> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.devolutions.net/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.devolutions.net/rdm/knowledge-base/troubleshooting-articles/third-party-clipboard-issues.md). # Third-party clipboard issues Fix browsers, clipboard managers, and other applications that interfere with credential pasting in Remote Desktop Manager, using Clipboard diagnostics. Third-party applications such as web browsers, Electron applications, clipboard managers, remote support tools, screen recorders, accessibility software, and phone companion apps can interfere with Remote Desktop Manager’s clipboard features. Common issues include: * Copied credentials disappearing before they can be pasted. * The username pastes correctly, but the clipboard is empty when pasting the password. * The username pastes a second time instead of the password, in a web browser or an Electron application. * The clipboard is cleared immediately after copying. * The wrong value is pasted. For example, the clipboard manager’s cached value instead of the live credential. ***Copy username and password*** places the username on the clipboard first. Once the username is pasted, Remote Desktop Manager replaces it with the password. This article explains how to diagnose the issue and which solution applies to each scenario. The ***Clipboard diagnostics*** tool and the solutions in this article apply to Remote Desktop Manager on Windows. ### macOS and Linux On macOS and Linux, ***Copy username and password*** gives out the next value each time an application reads the clipboard. Remote Desktop Manager does not detect clipboard managers or applications that read the clipboard when they receive the focus, so these applications can take the username or the password before it is pasted. The ***Clipboard diagnostics*** tool, the ***Delays***, ***Block list***, and ***Auto-readers*** lists, and the ***Clipboard - Next value*** shortcut are not available on these platforms. On macOS, Remote Desktop Manager marks the copied values as concealed and transient, which clipboard managers that follow these macOS conventions do not record. To avoid the issue, copy the values separately with ***Copy username*** and ***Copy password***, with ***Clipboard copy method*** set to ***Legacy*** in the ***Clipboard*** – ***Advanced*** settings. ### Diagnose with the Clipboard diagnostics tool Before changing any settings, use the ***Clipboard diagnostics*** tool to identify which process reads the clipboard: 1. In Remote Desktop Manager, go to ***Help*** – ***Clipboard diagnostics***. 2. Copy a credential using ***Copy username and password*** (or whichever action is failing). 3. Paste the values in the target application. 4. In the ***Status*** tab, review the ***Blacklisted*** and ***Allowlisted*** lists. 5. In the ***Debug*** tab, review the ***Profiler*** trace. The ***Blacklisted*** list shows the processes that were denied the clipboard content during the current session, such as Windows clipboard history, processes matching a block list rule, and processes that requested the private formats Remote Desktop Manager adds to the clipboard (***Private format*** column). The ***Allowlisted*** list shows the processes that received the clipboard content. Some reads do not appear in the ***Status*** tab: * Applications that do not identify a window when they read the clipboard, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Electron applications (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Visual Studio Code). The ***Profiler*** trace shows these reads as `Null requester` lines marked `Served` or `Refused`. * Clipboard managers detected automatically. The ***Profiler*** trace shows these reads as `AutoReader feeding` lines followed by the process name. Once the interfering process has been identified, apply the appropriate solution. ### Solutions #### Username pasted again instead of the password (web browsers and Electron applications) ***Symptom:*** After ***Copy username and password***, the username pastes correctly in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Visual Studio Code, or another Chromium-based or Electron application. Pasting again gives the username a second time, and the password never comes. ***Why this happens:*** These applications read the clipboard without identifying a window, and they also read it when a text box receives the focus. Remote Desktop Manager cannot tell such a read from a paste, so it provides the current value without moving to the next one. A read that arrives less than 500 ms after the copy is refused. ***Solution:*** Request the next value with the ***Clipboard - Next value*** keyboard shortcut: 1. Copy the credential using ***Copy username and password***. 