Clipboard in EJ2 JavaScript Grid control

13 Apr 202320 minutes to read

The clipboard provides an option to copy selected rows or cells data into the clipboard.

The following list of keyboard shortcuts is supported in the Grid to copy selected rows or cells data into the clipboard.

Interaction keys	Description
`Ctrl + C`	Copy selected rows or cells data into clipboard.
`Ctrl + Shift + H`	Copy selected rows or cells data with header into clipboard.

index.js
index.html
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    allowSelection: true,
    selectionSettings: { type: 'Multiple' },
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', textAlign: 'Right', width: 120 },
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipName', headerText: 'Ship Name', width: 150 }
    ],
    height: 272
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-calendars/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-notifications/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">

    
    
    <style>
        .e-row[aria-selected="true"] .e-customizedExpandcell {
            background-color: #e0e0e0;
        }
        .e-grid.e-gridhover tr[role='row']:hover {
            background-color: #eee;
        }
        .e-expand::before {
        content: '\e5b8';
    }
    .empImage {
        margin: 6px 16px;
        float: left;
        width: 50px;
        height: 50px;
    }
    </style>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>

<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Copy to clipboard by external buttons

To copy selected rows or cells data into the clipboard with help of external buttons, you need to invoke the copy method.

index.js
index.html
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    allowSelection: true,
    selectionSettings: { type: 'Multiple' },
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', textAlign: 'Right', width: 120 },
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Ship City', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipName', headerText: 'Ship Name', width: 150 }
    ],
    height: 280
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');

var copyBtn = new ej.buttons.Button();
copyBtn.appendTo('#copy');

document.getElementById('copy').addEventListener('click', function(){
    grid.copy();
});

var copyHeaderBtn = new ej.buttons.Button();
copyHeaderBtn.appendTo('#copyHeader');

document.getElementById('copyHeader').addEventListener('click', function(){
    grid.copy(true);
});
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">    
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-calendars/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
    
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    
    <div id="container">                  
        <button id="copy">Copy</button>             
        <button id="copyHeader">Copy With Header</button>
        <div id="Grid"></div>        
    </div>

<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

AutoFill

AutoFill Feature allows you to copy the data of selected cells and paste it to another cells by just dragging the autofill icon of the selected cells up to required cells. This feature is enabled by defining enableAutoFill property as true.

index.js
index.html
ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Edit, ej.grids.Toolbar);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    enableHover: false,
    enableAutoFill: true,
    toolbar: ['Add', 'Update', 'Cancel'],
    selectionSettings: { type: 'Multiple', mode: 'Cell', cellSelectionMode: 'Box' },
    editSettings: { allowEditing: true, allowAdding: true, allowDeleting: true, mode: 'Batch' },
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', textAlign: 'Right', isPrimaryKey: true, visible: false, width: 120 },
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipName', headerText: 'Ship Name', width: 150 }
     ]
    height: 280
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-calendars/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-notifications/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">

    
    
    <style>
        .e-row[aria-selected="true"] .e-customizedExpandcell {
            background-color: #e0e0e0;
        }
        .e-grid.e-gridhover tr[role='row']:hover {
            background-color: #eee;
        }
        .e-expand::before {
        content: '\e5b8';
    }
    .empImage {
        margin: 6px 16px;
        float: left;
        width: 50px;
        height: 50px;
    }
    </style>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>

<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

If enableAutoFill is set to true, then the autofill icon will be displayed on cell selection to copy cells.

It requires the selection mode to be Cell, cellSelectionMode to be Box and also Batch Editing should be enabled.

Limitations of AutoFill

Since the string values are not parsed to number and date type, so when the selected string type cells are dragged to number type cells then it will display as NaN. For date type cells, when the selected string type cells are dragged to date type cells then it will display as an empty cell.
Linear series and the sequential data generations are not supported in this autofill feature.

Paste

You can able to copy the content of a cell or a group of cells by selecting the cells and pressing Ctrl + C shortcut key and paste it to another set of cells by selecting the cells and pressing Ctrl + V shortcut key.

index.js
index.html
ej.grids.Grid.Inject(ej.grids.Edit, ej.grids.Toolbar);
var grid = new ej.grids.Grid({
    dataSource: data,
    enableHover: false,
    toolbar: ['Add', 'Update', 'Cancel'],
    selectionSettings: { type: 'Multiple', mode: 'Cell', cellSelectionMode: 'Box' },
    editSettings: { allowEditing: true, allowAdding: true, allowDeleting: true, mode: 'Batch' },
    columns: [
        { field: 'OrderID', headerText: 'Order ID', textAlign: 'Right', isPrimaryKey: true, visible: false, width: 120 },
        { field: 'CustomerID', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCity', headerText: 'Customer ID', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipCountry', headerText: 'Ship Country', width: 150 },
        { field: 'ShipName', headerText: 'Ship Name', width: 150 }
     ]
    height: 280
});
grid.appendTo('#Grid');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>EJ2 Grid</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript Grid Control">
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion">
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-grids/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-popups/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-richtexteditor/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-navigations/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-lists/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-calendars/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-notifications/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-splitbuttons/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">

    
    
    <style>
        .e-row[aria-selected="true"] .e-customizedExpandcell {
            background-color: #e0e0e0;
        }
        .e-grid.e-gridhover tr[role='row']:hover {
            background-color: #eee;
        }
        .e-expand::before {
        content: '\e5b8';
    }
    .empImage {
        margin: 6px 16px;
        float: left;
        width: 50px;
        height: 50px;
    }
    </style>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="es5-datasource.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
    
    <div id="container">
        <div id="Grid"></div>
    </div>

<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

To perform paste functionality, it requires the selection mode to be Cell, cellSelectionMode to be Box and also Batch Editing should be enabled.

Limitations of Paste Functionality

Since the string values are not parsed to number and date type, so when the copied string type cells are pasted to number type cells then it will display as NaN. For date type cells, when the copied string format cells are pasted to date type cells then it will display as an empty cell.