When an item is set on the system clipboard, it is possible to be notified when that item is no longer on the clipboard. This is done by including a clipboard owner object when setting the item.
// This class serves as the clipboard owner.
class MyClipboardOwner implements ClipboardOwner {
// This method is called when this object is no longer
// the owner of the item on the system clipboard.
public void lostOwnership(Clipboard clipboard, Transferable contents) {
// To retrieve the contents, see
// e637 Getting and Setting Text on the System Clipboard
}
}
Here's some code that uses the clipboard owner:
// Create a clipboard owner
ClipboardOwner owner = new MyClipboardOwner();
// Set a string on the system clipboard and include the owner object
StringSelection ss = new StringSelection("A String");
Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getSystemClipboard().setContents(ss, owner);