microsoft--powertoys/.github/skills/powertoys-verification/references/release-checklist/advanced-paste.md

Advanced Paste — PowerToys release checklist

Source: baseline split from release-checklist-annotated.md (0.96-aligned), extended with items derived from Advanced Paste PRs merged v0.96 → v0.100 (see "New / updated since v0.96"). One module per file.

Legend

Each item is annotated with two metadata tags:

Admin requirement:

• [ADMIN: NO] - runnable from a standard (non-elevated) shell
• [ADMIN: YES] - requires elevated session (writes to HKLM, %WinDir%\System32, MSI install, GPO templates, etc.)
• [ADMIN: COND] - conditional - the basic case is non-admin but specific sub-cases require admin

Clarity:

• (no marker) - clear, has explicit assert
• [CLARITY: VAGUE-NO-STEPS] - original wording is just a module/feature name without procedural steps
• [CLARITY: VAGUE-NO-ASSERT] - original wording describes an action but does not state the expected outcome
• [CLARITY: VAGUE-AMBIGUOUS] - original wording uses vague verbs like "works" without a measurable outcome
• [REWRITTEN] - original wording was vague; rewritten concrete. Original preserved in italics.
• [EXTERNAL: API-KEY] - needs an AI provider key/endpoint; without one the item is BLK-EXTERNAL, not a failure.

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Advanced Paste (32 items)

Plain text / Markdown / JSON (baseline)

Fixture: each paste test below begins by copying source content. Re-copy fresh source before each paste so the source format is on the clipboard; the asserts are the "paste …" lines.

• [ADMIN: NO] (L866) Copy rich text (mixed colors, bold, underline); paste with Ctrl+V into a rich editor - rich text pasted with colors/formatting intact
• [ADMIN: NO] (L867) Copy rich text; paste with the Paste-as-Plain-Text hotkey - plain text pasted, formatting stripped
• [ADMIN: NO] (L868) Paste again with Ctrl+V - still plain (Paste-as-Plain leaves the clipboard as plain UnicodeText, HTML/RTF removed)
• [ADMIN: NO] (L870) Copy rich text; open AP, click "Paste as plain text" - plain text pasted, formatting stripped
• [ADMIN: NO] (L872) Copy rich text; open AP, press Ctrl+1 - plain text pasted, formatting stripped
• [ADMIN: NO] (L874) Open Settings, set the Paste-as-Markdown direct hotkey - chord saved to settings.json
• [ADMIN: NO] (L876) Copy HTML (Markdown-convertible); paste with the set hotkey - converted to Markdown
• [ADMIN: NO] (L878) Copy HTML; open AP, click "Paste as markdown" - converted to Markdown
• [ADMIN: NO] (L880) Copy HTML; open AP, press Ctrl+2 - converted to Markdown
• [ADMIN: NO] (L882) Open Settings, set the Paste-as-JSON direct hotkey - chord saved to settings.json
• [ADMIN: NO] (L884) Copy XML or CSV; paste with the set hotkey - converted to JSON
• [ADMIN: NO] (L886) Copy XML or CSV; open AP, click "Paste as JSON" - converted to JSON
• [ADMIN: NO] (L888) Copy XML or CSV; open AP, press Ctrl+3 - converted to JSON

AI custom format (baseline)

• [ADMIN: NO] [EXTERNAL: API-KEY] (L890) Open Settings, set OpenAI key for AI custom format
• [ADMIN: NO] [EXTERNAL: API-KEY] (L891) Copy text, open AP, custom input "Insert smiley after every word", verify result
• [ADMIN: NO] [EXTERNAL: API-KEY] (L893) Open AP, input query, regenerate, select and paste
• [ADMIN: NO] (L894) Create custom actions, set hotkey, test ctrl+, enable/disable, reorder
• [ADMIN: NO] (L895) Disable Custom format preview - result pasted right away
• [ADMIN: NO] (L896) Disable Enable Paste with AI - Custom Input text box disabled

Clipboard history & enable/disable (baseline)

• [ADMIN: NO] (L898) Open AP, click Clipboard history, delete entry, verify gone from Win+V
• [ADMIN: NO] (L899) Open AP, click Clipboard history, click entry, verify put on top of Win+V
• [ADMIN: NO] (L900) Disable Windows clipboard history (Settings > System > Clipboard) - the Clipboard history button in AP is disabled/hidden
• [ADMIN: NO] (L901) Disable Advanced Paste, then press its hotkeys - nothing happens (AP window does not open; no process spawned)

New / updated since v0.96 (PR-derived)

• [ADMIN: NO] (#43990) Copy a hex color string (e.g. #3478F6), open Clipboard history in AP - that entry shows an RGB color-swatch preview next to the value
• [ADMIN: NO] (#44021) Copy an image to the clipboard, open AP - image is accepted as input (image-input handling); a custom/AI action can run on it (image preview shown, no error)
• [ADMIN: NO] (#44767) Select text in an editor and invoke a custom-action hotkey WITHOUT pressing Ctrl+C first - AP auto-copies the selection and acts on it; clipboard is preserved
• [ADMIN: NO] (#46486) Repeat the auto-copy custom-action hotkey in an Electron/Chromium app (VS Code / Chrome) - selection is still auto-copied (no longer fails on those apps)
• [ADMIN: NO] (#45242) Settings > Advanced Paste: toggle "Enable Paste with AI" off/on - the AI paste section (custom-input text box + provider selector) hides/appears in the AP window accordingly
• [ADMIN: NO] [EXTERNAL: API-KEY] (#44293, #45362, #43716) Settings: switch AI provider (OpenAI / Azure OpenAI / Gemini / Foundry Local) - the configured endpoint persists per provider (Gemini does not keep an Azure placeholder; Foundry local port change is picked up on the fly)
• [ADMIN: NO] (#44862, #45207, #45699) Open the Advanced Paste Settings page after upgrading from an older settings.json - page loads without crashing (settings upgraded safely)
• [ADMIN: NO] (#44212) Clipboard history: select the same item twice - no duplicate entry is created
• [ADMIN: NO] (#48124) With an unreadable/locked clipboard (e.g. another app holds an open clipboard handle), trigger Paste as JSON - AP fails gracefully (no crash, error toast/no-op); then copy valid XML/CSV and confirm Paste as JSON converts correctly again