Paste screen shot does not work on Android

Lars Kindem [7:23 PM]
Why is it not possible to paste images to Workflowy on Android? If I take a screen shot and copy it to the clipboard it is not possible to paste. From what I remember this works on iOS. (edited)

3 replies


Jonathan March [7:28 PM]

I don’t know why, but it IS possible to share an image to WF on Android.

Lars Kindem [7:29 PM]

From Gemini: When you copy a sentence, the actual text is stored directly in the system clipboard. However, images are large files. If Android copied raw image data to the clipboard every time you took a screenshot or copied a photo, it would quickly drain your phone’s memory.
Instead, Android places a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) in the clipboard. This is essentially a secure reference link pointing to where the image lives inside the original app. For pasting to work, the receiving app must be programmed to recognize this link, request permission from Android, and fetch the actual image data. Many apps simply lack the code to perform this extraction. (edited)

[7:30 PM]

Suggest this is fixed - it really breaks an important workflow (now I have to save every screen shot to file/photos, then open attach file command and navigate to the file and upload…)

@lars I am on 4.3.2608141919 [cap, android-17]. Here’s what I did:

  • Took a screenshot; Android did not put it into the clipboard nor offer a way to put it into the clipboard. At this point, I could share it Workflowy and it would show up in my Inbox node.
  • Went to the Photos app, found Screenshots, selected my screenshot, pressed Share.
  • The usual Share buttons plus a ribbon appeared under the screenshot. Scrolling the ribbon, I found and tapped “Copy”
  • In Workflowy app, tried two things:
    • Using the Gboard “Paste” button, I saw a selection of recent clipboard items I could paste. I selected my screenshot. I received the message “Workflowy doesn’t support image pasting here.”
    • Back in Workflowy app, press and hold on the blank space of a new node then press paste. My screenshot inserted itself as expected.

TL;DR: copy from Photos, paste with press-and-hold

Does this work in your setup?

Yes! I tested from the clipboard viewer of both Gboard and Samsung keyboard. Both gave the error. However long press and chose paste works! Thanks for this. Strange that it does not work from the keyboard app.

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