How to copy & paste from Ubuntu VirtualBox guest to Windows host?

I am running VirtualBox 4.1.4 on my Windows 7 laptop, running an Ubuntu 11.10 guest.

I would like to copy text from Ubuntu's terminal and paste it into a file on the Windows host. This doesn't work for some reason.

Any ideas?

Go to VirtualMachine's Settings->General->Advanced->Shared Clipboard (Bidirectional)

Reboot your virtual machine.

for me it solved the problem (it was set on Disabled), I had some machines working some not, so i checked settings in working ones they had bidirectional clipboard. Dont know if this was upgrade issue or... just double check your shared clipboard options.

Hope this helps someone.

VirtualBox V 4.1.20

Start your VM then install Virtualbox Guest Addition
You can find this option under "Devices" on virtual box 4.2 or you can follow the explanations at How do I install Guest Additions in a VirtualBox VM?

I had to do four steps:

1. Install Virtual Box extension pack in host
   • http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.3.28/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.3.28-100309.vbox-extpack
2. Activate shared clipboard in menu
   • https://askubuntu.com/a/438204/245048
3. Install Virtual Box guest extensions in ubuntu guest
   • sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms virtualbox-guest-utils virtualbox-guest-x11
4. Reboot virtual machine

Did you install the required virtual box tools?? (the ones that you should install on guest operating system to gain smooth operation / interaction between the host and the guest)

You could use Pastebin.com if you have access to the Internet.