SWT – Putting a file into the clipboard

I recently got the question how you can put a file into the system clipboard.

SWT makes this trivial:

[sourcecode language=”java”]

package de.vogella.desktop.clipboard;

import org.eclipse.swt.dnd.Clipboard;
import org.eclipse.swt.dnd.FileTransfer;
import org.eclipse.swt.dnd.Transfer;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;

/**
* Utility class for putting files into the system clipboard
*
* @author Lars Vogel
*/

public final class CopyFileToClipboard {

private CopyFileToClipboard() {
// Utility class, prevent instantiation
}

/**
* Copy a file into the clipboard
* Assumes the file exists -> no additional check
* @param fileName – includes the path
*/

public static void copytoClipboard(String fileName) {
Display display = Display.getCurrent();
Clipboard clipboard = new Clipboard(display);
String[] data = { fileName };
clipboard.setContents(new Object[] { data },
new Transfer[] { FileTransfer.getInstance() });
clipboard.dispose();
}
}

[/sourcecode]

Afer calling the method with a correct filename you should be able to paste the file, e.g. Strg+V into your system file browser.