'T CLOSE THE WINDOW** is the keyword. I missed that the first time and was unable to achieve the desired result. – tryingToLearn Apr 13 '18 at 06:34
4

I get `No VNC extension on display :1` – Elia Weiss Aug 05 '18 at 12:05

score 20 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 10 '16 at 13:04

20

Install:
```
sudo apt-get install autocutsel
```

Run vi /home/b37399/.vnc/xstartup and add this line:

autocutsel -fork

like this:

#!/bin/bash
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources  
autocutsel -fork  
startxfce4 &

Restart vncserver

edited Apr 10 '16 at 13:04

techraf

3,306
10
26
37

answered Apr 06 '16 at 12:46

ashish

300
2
5

1

autocutsel worked for me, but not the "vncconfig -nowin &" or "vncconfig -display :1" – Mithun B Nov 22 '17 at 07:50
1

not working on debian 8.10 – user889030 Jun 23 '18 at 16:09
2

this works for me on Debian 9 – Muhammad Hassaan Aug 26 '18 at 16:34
1

As `vncconfig` appears to only be available with TigerVNC setups, the `autocutsel` trick helped - thanks! – ckujau Oct 16 '18 at 01:29
1

The fix applies to both copying to and from the remote system. Tested on Mac OS High Sierra / Ubuntu 18.04 – Ruslans Uralovs Oct 24 '18 at 18:13

score 10 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 09 '11 at 08:58

10

I use the following line in my login-script:

vncconfig -nowin&

Hope it works for you!?

answered Jun 09 '11 at 08:58

Clausi

4,937
2
16
19

1

Do you run this before `vnc4server` or after? – kurdtpage May 27 '18 at 23:45

binW · Answer 4 · 2011-05-17T13:58:31.310

9

It depends on the VNC client that you are using. If you are using RealVNC then open the VNC Viewer Properties dialog and, on the Inputs tab, turn on Share clipboard with VNC Server.

UPDATE:
Try this. Connect using vncviewer and run vncconfig within the remote window, check the options regarding the clipboard and then try.
enter image description here

edited May 17 '11 at 13:58

answered May 13 '11 at 05:25

binW

12,804
8
49
66

Pls see my updates in the question. – karthick87 May 17 '11 at 12:17
@karthick87: you are looking at VNC server's properties. Go to VNC viewer's Properties dialog – binW May 17 '11 at 12:42
No its not there in VNC viewer properties.Look @ the snapshot pls. – karthick87 May 17 '11 at 12:54
@karthick87: I have updated the answer. Plz try the vncconfig method. I believe it will work because it has always worked for me. – binW May 18 '11 at 06:40
Do you want me to type vncconfig in command prompt ? – karthick87 May 18 '11 at 07:07
@karthick87: run 'vncconfig' from command prompt or using Alt+F2. It will open a VNC Config dialog as shown in the image above. Check all the options and then try copy-pasting between local and remote systems. – binW May 18 '11 at 07:19
@karthick87: did it help? – binW May 19 '11 at 05:58
I will try that tonight and let me update the status :) – karthick87 May 19 '11 at 09:09
Pls see the output on my question.. – karthick87 May 20 '11 at 09:58
@karthick87: can you plz tell us what command line are you using to run vnc server. Also plz run "ps ax|grep Xvnc" and add its output to the question. And plz remember to add @binW in the comment when you reply to me because otherwise I dont get notified. – binW Jun 05 '11 at 16:21
I get 'No VNC extension on display :1' – Elia Weiss Aug 05 '18 at 12:06

score 3 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 02 '14 at 14:39

I use Remote login with vnc-ltsp-config with GNOME Desktop Environment on CentOS 5.9. From experimenting today, I managed to get cut and paste working for the session and the login prompt (because I'm lazy and would rather cut and paste difficult passwords).

Created a file vncconfig.desktop in the /etc/xdg/autostart directory which enabled cut and paste during the session after login. The vncconfig process is run as the logged in user.

[Desktop Entry]
Name=No name
Encoding=UTF-8
Version=1.0
Exec=vncconfig -nowin
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Added vncconfig -nowin & to the bottom of the file /etc/gdm/Init/Desktop which enabled cut and paste in the session during login but terminates after login. The vncconfig process is run as root.
Adding vncconfig -nowin & to the bottom of the file /etc/gdm/PostLogin/Desktop also enabled cut and paste during the session after login. The vncconfig process is run as root however.

This seems to be the only solution where copy-and-paste is enabled at startup/boot/login and in the background. I'm running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and could not get @Clausi's answer to work. — John Girata, Jul 26 '13 at 21:19

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 13 '17 at 07:15

2

I tried all the above suggestions with no luck.

I eventually solved it by replacing the vnc server from tightvncserver to vnc4server

On any manner, make sure that under ~/.vnc/xstartup you have the line

vncconfig -iconic &

answered Apr 13 '17 at 07:15

Yuval Atzmon

303
2
8

1

This is the **only** suggestion that worked for me, thanks! I was also using `tightvncserver`, and I had `autocutsel -fork` in my `xstartup`. But the clipboard was only working from remove to local machine (not the other way around). I installed `vnc4server` and added `vncconfig -iconic &` right after `autocutsel -fork`. Clipboard is now working bidirectionally! – Maghoumi Sep 22 '21 at 17:01

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited Dec 05 '12 at 20:04

1

Try using www.letscopypaste.com or pastebin.com .
They offer simple to use clipboard capability.

edited Dec 05 '12 at 20:04

Vlad K.

