Clipboard History in Windows 10

Learn a new technique for copying and pasting that will save you time…and remove frustration.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Many of us use copy and paste (Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) many times a day, highlighting text in one app to copy it to another, eliminating the need to type it. It’s a fantastic shortcut, no doubt about it. However, it has a serious drawback: it allows only one copy at a time, overwriting itself with each press of Ctrl+C. Do you ever find yourself wishing you could paste something you copied two operations ago? As it turns out, Windows 10 has you covered with clipboard history.

Accessing clipboard history

1. To access clipboard history, first copy something (text, image, etc) using Ctrl+C, then press Windows+V. Note the first time you press it, you will be prompted to activate the feature. Press Turn on to activate it.
   
2. I have two text items in my clipboard history. When I press Windows+V, I have the option to insert one or the other into my document. If I want both, then I will need to press Windows+V in successive turns, choosing the other item the second time. Windows+V allows only one item to be pasted per operation.
   

Keeping it useful

1. Windows 10 keeps your copies until you reboot or until you reach the 25 item limit, at which time the oldest copies start getting overwritten. If you have an item in the history that you paste often and don’t want to lose when you reboot or hit the 25 item limit, you can pin it. Simply click the ellipses on the item you want to save and then click Pin.
   
2. When you no longer need an item, you can either delete it from the list using the same menu in Step 1 or simply let it roll off the list as you add more items. To remove all items, simply select Clear All.