HTMLElement.oncopy

The oncopy property of the HTMLElement interface is an event handler that processes copy events.

The copy event fires when the user attempts to copy text.

Syntax

target.oncopy = functionRef;

Value

functionRef is a function name or a function expression. The function receives a ClipboardEvent object as its sole argument.

Example

This example blocks every copy and paste attempt from the <textarea>.

HTML

<h3>Play with this text area:</h3>
<textarea id="editor" rows="3">Try copying and pasting text into this field!</textarea>

<h3>Log:</h3>
<p id="log"></p>

JavaScript

const log = document.getElementById('log');

function logCopy(event) {
  log.innerText = 'Copy blocked!\n' + log.innerText;
  event.preventDefault();
}

function logPaste(event) {
  log.innerText = 'Paste blocked!\n' + log.innerText;
  event.preventDefault();
}

const editor = document.getElementById('editor');

editor.oncopy = logCopy;
editor.onpaste = logPaste;

Result

Specifications

WHATWG Standard

Browser compatibility

Since Firefox 13, the preference dom.event.clipboardevents.enabled controls this feature. It defaults to true but can be disabled.

See also

• Clipboard API event copy
• Related event handlers
  • HTMLElement.oncut
  • HTMLElement.onpaste