Guide: How to Use Clipboard in Windows 10
You must have used the copy and paste functionality at least once, whether you own a smartphone, tablet or computer. What would life be without copy and paste? Spooky. We use it almost daily and yet we take it for granted like most things that are used on a regular basis. Most people are not even familiar with the actual term of copying and pasting data – adding to the clipboard. The clipboard is also present in Windows 10. What is Clipboard in Windows? How to use it? Find the answers to such questions in this post. The simple act of Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V keyboard shortcuts has made our job easier so many times. The clipboard is copy paste on steroids. Over time, the clipboard has gained new functionality in Windows 10. Let’s see what a clipboard is in Windows 10 and how to turn it on or off.
What is a clipboard in Windows
Imagine cutting a text in Word and pasting it into Google Docs after 5 minutes. Where did the text go in those 5 minutes? It wasn’t Word or Google Docs. What happened to it? You could think of it as hidden under the invisibility cloak. Well it was saved on the clipboard. Yes, it stores text just like the physical clipboard. Think of the clipboard as a temporary, small and hidden storage to store your most recently copied data. The data can be an image, text, a file or a folder. So when you copy a piece of data, it stays on the clipboard so you can paste it where needed. You can paste the same data multiple times. Unless it is overwritten by other data when you copy something else. Yes, it comes with a finite limit. Clipboard has always been part of a Windows PC. But it is features were limited. If you previously copied something, you could only paste or use the recently copied item. But with the January Windows update, Microsoft added new functionality to the clipboard, including saving multiple entries to the clipboard.
What’s New in Clipboard in Windows 10
As mentioned above, when you copy an item to the clipboard, the existing item will be deleted (from the old clipboard). The new update allows you to view your clipboard history and paste older items from the history. In others words, Windows keeps a small but temporary log of your copied data. For example, if you copy paragraphs from different websites, you can view them on your clipboard in Windows 10. You can then paste the desired paragraph from the clipboard instead of just the recently copied paragraph. The data will remain in your clipboard history until you restart your computer.
Now you can pin your most used items to the clipboard. Such items are not deleted even if you restart your PC. Clipboard history is now cloud-based, so you can sync it with your Windows 10 devices if enabled. That means if you copy something on one PC, the same will be available on your second device.
Features and limitations of a new clipboard
The new clipboard can hold up to 25 items, not including pinned items. Any addition after that will automatically delete the previous data unless it is a pinned item or you restart your computer. The clipboard can be used with text, HTML and bitmap images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, etc.). You can access paragraphs, URLs and even screenshots from the clipboard history. The maximum size of all copied data, especially an image, is 4 MB per item. If an item is larger than 4 MB, it cannot be accessed from the clipboard history.
How to View clipboard history in Windows 10
You may be wondering: where do I find this new clipboard in Windows 10 or do I need to download a new app? Some may have even tried to use the existing Ctrl + V keyboard shortcut and were unable to view the copy and paste history. For starters, you don’t need to download an app. Just use the Windows key + V keyboard shortcut and the clipboard panel will open. You can still use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + X, Ctrl + C, and Ctrl + V to cut, copy, and paste recent data, respectively. But to view clipboard history, you have to rely on Windows key + V shortcut. The clipboard window will open where your cursor is currently located.
Tip If you forget the clipboard shortcut, remember to press the Windows key instead of the Ctrl key.
How to Enable or disable Clipboard History
When you press the Windows key + V keyboard shortcut for the first time, you will be asked if you want to enable clipboard history. Click Enable. If you don’t get that option, follow the given steps to enable or disable clipboard history in Windows 10. Step 1: Open Settings on your computer and go to System.
Step 2: Click Clipboard in the left pane. Turn on the toggle under Clipboard History in the right pane. If you want to turn it off, turn off the switch.
How to Use Clipboard in Windows 10
Now that you know what a clipboard is along with its features and how to how to access it in Windows 10, let’s see how to use it. First, copy or cut data as you normally do with the keyboard shortcuts or click the cut or copy buttonsThen open the clipboard history panel using the Windows key + V shortcut. If the clipboard panel is open, here it is how to perform various tasks.
1. Copy from clipboard
To get something from your clipboard history to an app, click the item on the clipboard. If a supported app is open, the data is automatically pasted into it. If no app is open, the item is available as your most recent item on the clipboard. You can press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V to paste it where needed.
Note: Currently you cannot select and paste multiple items. You must paste them separately.
2. Securing the item
When you pin an item, it remains in your clipboard history until you manually delete it. Restarting your PC or clearing the clipboard history will not delete the pinned items. To pin a clipboard item, click the three-dot icon next to the item. Select Pin from it. To detach, repeat the steps and click detach.
3. Delete an individual item from the clipboard history
You don’t necessarily have to restart your computer to remove items from it. You can delete any item manually. To do that, click the three-dot icon on the item and click Delete button
4. Clear the clipboard history
To delete all items on your clipboard except the pinned items, click the three-dot icon next to one of the items. Then click on the Clear All option.
Or go to Settings> System> Clipboard. Scroll down and click Delete button under Clear Clipboard Data.
How to Sync the clipboard across multiple devices
Sharing your clipboard items is one of the new things features from the clipboard in Windows 10. The feature is limited to Windows 10 computers only.
Sync the clipboard between Windows 10 PCs
You must use the same Microsoft account on your Windows 10 devices to sync the clipboard. To make this possible feature, go to Settings> System> Clipboard. Turn on the switch present under Synchronize between devices.
Sync Windows Clipboard with Android
You must use third-party apps to sync the clipboard between Windows 10 computers and Android. At least that was the only solution when this post was written. The good news, however, is that you can sync the clipboard natively with Microsoft Your in the future Phone app.
Solution: Cannot see clipboard history in Windows 10
If you cannot access the new clipboard, either through the setting or the keyboard shortcut, make sure you are running the latest version of Windows 10. The new clipboard works on Windows 10 January build and above. Go to Settings> System> About to check your current version. You can find the version number under Windows specifications.
Go to Settings> Update & Security to update your computer. Click Check for updates. Install the update if available.
Try other clipboard managers
Microsoft has done a pretty good job with its native clipboard manager. But if you are not satisfied with the offer, you can try third-party clipboard managers for Windows 10 PC for free, such as Ditto, Clipboard Master, 1Clipboard, ClipX, etc. We hope Microsoft will add new ones features to the clipboard, including the ability to search, use filters, and more. The next up: Check out our other explanation related to Focus Assist in Windows 10. Find out what it is and how it can help you at the following link.
How to Use Clipboard in Windows 10: benefits
Faq
Final note
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