I'm currently stuck using a form-filling application at work where it seems like the copy/paste feature is completely disabled in certain fields. I can't highlight any text, Ctrl+C isn't functional, and right-clicking doesn't show any copy options either. I really need to reuse some details like reference numbers or prefilled information into another document, but manually typing everything is a huge time sink. I'm not looking to modify or hack the software, just wondering if there's a legitimate way to enable copy/paste if it's been disabled by the developer. Are there any OS-level settings that might help, or is resorting to OCR or screenshot tools my only option? If anyone's faced a similar issue, I would love to hear your practical suggestions! Thanks!
1 Answer
It really depends on what framework the app is built on, but you might want to check out some Accessibility tools. Like, using Windows Narrator or other screen readers might allow you to extract text that wouldn’t usually be selectable. Just keep in mind the text needs to be rendered properly as text, not images, for this to work. If that doesn't help, you could try AutoHotkey; it can grab text from standard Windows controls but may struggle with custom UI frameworks. If all else fails, OCR tools are probably your best bet!
Is there anything I can tweak in the application settings to enable copy and paste?