321
1
3
10

answered Jul 21 '12 at 23:33

Alex2061

11
1

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jan 05 '16 at 19:54

1

Using tightvnc (with the command: vncviewer) on Puppy Linux, I have to press F8 in the remote window to bring up the VNC menu. The VNC menu has entries for "Clipboard: local -> remote" and "Clipboard: local <- remote". I have to copy some text, use either of those entries, and then paste on the other system. I don't know if this is related to your particular problem, but it does behave like the symptoms you described if I don't use the menu.

answered Jan 05 '16 at 19:54

Anonymous

11
1

Thank you. `vncconfig` did nothing this time, but I remember that adding it at the xstartup you can enable that feature. But using F8 I can enable or disable easily the direcction of the data, enabling only Remote->Local and never the opossite. – m3nda Jan 28 '16 at 10:07
in my linux setup, I menu pop up but either copying didnt worked :( thanks for this menu hint, I wonder how did you find, there in the help menu they didnt show – nerkn Dec 06 '18 at 10:29

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Aug 11 '17 at 08:35

1

In a new terminal window, I used the command vncconfig, the command keeps running and you can use the copy and paste functions in other windows or terminals.

answered Aug 11 '17 at 08:35

Pransh Tiwari

171
4
6

Dhiraj Jha · Answer 10 · 2018-06-29T08:18:33.280

enter code hereThis below config works perfectly fine for Ubuntu 16.04 and Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Please freshly copy-paste/replace the below config to ~/.vnc/xstartup and restart your vnc.  It will definitely work.  
_____________________________________

#!/bin/sh

# Uncomment the following two lines for normal desktop:
# unset SESSION_MANAGER
# exec /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

[ -x /etc/vnc/xstartup ] && exec /etc/vnc/xstartup
[ -r $HOME/.Xresources ] && xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
autocutsel -fork  
vncconfig -iconic &
vncconfig -nowin &
x-terminal-emulator -geometry 80x24+10+10 -ls -title "$VNCDESKTOP Desktop" &
x-window-manager &

gnome-panel &
gnome-settings-daemon &
metacity &
nautilus &

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 13 '19 at 18:47

0

The only way I could fix this is to install clipIt.

Without ClipIt, I could only paste from VNC client to Console.

ClipIt took care of copying clipboard information to the GDE3 clipboard, so that I could do an insert in Terminal for example.

answered Aug 13 '19 at 18:47

Arjen Hiemstra

1

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Nov 11 '19 at 19:58

For me, I have tried all the solutions above but none worked. The real solution for me is to kill the process klipper. Not sure why but this process is the root cause of preventing me from copy and paste from windows to VNC.

ps aux|grep klipper
kill -9 <klipper_pid>

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 21 '20 at 07:46

Different vncservers locate their configurations in different directories. In case you can't change your configuration despite adding autocutsel -fork in ~/.vnc/xstartup, you could also probably run find if /etc/X11/Xsession exist, if so, you can simply add autocutsel -fork and restart your vnc session. It works for me.

face. · Answer 14 · 2023-03-10T09:10:43.667

0

It can be sketchy, but has successfully worked for me in a pinch. Use Microsoft PowerToys Text Extractor. I can vouch for a ~47 character token with only one obvious 0 to O error at the very end of the string.

Screenshot of tool description and hotkeys

edited Mar 10 '23 at 09:10

answered Mar 10 '23 at 09:10

face.

1
1

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered May 13 '11 at 05:19

0

The VNC viewer you are using has to support this feature otherwise you're just copying it localy on the remote system.

answered May 13 '11 at 05:19

LayerCake

1,036
9
23

score 0 · Answer 16 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 08:01

Some commentary on your problem: RealVNC's is proprietary and it's clipboard support may be entirely incompatible with tightvncserver. I've used both, together, in the past but I don't remember 100% if clipboard sharing worked bettween them. I do know for sure that RealVNC-server paired with RealVNC-viewer did accommodate clipboard sharing; but RealVNC-server is not free (as in $$s)

You might try:

tightvnc viewer from http://www.tightvnc.com/download.php It might be more compatible with whatever method tightvncserver used to share the clipboard.
or, perhaps you could go with an alternate protocol, ie NX (nxserver/nxclient ... some info at: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/NomachineNX). Clipboard sharing worked for me on that without any custom settings.

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Sep 28 '16 at 02:52

One more cause for this is multiple instances of vncconfig instances running conflicting with each other. In my case i had custom vncserver setup, but the vncconfig started as part of the system boot conflicted with the custom vncconfig setting.

To resolve this kill unwanted vncconfig instances running.

To get the list of vncconfig instances currently running:

ps -ef | grep vncconfig

To kill :

kill -9 <process_id>

How to copy/paste text from remote system?

17 Answers17