An application must store, in shared memory, text data that is destined for the clipboard. To do so, the application calls the DosAllocSharedMem function with the OBJ_GIVEABLE attribute to allocate a shared memory object, and then copies the text data to the object. The application passes the clipboard a pointer, which the clipboard uses to access the shared memory object. Clipboard functions use the CFI_POINTER flag to indicate text data stored in a shared memory object.

To pass a bit map or metafile to the clipboard, an application passes the clipboard a bit map or metafile handle. The clipboard functions make the bit map or metafile shareable. The CFI_HANDLE flag is used in clipboard functions to indicate bit map or metafile data.

After closing the clipboard, an application no longer can access the data it passed to the clipboard. Likewise, when an application requests data from the clipboard, it receives a pointer or handle that is good only until the application closes the clipboard. Typically, the application either uses the data immediately before closing the clipboard, or it copies the data to local memory for future use, then closes the clipboard.