onbeforepaste Event

Internet Development Index

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Fires on the target object before the selection is pasted from the system clipboard to the document.

Syntax

Inline HTML	<ELEMENT onbeforepaste = "handler" ... >	All platforms
Event property	object.onbeforepaste = handler	JScript only
	object.onbeforepaste = GetRef("handler")	Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) 5.0 or later only
Named script	<SCRIPT FOR = object EVENT = onbeforepaste>	Internet Explorer only

Event Information

Bubbles	Yes
Cancels	Yes
To invoke	After copying or cutting text: Right-click to display the shortcut menu and select Paste. Or press CTRL+V.
Default action	None.

Event Object Properties

Although event handlers in the DHTML Object Model do not receive parameters directly, a handler can query an event object for data.

Available Properties

altKey	Sets or retrieves a value that indicates the state of the ALT key.
altLeft	Sets or retrieves a value that indicates the state of the left ALT key.
cancelBubble	Sets or retrieves whether the current event should bubble up the hierarchy of event handlers.
clientX	Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the client area of the window, excluding window decorations and scroll bars.
clientY	Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the client area of the window, excluding window decorations and scroll bars.
ctrlKey	Sets or retrieves the state of the CTRL key.
ctrlLeft	Sets or retrieves the state of the left CTRL key.
dataTransfer	Provides access to predefined clipboard formats for use in drag-and-drop operations.
offsetX	Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the object firing the event.
offsetY	Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the object firing the event.
returnValue	Sets or retrieves the return value from the event.
screenX	Retrieves the x-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the user's screen.
screenY	Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate of the mouse pointer's position relative to the user's screen.
shiftKey	Sets or retrieves the state of the SHIFT key.
shiftLeft	Retrieves the state of the left SHIFT key.
srcElement	Sets or retrieves the object that fired the event.
type	Sets or retrieves the event name from the event object.
x	Sets or retrieves the x-coordinate, in pixels, of the mouse pointer's position relative to a relatively positioned parent element.
y	Sets or retrieves the y-coordinate, in pixels, of the mouse pointer's position relative to a relatively positioned parent element.

Remarks

Creating custom code for pasting requires several steps:

1. Set event.returnValue=false in the onbeforepaste event to enable the Paste shortcut menu item.
2. Cancel the default behavior of the browser by including event.returnValue=false in the onpaste event handler. This guideline applies only to objects, such as the text box, that have a defined default behavior.
3. Specify a data format in which to paste the selection through the getData method of the clipboardData object.
4. Invoke the getData method in the onpaste event to execute custom code for pasting.

Standards Information

There is no public standard that applies to this event.

Applies To

A, ADDRESS, APPLET, AREA, B, BDO, BIG, BLOCKQUOTE, BODY, BUTTON, CAPTION, CENTER, CITE, CODE, CUSTOM, DD, DFN, DIR, DIV, DL, document, DT, EM, EMBED, FIELDSET, FONT, FORM, hn, HR, I, IMG, INPUT type=button, INPUT type=checkbox, INPUT type=file, INPUT type=image, INPUT type=password, INPUT type=radio, INPUT type=reset, INPUT type=submit, INPUT type=text, KBD, LABEL, LEGEND, LI, LISTING, MAP, MARQUEE, MENU, nextID, NOBR, OL, P, PLAINTEXT, PRE, RT, RUBY, S, SAMP, SELECT, SMALL, SPAN, STRIKE, STRONG, SUB, SUP, TABLE, TBODY, TD, TEXTAREA, TFOOT, TH, THEAD, TR, TT, U, UL, VAR, XMP

See Also

About DHTML Data Transfer, getData, onbeforecopy, onbeforecut, oncopy, oncut, onpaste