Clipboard Adapter Intercepts Paste Operations for Rich Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Many applications, such as web browsers, can only access limited data formats on a clipboard, preventing the transfer of richer data formats even when they are available, and existing solutions often require modifying or deleting existing data on the clipboard, which is undesirable.
Innovation Solution
An adapter application intercepts paste operations and provides richer data representations to destination applications without modifying the clipboard, by identifying and registering with paste targets that support richer data formats and generating destination data in appropriate formats for the receiving application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an application only accesses limited data formats on the clipboard, then the application maintains simplicity and compatibility, but the ability to transfer rich data formats is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a clipboard extension as an intermediary component that sits between the clipboard system and applications. This extension intercepts paste operations and converts rich data formats into formats that simple applications can understand, allowing applications to access rich data without needing to be complex or natively support multiple formats
Solution Approach 2:
The clipboard extension automatically detects and converts data formats without requiring application intervention. When paste data is detected, the extension self-service converts it to appropriate formats based on the destination application's capabilities, eliminating the need for applications to actively manage format conversions
2Adaptability or versatility
If existing clipboard data is modified to enable rich data access, then rich data transfer is enabled, but existing data integrity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs data format conversion in advance, before the paste operation completes. The clipboard extension pre-processes the copied data into multiple formats and stores these conversions ready for delivery, so that when the paste operation occurs, the data is already prepared without needing to modify the original clipboard content
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of modifying the original clipboard data, the patent creates and maintains copies of the data in different formats. The clipboard extension generates format conversions as separate copies that can be delivered to applications without affecting the source data on the clipboard, preserving data integrity while enabling format accessibility
3Adaptability or versatility
If all applications have full clipboard access, then rich data transfer is maximized, but system complexity and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by providing different data format access levels to different applications based on their capabilities. The clipboard extension analyzes each application's format support and delivers appropriately converted data, giving each application the specific quality of data access it needs without requiring all applications to have universal access to all formats
Solution Approach 2:
The clipboard extension serves as a security-mediated intermediary that controls and filters clipboard access. It monitors paste operations, determines which formats the destination application can handle, and selectively converts and delivers data, thereby enabling rich data transfer while maintaining system security and managing complexity through centralized control
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for enabling access to data, including data represented using a variety of “richer” data formats, are disclosed. Such systems and methods may be useful, among a variety of cases, with applications or entities that may not typically be able to access such richer data. In at least some implementations, data copied to a clipboard and formatted using a variety of formats may be provided or accessed by a destination application as part of a paste operation even when the destination application may not natively provide the ability to access all of the data formats that might exist on a clipboard. In at least some implementations, such access may be provided without modifying or augmenting the data placed on the clipboard.