Copy and paste between your local device and Remote Browser session is not working

Symptoms

• Keyboard shortcuts do not copy or paste text between your local device and Remote Browser session.
• Chrome asks for permission to access the clipboard.
• Copying or pasting a large amount of text produces no result or truncates the text.
• Text entered into the WorkSpaces Applications web portal clipboard dialog does not paste into the remote session.

Affected clients

WorkSpaces Applications uses the W3C asynchronous clipboard specification to copy and paste text between a local device and a streaming session.

Amazon documents direct keyboard-shortcut support for text in Google Chrome version 66 or later. Users of other browsers can transfer text using the Clipboard feature in the WorkSpaces Applications web portal.

Clipboard access can also be limited or disabled by your organisation. An administrator may permit copying in only one direction, or set a character limit for text copied into or out of a session.

Known working configurations

• Google Chrome 66 or later with clipboard access allowed for the WorkSpaces Applications site.
• The WorkSpaces Applications web portal Clipboard dialog when direct keyboard-shortcut clipboard access is unavailable.
• Text that is within the 20 MB default clipboard limit and any lower character limit configured by an administrator.

Cause/status

Troubleshooting guidance available. Copy and paste can fail because the browser does not have clipboard permission, the browser or tab loses focus before copying completes, the text exceeds a clipboard limit, or the streaming application does not regain focus after the clipboard dialog closes.

Clipboard policy may also restrict copying from the session, pasting into the session, or both. Copying between applications entirely on your local device or entirely within the remote session is not affected by the 20 MB transfer limit.

Resolution

Chrome keyboard shortcuts do not work

1. When Chrome asks whether WorkSpaces Applications can access text copied to the clipboard, select Allow.
2. Try copying and pasting a short piece of plain text.
3. When copying from the remote session to your local device, keep both Chrome and the tab containing the session in focus until copying completes.
4. Small amounts of text should copy almost immediately. For larger amounts, wait one or two seconds before changing tabs or switching applications. The required time can vary with network conditions.

A large amount of text does not copy or is truncated

WorkSpaces Applications has a default 20 MB limit for text transferred between your local device and streaming session. If more than 20 MB is copied, no text is transferred. If your administrator configured a lower character limit, text beyond that limit may be truncated.

Divide the text into smaller sections and transfer them separately. If file upload is available and permitted for your session, save the content to a file and upload it instead.

The web portal clipboard dialog does not paste text

1. Open the Clipboard feature in the WorkSpaces Applications web portal.
2. Paste the text into the clipboard dialog and close the dialog as directed.
3. Click inside the remote streaming application to return focus to it.
4. Use the application's normal paste shortcut again.

Opening the clipboard dialog takes focus away from the streaming application. After the dialog closes, focus might not return automatically until you click inside the application.

Troubleshooting

1. Confirm whether you are using Chrome keyboard shortcuts or the web portal Clipboard dialog.
2. If using Chrome, check the site's clipboard permission and select Allow.
3. Test with a short piece of plain text to rule out a transfer-size limit.
4. Keep the session tab in focus while copying text from the remote session.
5. After using the clipboard dialog, click inside the streaming application before using the paste shortcut.
6. If copying works in only one direction, ask your administrator whether a clipboard policy or character limit applies to your session.
7. When contacting SafeJAM Support, include your operating system, browser name and version, copy direction, approximate text size, and whether you used keyboard shortcuts or the clipboard dialog. Do not include the copied text if it contains sensitive information.

For further technical detail, see Amazon's WorkSpaces Applications user troubleshooting guidance.