2. Paste the username in the application. 3. Press Ctrl+Alt+V. 4. Paste the password. While Remote Desktop Manager waits for this shortcut, the status bar displays ***Press 'Ctrl+Alt+V' for the next value. Clearing clipboard in N sec.*** The shortcut works while another application has the focus. It has no effect when no value is waiting, or when the clipboard was cleared or replaced by another copy. To change the shortcut, go to ***File*** – ***Settings*** – ***User interface*** – ***Keyboard*** and modify ***Clipboard - Next value***. Restart Remote Desktop Manager to apply the change. {% hint style="info" %} No setting restores the automatic switch to the password for these applications. The ***Disable null requester check (advanced)*** setting only stops Remote Desktop Manager from refusing reads that arrive less than 500 ms after the copy. To avoid the shortcut, copy the values separately with ***Copy username*** and ***Copy password***. {% endhint %} #### Clipboard managers (CLCL, Ditto, ClipX, etc.) ***Symptom:*** A clipboard manager reads the values of a ***Copy username and password*** sequence before they can be pasted, leaving nothing for the manual paste. ***Why this happens:*** Clipboard managers read the clipboard within milliseconds of any change. Many of them ignore the private clipboard formats that Remote Desktop Manager uses to signal “do not capture this”. ***Solution:*** No action is required with the default settings. Remote Desktop Manager detects clipboard managers by the time between the copy and the read: * Any process that reads the clipboard less than ***500 ms*** after a value is placed on it is treated as a clipboard manager. * Remote Desktop Manager gives it the current value once, so the clipboard history remains intact, without moving to the next value. Further reads of the same value by that process are blocked. * The paste action receives the value and moves the sequence to the next value. This works with multiple clipboard managers running simultaneously. It requires ***Background clipboard access*** to be set to ***Feed once***, the default value, in ***File*** – ***Settings*** – ***Application*** – ***Clipboard*** – ***Advanced***. If a clipboard manager is not detected (for example, on high-latency virtualized desktops), add it to the ***Auto-readers*** list. Processes in this list always receive the current value and never move the sequence to the next value, regardless of timing: 1. Go to ***Help*** – ***Clipboard diagnostics***. 2. Select the ***Configuration*** tab. 3. In the ***Auto-readers*** section, click ***New***. 4. Enter the ***Process name*** of the clipboard manager. 5. Click ***Save***. Increasing the **ClipboardAutoReaderThresholdMs** hidden setting (500 ms by default) also helps detection on these desktops. {% hint style="info" %} The ***Delays***, ***Block list***, and ***Auto-readers*** sections can be edited only when ***Clipboard copy method*** is set to ***Paste once (secure)***. Their entries apply to every paste-once copy, including ***Copy username and password***, whichever method is selected. {% endhint %} #### Blocklisting a process ***Symptom:*** A specific application that is not a clipboard manager reads the clipboard and interferes. Known problematic applications: | Application | Notes | | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | ***Phone Link (PhoneExperienceHost.exe)*** | Synchronizes clipboard to mobile devices. | | ***Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer*** | Monitors clipboard for connection strings. | | ***Citrix GoToAssist*** | Remote support agent. | | ***Microsoft Garage Mouse without Borders*** | Shares clipboard across machines. | | ***TeamViewer*** | Clipboard synchronization feature. | 1. Go to ***Help*** – ***Clipboard diagnostics***. 2. Copy a credential to reproduce the issue. 3. In the ***Status*** tab, find the interfering process in the ***Allowlisted*** or ***Blacklisted*** list. 4. Right-click the process and select ***Add***. 5. Click ***Save*** in the block list rule window. The rule is saved permanently. The process is silently denied access to the values Remote Desktop Manager copies with the paste-once mechanism. Block list rules can also be created in the ***Configuration*** tab, with the ***New*** button of the ***Block list*** section. {% hint style="info" %} Blocklisting prevents the application from reading Remote Desktop Manager-controlled clipboard content only. It does not affect the application’s normal operation outside of Remote Desktop Manager credential copies. Applications that do not identify a window when they read the clipboard, such as web browsers and Electron applications, cannot be blocklisted. {% endhint %} #### Add a