FarFileClipboard

FarFileClipboard is a Far Manager 3 plugin for x86, x64 and ARM64 by Qwaduda that connects a normal Far file panel to the Windows file clipboard.

Русская версия

Commands

Default hotkey	Command	Behavior
Ctrl+Shift+C	Copy	Puts Insert-selected files/directories on the Windows clipboard; if nothing is selected, uses the item under the cursor.
Ctrl+Shift+X	Cut	Same selection rule, but marks the clipboard operation as Move/Cut.
Ctrl+Shift+V	Paste	Pastes strictly into the directory currently open on the active panel. The item under the cursor never changes the destination.
Ctrl+Shift+D	Paste into directory under cursor	Separate command. Works only when the cursor is on a real directory; does not accept a file, . or ...
Ctrl+Shift+Z	Undo	Undoes the last safely reversible file operation performed by FarFileClipboard itself.
Ctrl+Shift+E	Redo	Repeats the operation that was just undone by FarFileClipboard.

The Far plugin menu (F11) contains one FarFileClipboard entry that opens the plugin's own menu. Undo/Redo are disabled when unavailable. All six hotkeys are configured on one screen in Options -> Plugins configuration -> FarFileClipboard; Ctrl+Shift+ is fixed and only the A-Z letter is editable.

Windows clipboard interoperability

For Far -> Windows, the plugin publishes ordinary file-system paths through CF_HDROP and uses CFSTR_PREFERREDDROPEFFECT to distinguish Copy from Cut/Move. This makes Ctrl+Shift+C / Ctrl+Shift+X from Far pasteable with ordinary Ctrl+V in Explorer and other applications that understand the Windows file clipboard.

For Windows -> Far, ordinary CF_HDROP is used first. If Explorer puts virtual Shell objects on the clipboard without real file-system paths — for example files copied directly from an opened ZIP folder — FarFileClipboard obtains the clipboard IDataObject / IShellItemArray and lets Windows IFileOperation materialize them. Such objects can therefore be pasted directly with Ctrl+Shift+V or Ctrl+Shift+D without manually extracting the archive first.

Both directions are supported:

• Explorer -> Far: Copy/Cut ordinary files and directories, plus Copy virtual objects from Explorer ZIP folders; then use Ctrl+Shift+V or Ctrl+Shift+D in Far.
• Far -> Explorer: Ctrl+Shift+C / Ctrl+Shift+X in Far, then ordinary Ctrl+V in Explorer.

Safe Undo/Redo history is not created for a paste from a virtual Shell source because such an object may not have a stable original file-system path. A new virtual-source paste clears the plugin's previous one-level history.

Undo / Redo

History is one-level and covers only file operations executed by FarFileClipboard during Paste. Copying or cutting files to the clipboard does not itself change the file system, so it creates no undo entry. A paste later performed by Explorer is also outside FarFileClipboard's history.

For safety, an undo entry is created only when none of the destination names existed before the paste. If Windows has to merge a directory or replace an existing object, the operation can still proceed but it is not recorded as undoable.

Undo of Copy removes the newly created objects through Windows Shell with FOF_ALLOWUNDO. Undo of Move returns the objects to their original paths. Before Undo/Redo, the plugin checks file identity and destination conflicts to avoid deleting or overwriting a different object.

Every new successful Paste replaces the previous one-level history. Redo is available only after Undo.

Languages and help

The distribution contains standard Far language and help files:

• FarFileClipboardEng.lng
• FarFileClipboardRus.lng
• FarFileClipboardEng.hlf
• FarFileClipboardRus.hlf

Far chooses the matching language automatically. Press F1 from plugin configuration for built-in help.

Requirements

• Far Manager 3 matching the plugin DLL architecture: x86, x64 or ARM64
• Windows
• Visual Studio 2022 C++ toolchain and CMake to build from source

Build

Run:

build.cmd x86
build.cmd x64
build.cmd ARM64

Runtime directories are created under dist\FarFileClipboard-x86, dist\FarFileClipboard-x64 and dist\FarFileClipboard-ARM64.

x86 is tested in a real 32-bit Far process on GitHub Actions: the workflow verifies undecorated Far API exports, discovers the plugin through F11, and performs an automated Copy/Paste between two panel directories.

ARM64 is additionally tested on a native Windows ARM64 GitHub Actions runner: Far ARM64 is launched with the plugin, the plugin is discovered through F11, and an automated Copy/Paste functional test is performed between two panel directories.

