Server-based data sharing in computer applications using a clipboard

A computer-implemented system for sharing data between computer applications on a hosted computer service, the system comprising:

• one or more web servers arranged to interact over the internet with computing devices that are remote from the hosted computer service;
• an application server sub-system that is programmed to provide data, through the one or more web servers, for displaying interactive computer applications in container documents on browsers of the computing devices;
• and
• a clipboard server sub-system that is programmed to store content that is correlated to user accounts of the hosted computer service, and programmed to provide the content to child elements inside the container documents, wherein the hosted computer service is programmed to perform operations comprising:
• receiving, at the application server sub-system and from a first computing device that is remote from the hosted computer service, a first command to copy content from a first electronic document to an electronic clipboard that is maintained by the hosted computer service, wherein the first electronic document is presented in a first container document on the first computing device and the first command includes an identifier for the content within the first electronic document, the content not being transferred from the first computing device and to the hosted computer server system in association with the first command to copy;
• identifying, by the hosted computer server system and using the identifier, the content in data that is local to the hosted computer server system and that represents the first electronic document;
• causing the content identified in the data that is local to the hosted computer server system to be transferred to the clipboard server sub-system of the hosted computer server system for addition to the electronic clipboard;
• in response to receiving the first command to copy the content, storing, at the clipboard server sub-system, the data that represents the content;
• receiving, at the application server sub-system and from a second computing device that is remote from the hosted computer service, a second command to paste the content from the electronic clipboard into a second electronic document presented in a second container document on the second computing device;
• and
• in response to receiving the second command to paste the content, providing, by the clipboard server sub-system to the second computing device, the data that represents the content.