3 ms·

I had no idea that MessageBox let you copy the text to the clipboard! When was this added to Windows?

by Dwedit 3y ago

ogurechny 3y ago
During Windows 2000 development, if insiders are to be believed. https://weblogs.asp.net/chuckop/110153 https://weblogs.asp.net/chuckop/110153
Semaphor 3y ago
It's great. Until you stumble upon done different box where it doesn't work and get annoyed.
stinos 3y ago
You're definitely not alone in not knowing this, I have to explain to like 95% of people that this works, is faster, and vastly preferrably over sending me screenshots (or pictures taken by phone) of error dialogs. In their defense: the only way to discover it is word of mouth or just trying it (which I did once). Similar with copying text from terminals. And a lot of other things which makes using a computer more convenient actually. Especially for the younger generation I have the impression (anecdotally) they lack this "let's find out if I can do this faster/better" mindset. Like: my mum knows basics text stuff on windows like doubleclicking a word selects it, triple clicking selects line/paragraph, ctrl+cursor moves around words and so on. Meanwhile it's painful to see how many people in their twenties only know how to select text by moving the cursor to where they want, clicking and holding, then hunting for the last character and often missing it. I assume the main reason for this is more smartphone/tablet usage, less desktop.
- justsomehnguy 3y ago
  Lack of curiosity is not a generational thing, but here it's pronounced way more
iforgotpassword 3y ago
I did discover it back in the day by accident, and it must've been Windows 2000 or earlier. Very confused where that came from at first, as it clearly was the contents of some generic message box, but it made no sense why it was in my clipboard in text form. Then I was like "wait a minute, they didn't...." And sure enough after triggering a random message somewhere and pressing ctrl-c I had that very message in my clipboard. Immediately had to tell everybody about it in excitement; nobody knew. Though I remember there being long lines of dashes as separators between the sections instead of those [Title] headings. (Not on Windows anymore for a decade now, so memory is foggy).

I had no idea that MessageBox let you copy the text to the clipboard! When was this added to Windows?

by Dwedit 3y ago

I had no idea that MessageBox let you copy the text to the clipboard! When was this added to Windows?

During Windows 2000 development, if insiders are to be believed. https://weblogs.asp.net/chuckop/110153 https://weblogs.asp.net/chuckop/110153

Semaphor 3y ago

It's great. Until you stumble upon done different box where it doesn't work and get annoyed.

stinos 3y ago

You're definitely not alone in not knowing this, I have to explain to like 95% of people that this works, is faster, and vastly preferrably over sending me screenshots (or pictures taken by phone) of error dialogs. In their defense: the only way to discover it is word of mouth or just trying it (which I did once). Similar with copying text from terminals. And a lot of other things which makes using a computer more convenient actually. Especially for the younger generation I have the impression (anecdotally) they lack this "let's find out if I can do this faster/better" mindset. Like: my mum knows basics text stuff on windows like doubleclicking a word selects it, triple clicking selects line/paragraph, ctrl+cursor moves around words and so on. Meanwhile it's painful to see how many people in their twenties only know how to select text by moving the cursor to where they want, clicking and holding, then hunting for the last character and often missing it. I assume the main reason for this is more smartphone/tablet usage, less desktop.

justsomehnguy 3y ago
Lack of curiosity is not a generational thing, but here it's pronounced way more

iforgotpassword 3y ago

I did discover it back in the day by accident, and it must've been Windows 2000 or earlier. Very confused where that came from at first, as it clearly was the contents of some generic message box, but it made no sense why it was in my clipboard in text form. Then I was like "wait a minute, they didn't...." And sure enough after triggering a random message somewhere and pressing ctrl-c I had that very message in my clipboard. Immediately had to tell everybody about it in excitement; nobody knew. Though I remember there being long lines of dashes as separators between the sections instead of those [Title] headings. (Not on Windows anymore for a decade now, so memory is foggy).