Build all three architectures:

build-all.cmd

Create a distributable ZIP for one architecture:

package.cmd x86
package.cmd x64
package.cmd ARM64

Create all three architecture-specific release ZIPs plus one universal ZIP containing all three builds:

package-all.cmd

The universal FarFileClipboard-1.0.2-all.zip contains FarFileClipboard-x86, FarFileClipboard-x64 and FarFileClipboard-ARM64. The installer reads the PE architecture of the actual target Far.exe and selects the matching directory automatically; the architecture of PowerShell or Windows itself does not affect that choice.

Install

Copy the whole FarFileClipboard directory into:

<Far>\Plugins\FarFileClipboard\

or run:

install.cmd "C:\Path\To\Far Manager"

When install.cmd is started from Far, the target path may be omitted: the installer first detects the running parent Far process, then checks %FARHOME%, then standard Program Files / Program Files (x86) locations. If the destination is protected, the installer requests elevation through Windows UAC automatically. If an existing FarFileClipboard.dll is loaded by a running Far instance, installation continues in a separate window: close that Far instance and the installer resumes automatically when the DLL is released.

An architecture-specific release ZIP includes install.cmd and its install.ps1 worker next to the FarFileClipboard directory. The universal ZIP keeps the three FarFileClipboard-x86/x64/ARM64 directories next to the installer. In either case, run install.cmd after extraction; before copying it prints the detected Far.exe, its architecture, the selected build and the destination, and refuses to install a DLL of the wrong architecture.

If you used the old FarPaste or CopyPaste prototype, remove its old plugin directory before starting Far. FarFileClipboard intentionally keeps the old plugin GUID. Existing hotkey settings migrate when they already match the current Ctrl+Shift+letter model; other legacy combinations fall back to defaults.

Hotkey configuration

Open Options -> Plugins configuration -> FarFileClipboard. All six commands are configured on one screen.

The Ctrl+Shift+ prefix is fixed; each field accepts one Latin letter A-Z. Lowercase input is normalized to uppercase. Defaults restores C / X / V / D / Z / E. Duplicate letters are rejected.

Far stores the value internally in its compact form (CtrlShiftV), while the plugin displays the conventional human-readable form Ctrl+Shift+V.

File-operation behavior

The same configuration screen contains two independent behavior groups.

Progress / responsiveness:

• File transfer work runs on a worker thread; by default Far keeps focus in its modal progress dialog until the operation completes or is cancelled.
• By default FarFileClipboard shows a compact modal progress dialog styled after Far's native copy progress. Its title is simply Copying / Moving, not the plugin name. The current-file and overall sections have localized labels; multiple files or a directory show both indicators. The dialog owns Enter/Esc/F10 and mouse input, so keys cannot fall through to the panels. Cancel, Esc and F10 open a Far-style warning with Yes/No confirmation; No resumes the transfer, while Yes interrupts the currently transferring file through the cancellable Win32 copy/move path.
• Progress redraw requests are coalesced and rate-limited so large directory copies do not starve Far's keyboard/mouse input loop.
• Use the Windows system progress window instead of Far is off by default. Turn it on only if you explicitly prefer the Explorer-style progress dialog.

Operation checks:

• Pre-check invalid operations is enabled by default. The plugin rejects clearly impossible cases before calling Windows, for example placing a directory inside itself or one of its descendants.
• When the checkbox is cleared, FarFileClipboard passes the request straight to Windows. This does not bypass Windows restrictions; the system file-operation layer still has final authority.

Name conflicts:

• Ask what to do — the default. A Far-style dialog offers Replace / Skip / Rename / Cancel. Replace and Skip can be applied to all remaining conflicts. Rename asks for an explicit new name for the incoming file or directory.
• Use Windows behavior — the collision is delegated to Windows Shell.
• Automatically rename — FarFileClipboard chooses a free name using a configurable template. The default is {name} ({n}){ext}, e.g. report.xlsx -> report (1).xlsx, report (2).xlsx, while a directory Photos becomes Photos (1).

The template is editable directly below the conflict modes. Supported placeholders are {name} (basename without the final extension; full name for directories), {ext} (the final extension including the dot; empty for directories), and mandatory counter {n}. Defaults restores {name} ({n}){ext}.

FarFileClipboard still uses standard Windows file operations in its own conflict mode; it only chooses the action before starting the operation. Replacements or directory merges are intentionally excluded from safe Undo history, while a copy/move to a new explicitly chosen name can be recorded normally.

Limitations

FarFileClipboard works with normal Far file-system panels. Virtual plugin panels such as archive or FTP panels are intentionally not treated as file-system sources or destination directories. This does not prevent pasting virtual Shell objects copied, for example, from a ZIP opened in Windows Explorer into a normal Far panel.

File operations use Windows Shell. Undo/Redo history exists only in the current Far process and does not survive restart.

License

BSD-3-Clause. Copyright (c) 2026 Qwaduda.