The Win32 API provides four messages for moving text between an edit control and the clipboard. The WM_COPY message copies the current selection (if any) from an edit control to the clipboard without deleting it from the edit control. The WM_CUT message deletes the current selection, if any, in the edit control and copies the deleted text to the clipboard. The WM_CLEAR message deletes the current selection (if any) from an edit control, but does not copy it to the clipboard (unless the user pressed the shift key). The WM_PASTE message copies text from the clipboard into an edit control at the insertion point. These four messages apply to both single-line and multiline edit controls.
With Windows NT version 4.0 or later, an edit control includes a built in context menu that makes it easy for the user to move text between the edit control and the clipboard. The context menu appears when the user clicks the control using the right mouse button. The menu items in the context menu include Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, and Select All.