Have you ever wondered how can you copy the text from a message box that is displaying an error? We all know the text cannot be selected, so you cannot do a Ctrl+C copy and then paste.
However there is a way, that few know of, which works with Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. Make sure the error window has the focus and press Ctrl+Insert instead of the usual Ctrl+C. Now the content is in the clipboard and you can paste it wherever you want. Here’s an example of copying an error message from the message box:

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Error Renaming File or Folder
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Cannot rename Geekpedia: A file with the name you specified already exists. Specify a different file name.
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OK
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It has recently occured to me that Ctrl+C works too on any dialog that doesn’t allow text to be selected. Just make sure the dialog has the focus and press Ctrl+C.
However, Microsoft only mentions the Ctrl+Insert method.

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Operating Systems article posted on Friday, December 23rd, 2005 at 4:47 am . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.