How to copy paste in VirtualBox? 2 tested methods for Host to Guest file Transfer! 1 Bonus Method also.

9.4K

In this article, we will be learning how to perform copy paste in VirtualBox from Host Operating System to Guest Operating System. We will be discussing two simplest approach to copy paste files in VirtualBox.

Background: Why to use Virtual Box?

If you are Developer, Software Tester or Software Engineer who like to Taste latest flavor of Software, you must be familiar with Virtual Box. Virtual Box is one of the most popular virtualization software. VirtualBox is also used mostly due to software compatibility issues. Suppose, your organization uses some software that is available only on Windows, but you use Mac or Linux as your primary Operating System. You can install Windows on VirtualBox and can access that app from your Mac or Linux machine.

Similarly, if you are student, you have projects related to Linux or your semester has subject on Linux, You can download any of preferred Linux Distributions and install it inside VirtualBox on your Mac or Windows. This way, you wont need to know the complicated process of formatting and installing Operating system in Physical Machine and meanwhile your data is safe and you can use your preferred and licensed Operating system as usual.

One more reason why VirtualBox is popular because of its GPL License and supported by Oracle Corporation.

What is the environment we will be using in this guide?

We expect you already have installed VirtualBox Manager in your Computer and installed any Guest Operating System. Below is the environment we will be using to demonstrate this tutorial. This guide will be pretty similar on different Host Operating systems. Only Native Operating System based process at the setup will be different respective of OS.

Host Operating System: Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21382
Guest Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit
Virtual Box Version: Virtual Box 6.1.22

You can check the complete list of operating system which we have compiled few years ago.

1. Copy Paste VirtualBox Feature – Shared Clipboard

VirtualBox offers Copy/Paste feature between Guest and Host OS but we have very hard time making it work. Most of people has similar complaint on community. Lets see how you can enable this feature, but We are not including this in our working solution.

What is Clipboard?

As we know, the temporary place in Computer Memory (RAM) where all copied text, files, media and any other type of data is stored to transfer between supported applications is called Clipboard.

What is Shared Clipboard?

When Clipboard is shared across devices, it is called Shared Clipboard. In this process, data is stored in Network/Internet/Cloud in most of applications. However, as VirtualBox is a device that resides inside Host Operating system, so we do not need to save Clipboard somewhere else. We can simply Copy in Host OS and can Paste in Guest OS or vise-versa in VirtualBox.

How to enable Shared Clipboard in VirtualBox?

To enable copy paste in VirtualBox, we can simple enable Shared Clipboard feature. Follow below steps to enable Shared Clipboard.

1. When Machine is powered off, Click on Settings button of Virtual Machine from VirtualBox Application.
2. In the General section of Settings, click on Advanced tab of settings.
3. Click on Shared Clipboard dropdown and change it’s setting to Bidirectional.

At lease, let’s say, it is the idle process supposed to happen if we enable this setting. But most of the time, this doesn’t work and we will share a different guide on how to make Bidirectional Clipboard sharing work at sometimes later.

Note: Using this method, we can copy paste clipboard text but not files or folders. For Example, if you took screenshot inside Guest OS, you can paste the same in Host OS.

2. Drag’n’Drop – Copy Paste Files between VirtualBox & Host OS using Drag and Drop Feature.

This is another native feature provided by VirtualBox. It is as simple as enabling Shared Clipboard and option is available just next to Shared Clipboard.

How to Enable Drag and Drop feature in VirtualBox?

We can enable Drag’n’Drop feature in VirtualBox by following simple steps below.

1. When Machine is powered off, Click on Settings button of Virtual Machine from VirtualBox Application.
2. In the General section of Settings, click on Advanced tab of settings.
3. Click on Drag’n’Drop dropdown and change it’s setting to Bidirectional.

How to Copy Paste Files between Host and Guest OS using Drag’n’Drop feature?

If you are using Machine with single display (Only one Monitor), you have do some workaround for this process to work.

1. If you are using Multiple Monitors, you can just Click File and Drag it to required place. It will be just like Drag and Drop process in different Folders and process like Drag & Drop support on Modern File Uploaders in different applications that work on Browsers.
2. If you are using single Monitor/Display, you have to resize the VirtualBox and Exit Full Screen mode. You can simply click the Restore button when you are on Full Screen mode of VirtualBox. You can use the alternative Keyboard short-cut for this Operation also. This is Host+F (Right Ctrl + F) if you have not modified default Host Key. To learn about mapping Key to different functionality on Windows, refer to this article.
3. Simply Drag and Drop Files from Host to Guest or Guest to Host OS.

Working Example of Drag & Drop – Copy Paste Files between VirtualBox

3. Shared Folder concept – Copy Paste in VirtualBox

Another approach that works just fine is Shared Folder concept.

What are Shared Folders in VirtualBox?

Shared Folders are those folders which are mounted as Drives in Guest OS. These are basically Folders or Drives on Host Operating System. We can simply mount them on Guest OS and all the content of these folders will be available to Guest OS as well. You can copy/paste files there. Even you can work on these files and save. These will be saved on Host OS and you can work on them from Host Operating System as well. This gives flexibility to install software and tools Guest OS and also saves space.

How to Enable/Use Shared Folders in VirtualBox?

Lets understand this on step by step procedure as below.

1. Open VirtualBox Manager and Click on the setting of Machine you want to share Folders with.
2. Click on Shared Folder section in the left panel.
3. Click on the Add New Shared Folder icon on the right side.
4. Select your Folder from Host OS, check Auto Mount so it is automatically available When Guest OS boots in Virtual Machine.

Let’s have a look at below screenshots.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once you are inside Guest OS and can see the Shared Folders as Mounted Drives, you can perform copy/paste actions in those folders as normal OS procedure.

Earlier, this process has to be done manually by sharing Folder from Host Operating System and then adding that Shared Folder location as Network Location using Add Shortcut option in Guest OS. But, in current version it is quite easy and anyone can simply follow the steps to achieve the purpose.

In this guide, we have shared 3 different methods by which we can copy and paste files between Host Operating System and Guest Operating System or vice-versa on VirtualBox Machines. If you have other workaround for copy paste in VirtualBox or have difficulty enabling this, let us know via comments.