Windows' system-native clipboard gets the task washed for most users who rely on basic cutting-and-paste functionality, but the good onetime clipboard has an obvious and sometimes irritating limitation: it tin can but store 1 particular at a fourth dimension. Clipboard managers allow you circumvent this problem by replacing the default Windows clipboard with something that offers much more functionality, like keeping a history of copied items, encryption to proceed this data secure when not in use, saving frequently used clippings as templates, or backing up copied data to the cloud so you can access information technology anywhere.

If this sounds like something that would exist useful in your twenty-four hours to day calculating endeavors, here's a quick listing of gratuitous utilities that will increase your efficiency and cut down on the fourth dimension you spend going back and forth copying and pasting.

iClippy

This cloud-based clipboard manager intercepts copy and cut operations and automatically uploads your clipboard's contents to their Net server, making it available for pasting anywhere anytime. iClippy offers a bunch of different ways to copy data from your PC, including a screen capture utility or using a scanner. Information technology also comes with a built-in OCR tool to read and search for text from your scanned images.

The iClippy Sidebar provides access to your Cyberspace clipboard right from the desktop, while likewise providing access to other features like sharing via Twitter and a smudge tool to blur out personal information off a screenshot without e'er leaving the upload dialog. Every bit you lot'd expect, all the content on your iClippy clipboard is likewise attainable via a web browser.

[ Download iClippy ]

Ditto

Ditto is an open source clipboard enhancer for Windows that keeps track of text, images, and other copied items so you can retrieve them at any time. Information technology's i of the most feature-packed of the agglomeration – you can search your stored text clippings, keep them organized by task or projection, assign hotkeys to frequently used clippings, and more than.

Ditto has full Unicode back up, and so you can paste foreign and not-standard characters without a problem. Clicking on the application's icon in the arrangement tray expanse or using its global hotkey gets you a preview of copied items, including paradigm thumbnails, which you tin can select by double clicking them, hitting the enter cardinal, or using elevate and drib.

[ Download Ditto ]

Clipple for Firefox or Web Clipboard for Chrome

Although for nigh people a system-wide clipboard manager makes sense, those who spend nearly of their time inside a browser might adopt not to have a split up application running in the background at all times. Clipple is a simple add-on for Firefox that extends the browser's clipboard from 1 to 15 entries. You can increment the numbers of entries in the settings menu besides as configure other options -- save the clipboard bank betwixt Firefox sessions, for example. It'due south worth noting that while the paste function of Clipple only works inside Firefox, it does capture text from other programs.

Google's official Chrome extension is a petty more limited simply we imagine its issues will be ironed out with time. Web Clipboard copies both plain text and HTML within any Chrome tab, and secures the data on Google servers using the company's Docs web clipboard – thus making information technology bachelor anywhere. Each particular copied remains saved for xxx days or until you articulate the clipboard contents through the extension's drib-down menu. However, for at present the extension doesn't work within Google'southward ain Gmail, pages that contain frames or within Chrome'south Omnibar.

[ Download Clipple ] | [Download Web Clipboard ]

ClipX

ClipX doesn't offer an extensive feature set compared to some of the to a higher place alternatives but it'due south fast, easy to use, and requires few organization resources. The tiny program supports both text and epitome cut and pasting, with a simple correct-click menu for accessing copied items and configuring the program, while a left-click displays recently copied items.

There are a handful of plugins for ClipX that provide additional functionality similar clipboard search, a colour picker that automatically dumps the color values into your clipboard, ane to ignore some copied clips based on size in retentivity, and a stickies plug-in that keeps a list of permanent entries at the bottom of your history.

[ Download ClipX ]


There's no shortage of clipboard direction tools on the web. The ones listed here should bring something different to the table and will come in handy depending on your needs. Whether you lot want a basic tool that doesn't arrive the way, something with sharing capabilities, or feature-packed alternative to Windows' native clipboard. If y'all use a different clipboard managing director that works really well for you, experience free to submit your recommendation in the comments.