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Copy options

When text is selected, the library provides enhanced copy functionality through the native context menu on iOS, macOS and Android.

note

None of this page applies to the React Native package on web. selectionMenuConfig, contextMenuItems, enableBlockContextMenu and onCopyPress are all stripped there, the web build never writes to the clipboard itself, and there is no code-block header or copy button. selectable is honored.

Smart copy​

The default Copy action copies the selection with rich-formatting support, so receiving apps pick the richest format they understand. In the React Native package:

  • iOS copies several formats simultaneously - Plain Text, Markdown (original syntax preserved, under the net.daringfireball.markdown type that lets a receiving app recognize it), HTML, RTF (for apps like Notes and Pages), and RTFD (RTF with embedded images).
  • Android copies both Plain Text and HTML, so rich-text targets (Gmail, Google Docs) keep the formatting.

The standalone SDKs both write Plain Text and HTML: see what iOS and Android put on the clipboard.

Copy as Markdown​

A dedicated Copy as Markdown action copies only the Markdown source text - useful when you want to preserve the original syntax rather than rich formatting. It writes plain text only on both platforms, with no Markdown pasteboard type attached, so a receiving app sees it as ordinary text that happens to contain Markdown syntax. It also does not fire the React Native package's onCopyPress, nor the standalone SDKs' .onCodeBlockCopy (iOS) and onCodeBlockCopy (Android).

Copy image URL​

When the selection contains images, a Copy Image URL action copies the image's source URL. If multiple images are selected, all URLs are copied, one per line, on both platforms.

Both platforms filter the selection to http(s) URLs, so local, bundled and data: images produce no menu item at all.

Controlling the built-in menu​

In the React Native package, use selectionMenuConfig to hide built-in selection-menu actions while keeping the native menu (and any custom items) intact. copyAsMarkdown and copyImageUrl take { enabled } to toggle visibility; the system Copy item takes only { label } and cannot be hidden, only relabeled. enableBlockContextMenu={false} disables the long-press popup on code blocks, tables, and block math, leaving the code-block header copy button, accessibility copy action, and system text-selection menu unchanged.

<EnrichedMarkdownText
  markdown={content}
  enableBlockContextMenu={false}
  selectionMenuConfig={{
    copyAsMarkdown: { enabled: false },
    copyImageUrl: { enabled: false },
  }}
/>

The editor uses the same { enabled, label } item shape but a different key set - only format and copyAsMarkdown, with no copy, no copyImageUrl and no pluralLabels. It adds a built-in Format submenu controlled by formatMenuConfig:

<EnrichedMarkdownTextInput
  selectionMenuConfig={{
    format: { enabled: false },
    copyAsMarkdown: { enabled: false },
  }}
  formatMenuConfig={{
    spoiler: { enabled: false },
    link: { enabled: false },
  }}
/>
note

Selection cannot span two block segments under flavor="github", so a copy there is always scoped to a single block. Under commonmark the whole document is one text run and a selection can cover all of it.

Localizing labels​

In the React Native package, the built-in copy actions are English by default (Copy, Copy as Markdown, Copy Image URL). Set a label on each selectionMenuConfig item to translate it - typically wired to your i18n library. copyImageUrl also takes pluralLabels for when several images are selected.

<EnrichedMarkdownText
  markdown={content}
  selectionMenuConfig={{
    copy: { label: t('copy') },
    copyAsMarkdown: { label: t('copyAsMarkdown') },
    copyImageUrl: {
      label: t('copyImageUrl'), // single image
      pluralLabels: {
        // Chosen at runtime with Intl.PluralRules; {count} is the image count.
        other: t('copyImageUrls'),
      },
    },
  }}
/>
caution

The library replaces the platform's own localized Copy item with its own, titled from copy.label - and because a concrete English default is always resolved, it does so unconditionally. On a non-English device the menu therefore reads "Copy" in English until you relabel it. Set copy.label whenever you localize anything else here.

Notes:

  • Any label left undefined keeps its English default, so you override only the strings you need.
  • pluralLabels uses CLDR plural categories (zero, one, two, few, many, other); only other is required and the rest fall back to it. The {count} token is replaced by the number of selected images. Three sharp edges:
    • Intl.PluralRules is constructed with no locale, so it follows the JS runtime's default. On an English device only one and other ever fire, even if you supply few and many.
    • Templates are precomputed for counts 0 to 100; above that, other is used.
    • If Intl.PluralRules is missing or throws, pluralLabels is ignored entirely and the singular label is used.
  • Labels apply to the main selection menu and the table, math, and code-block copy menus on both iOS and Android. With flavor="github", the code-block header's copy button reuses the copy label for assistive technologies.
  • OS-provided actions (Look Up, Translate) and the system Cut / Paste / Select All items are localized by the platform and are not affected.

Reference​

  • selectionMenuConfig - toggle and relabel built-in menu actions. Its exported type is TextSelectionMenuConfig (with TextSelectionMenuPluralLabels); the unprefixed names belong to the editor.
  • contextMenuItems - add your own actions. Its exported type is TextContextMenuItem; bare ContextMenuItem at the package root is the editor's type, which carries an extra styleState field in its onPress payload.
  • onCopyPress - fires when code is copied from a fenced code block, via the header button, the long-press Copy action, or the VoiceOver copy action. It only fires under flavor="github", and never for Copy as Markdown. Payload: { code, language }.
  • enableBlockContextMenu - turn the long-press block menu off.
  • Editor extras: formatMenuConfig and selectionMenuConfig on EnrichedMarkdownTextInput.

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