Clipboard Variable Only Returns "v" in Windows Remote Desktop (Mac → Windows RDP)

Questions and Help
1

Hi everyone,

I'm experiencing a strange issue with the {clipboard} variable when using Text Blaze through Remote Desktop.

My Setup:

macOS host machine with Text Blaze installed

Connecting to Windows machine via Microsoft Remote Desktop

No admin rights on Windows machine (cannot install Text Blaze Desktop app there)

The Problem:
When I copy JSON data to my clipboard and trigger a snippet that uses {clipboard}, it only returns the letter "v" instead of the actual clipboard content. The JSON pastes correctly when I manually use Ctrl+V in the Windows session, so I know the clipboard content is there.

What I've Tried:

Copying and pasting through Notepad first in Windows session

Using {formtext} input fields - same issue, only shows "v"

Different regex patterns with extractregex

The snippet works perfectly on macOS, only fails in Windows RDP

Example snippet:

{clean_json=extractregex({clipboard}, "{[\s\S]*?}")}
{data=fromjson(clean_json)}
{=data.headline}{key: tab}
{=data.title}

Has anyone encountered this with Remote Desktop? Is there a workaround that doesn't require installing Text Blaze on the Windows machine?

Thanks in advance!

2

Hi @Blazingfast,

Thanks for reporting the issue.

Since Text Blaze is running on your Mac, it only has access to the Mac’s clipboard. Can you check if you’re able to copy something from the remote Windows desktop and paste it into a Mac app (like Notes or TextEdit)? That would help confirm whether the clipboard sync between RDP and macOS is working properly.

3

Hi @AshwinMittal, thanks for your fast reply! Yes, I can copy text on macos and paste it in windows editor. I tried pasting it to editor in clipboard in remote windows environment and copying it to clipboard again from there but that does not change anything: a simple text blaze "clipboard" snippet just returns "v" then. does text blaze try to run a macos command v like pasting text which does not work in windows?

4

Text Blaze emulates paste action (Cmd + V) on macOS for insertion. Please check if that works in your Remote Windows.

If it doesn’t, you might try using a key remapping tool such as Microsoft PowerToys to map Cmd/Win + V to Ctrl + V. Let me know if that helps.

5

In Windows Cmd + V works as well as Ctrl + V. I didnt find a combination that outputs just v..

6

I am afraid I have no admin rights to install PowerToys as well.

7

Hey @Blazingfast in the meantime, I wish to clarify that the Text Blaze Windows app does not need admin rights to install or execute. Did you get any UAC prompt while installing the Text Blaze app?

1 Like
8

Thanks @Blazingfast for confirming that.
I am able to reproduce the issue on my end, and we have already started working on a fix. I will keep you posted as soon as we have an update.

1 Like
9

Thanks a lot!!! :slight_smile: This would be a FANTASTIC help!!

10

Hi @AshwinMittal , will there be an update?

11

Hi @blazingfast,

It’s taking longer than expected due to some technical complexities.
Please rest assured, I’ll keep you updated as soon as it’s resolved.

1 Like
12

If shorcuts will not work universally, maybe you could add a switch to set them to "windows mode", so they only work via remote desktop? This would help as well.