Copy as plain text

Should be doable just for one app (see below).

Don’t change default behavior unless user asks for it in settings: “Always copy as plain text”.

ROLE
Act as a Senior Software Architect for MacOS.

CONTEXT

My MacOS app generates formatted text. User wants to select this text with cursor, then use CMD+C / CMD+V to paste it to another app. By OS default, text formatting is also copied to clipboard. User wants to have a feature, when CMD+C/CMD+V also removes formatting and pastes plain text. This should be overridden for my app, but work as usual for all other apps.

QUESTION

Is this possible to achieve? Can default copy/paste behavior be modified only for my app?

Claud Sonnet 4.5:

Analysis: Modifying Copy Behavior for Your MacOS App

Short Answer

• Yes, this is possible, but with important caveats about what you can actually control.

What You CAN Control

• You can modify what your app places on the pasteboard when a user copies text from your app. This affects all paste operations, regardless of the destination app.

What You CANNOT Control

• You cannot modify how CMD+V behaves in other applications. The destination app decides what to paste from the available pasteboard types.

Implementation Approaches

Option 1: Override the Copy Operation (Recommended)

Intercept the copy command in your app and place only plain text on the pasteboard:

SWIFT // In your NSViewController or NSTextView subclass override func copy(_ sender: Any?) { guard let selectedText = getSelectedText() else { return }

let pasteboard = NSPasteboard.general
pasteboard.clearContents()
pasteboard.setString(selectedText, forType: .string)
// Don't include .rtf, .html, or other formatted types

}

Pros:

• Clean and reliable

• Standard macOS behavior

• Works system-wide

Cons:

• User loses formatting for all paste destinations (even apps that support it)

Option 1 Will NOT Affect Other Apps

Clear Answer Option 1 will only affect CMD+C when copying FROM your app. Once you switch to another app's window, that app's own copy behavior takes over completely.

Option + Shift + CMD + V:
- hard to press (use 4 fingers?) for a routine task you do many times daily.
- sometimes works differently in different apps.