delay (applications that read the clipboard several times) ***Symptom:*** The clipboard works sometimes but fails intermittently with an application listed in the ***Allowlisted*** list of the ***Status*** tab. The application reads the clipboard several times for a single paste, so it receives the password, or an empty clipboard, when it expects the username. A delay makes Remote Desktop Manager wait after the application reads the clipboard before moving the sequence to the next value. Delays only apply to applications that identify a window when they read the clipboard. They have no effect on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Electron applications that do not. With these applications, press Ctrl+Alt+V after pasting the username to get the password. The ***Delays*** list includes predefined 100 ms entries for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Edge embedded (WebView2), Brave Browser, the Windows host process (Rundll32), and the Essential Objects worker process. 1. Go to ***Help*** – ***Clipboard diagnostics***. 2. Select the ***Configuration*** tab. 3. In the ***Delays*** section, click ***New***. 4. Enter the ***Process name*** of the application. 5. Set the ***Delay***, between 100 and 5000 ms. 6. Click ***Save***. If the issue persists, edit the entry and increase the delay. #### Legacy clipboard method ***Symptom:*** A single-value copy, such as ***Copy password*** or ***Copy username***, does not paste correctly in a specific application when ***Clipboard copy method*** is set to ***Paste once (secure)***. {% hint style="success" %} The ***Clipboard copy method*** setting does not affect ***Copy username and password***. That action always uses the ***Paste once (secure)*** mechanism because it is the only method that supports the sequential username-then-password paste flow. This solution applies to single-value copy actions only. {% endhint %} 1. Go to ***File*** – ***Settings*** – ***Application*** – ***Clipboard*** – ***Advanced***. 2. Set ***Clipboard copy method*** to ***Legacy***. ***Legacy*** is the default value. With this method, the value stays on the clipboard and can be pasted several times until the clipboard is cleared. The ***Delays***, ***Block list***, and ***Auto-readers*** entries do not apply to ***Legacy*** copies. ### Advanced configuration The following options are hidden settings. To change them: 1. Go to ***File*** – ***Settings***. 2. Hold Ctrl+Alt and type NOUI. 3. In the ***Hidden settings*** window, locate the option. 4. Change its value. 5. Click ***Save***. Contact [Devolutions' support team](mailto:service@devolutions.net) if you need assistance applying them.
OptionTypeDefaultWhen to use
ClipboardAutoReaderThresholdMsint500Time, in milliseconds, after a value is placed on the clipboard during which a read is treated as automatic: a clipboard manager receives the value once without moving the sequence, and a read from an application that does not identify a window is refused. Increase it (for example, to 1000) if clipboard managers are not detected on high-latency or virtualized desktops. With a value that is too low, clipboard manager reads are treated as pastes.
ClipboardSendSecureClipboardFormatsWithPasteOnceSecurebooltrueAdds the private clipboard formats that exclude the content from Windows clipboard history, the cloud clipboard, and clipboard monitors to paste-once copies. Set to false if a specific application breaks when these formats are present alongside the credential.
ClipboardSendSecureClipboardFormatsWithLegacyboolfalseSet to true to add these private formats to copies made with the Legacy clipboard method.
EnableClipboardViewerDisablerboolfalseRe-enables a former clipboard viewer blocking mechanism that Remote Desktop Manager no longer uses. Enable only if asked to by Devolutions' support team.
### Still having issues If none of the solutions resolve the problem: 1. Go to ***Help*** – ***Clipboard diagnostics***. 2. Reproduce the issue (copy a credential and attempt to paste it). 3. Click ***Send***. 4. Fill in the support request form. 5. Click ***Send***. The report includes the clipboard settings, the ***Blacklisted*** and ***Allowlisted*** lists of the current session, the configured block list and delays, and the ***Profiler*** trace. Devolutions' support team can use this information to identify the interfering application and recommend the correct configuration for a specific environment. ### See also * [Clipboard diagnostic](/rdm/knowledge-base/troubleshooting-articles/clipboard-diagnostic.md) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.devolutions.net/rdm/knowledge-base/troubleshooting-articles/third-party-clipboard-issues.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.