The Clipboard is a buffer that lets you temporarily store data like text or image files. Whenever you copy a text or image file, it gets temporarily stored in the Clipboard, and you can retrieve it later.
However, the Clipboard feature only lets you store one file by default. So, if you copy another item to your clipboard, the previous file gets overwritten. It can massively hamper productivity and can significantly slow down your work.
Nonetheless, you can avoid this by enabling the Clipboard History feature. This lets you store up to 25 files in your clipboard, and you can browse through them to choose whichever file you want to retrieve.
Enable Clipboard History
The Clipboard History feature is disabled by default in all Windows computers. So, if you want to store and browse through the files in your clipboard, you will have to enable Clipboard History.
You can also choose to sync your clipboard history with any other windows computer that is logged inusing the same Microsoft account.
Accessing Clipboard History
You can easily access your clipboard history by using theWindows + Vshortcut key. This will bring up a small pop-up window that shows all the items copied to your clipboard. If you haven’t enabled Clipboard History, this shortcut key will ask you to enable it by showing aTurn onbutton.
The clipboard can store exactly 25 items, and the latest copied item will be displayed at the top. To retrieve a specific clipboard item, you may simply use theWindows + Vshortcut and select the needed item to paste it in any location of your choosing.
If you ever restart your computer, the clipboard history will get emptied.
Managing Clipboard History
There are two more things you can do in Clipboard History. You can either pin frequently used items so they won’t be lost or clear unnecessary items that are taking up clipboard space. Furthermore, you can use the two in conjunction to filter your clipboard.
To clear unnecessary items from your clipboard, you may click on theellipses iconbeside that item and select thetrash iconto delete it. If you want to clear your whole clipboard, you can click on theClear allbutton to directly empty your clipboard.
To pin frequently used items, click on the pushpin icon beside the item that you want to pin. This will make sure your pinned file will not get lost even in a computer restart or when clearing your whole clipboard at once.
