Efficiently managing the clipboard is a skill that can greatly enhance productivity, whether you’re working with text, images, or a mix of both. The clipboard is a temporary storage space that holds a copy of items you’ve copied or cut from your computer, ready to be pasted into another document or program. While most users quickly grasp the basics of copying and pasting, there are several creative and effective hacks that can take your command of the clipboard to new heights. Below, we delve into seven clever clipboard tips and tricks that could transform the way you work.
**1. Master Multiple Clips**
One of the main limitations of the clipboard is that it typically only holds one item at a time. However, Windows and macOS offer users the possibility to work with multiple clipboard entries. Windows 10 introduced a native clipboard manager, and macOS Mojave brought the same functionality with the Stocks app upgrade.
Using this feature, you can copy multiple items and switch between them seamlessly, making it far easier to manage and paste various pieces of information.
**2. Advanced Clipboard for Chrome**
For those who use Google Chrome, the AdvancedClipboard extension is a game-changer. This invaluable tool allows you to copy multiple clips to your clipboard, just like in Windows and macOS, but with Chrome as the interface. Additionally, it stores each clipping for you to easily access, even after the browser has been closed, providing you a powerful clipboard history.
**3. The Ctrl+Alt+V Combination**
In Windows, you can take copying and pasting to a new level by holding down the Ctrl and Alt keys while you use the V key to paste. This combination brings up a menu that allows you to paste all the things you’ve copied to the clipboard in the same document or browser session, rather than overwriting the last item you copied.
**4. Use Clipboard Manager Apps**
There are a host of third-party clipboard manager apps out there, such as Ditto for Windows or Evernote’s Web Clipper for Chrome, that offer even more powerful clipboard features. These tools can remember your clips for much longer, categorize them, and even auto-sync across devices.
For example, Ditto saves every item you copy, including graphics and images, to a database, and it can search through them and copy any previous content with a simple right-click.
**5. Command and Option in macOS**
In macOS, the command (⌘) and shift (⇧) keys have a variety of uses, one of which is to allow you to cycle through recent clipboard items. Ctrl+Opt+Cmd+C or Ctrl+Opt+C, as well as Ctrl+Opt+V or Ctrl+Opt+V, are keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste the previous items on your clipboard.
**6. The Paste Special Trick**
When you use the Ctrl+V (Cmd+V) combinations to paste something, you may see a menu that gives you options like “Keep Source Formatting,” “Match Destination Formatting,” and others. This isn’t just for show; they’re actually powerful features. ‘Keep Source Formatting’ retains the font and formatting from wherever you copied the text, while ‘Match Destination Formatting’ adapts the text to the new document.
**7. Keyboard shortcut for Paste without Formatting**
When you want to paste text without any formatting, use Ctrl+Shift+V (Cmd+Opt+Cmd+V) in both Windows and macOS. This quickly removes any formatting applied to the text while pasting, saving you from spending time cleaning up text that you didn’t want to appear in a particular context.
By employing these clipboard hacks, you can become more productive and efficient with your data handling. Whether you’re a writer, an artist, or a tech-savvy professional, mastering the art of clipboard management can make your daily digital life much easier and more enjoyable.
