Question

How can I print any object into system clipboard just like printfn "%A" does?
it seems I cannot simply using clipboard.setdataobject().

Answer 1

You can use the spritnf function, which has the same formatting capabilities as printf but returns the formatted string as the result. To store the string in the clipboard once you have it, you can use the SetText method (you’ll need a reference to System.Windows.Forms):

open System.Windows.Forms

let what = [1;2;3]
let str = sprintf "%A" what
Clipboard.SetText(str)

After running this code, the clipboard should contain a nicely formatted F# list “[1; 2; 3]”.