Clipboard history is a feature that allows you to see the last 25 items you’ve copied on your computer. If you’ve accidentally forgotten to paste a piece of text, image, or file you need, the clipboard history can be extremely helpful. This guide shows you how to use clipboard history in Windows 11.
Enable Clipboard History
Windows 11 disables Clipboard History by default. You need to enable it before you can use it.
Enable from the Clipboard app
First, press Win + V keys on your keyboard. This shortcut opens the Clipboard app. When the flyout is open, click the “Turn on” button, and voila, you’ve enabled Clipboard History!
Enable from Settings
- Open the Settings app.
Open the Settings app. - Head to System > Clipboard.
Head to System > Clipboard. - Turn the “Clipboard history” toggle on.
Turn the toggle on.
Paste from Clipboard History
Now that you’ve enabled Clipboard History, you can start using it to paste items.
- Press the Windows + V keys to open the clipboard history. You will see a list of your recently copied items.
A list of your recently copied items. - Click where you want to paste the item – ensure your cursor is in the correct position to insert the text or media. Left-click the item tile you want to paste – it will be automatically pasted in the current location.
Click the item tile you want to paste. - If you want to paste the text without formatting, click the three-dot menu button next to the item tile and select Paste as Text.
Click the three-dot menu button next to the item tile and select Paste as Text.
Pin an Item in Clipboard History
If you want to keep an item in your history to use later, you can pin it. The pinned item will not be overwritten, and you will still have 25 other slots for copied material.
Go to the item you want to pin, and click the Pin item icon next to it. The item will be pinned to the top of your clipboard history until you unpin it.
Clear Clipboard History
Open the Clipboard app (Win + V), and click the Clear all button. This will clear your entire clipboard history except for your pinned items. If you want to remove your pinned items, you need to unpin them first.
If you want to delete a specific item from your clipboard history, hover over it and click the three dots menu. Then, select Delete.
Sync Clipboard for Windows 11
Clipboard syncing allows you to sync your clipboard history across your Windows devices. When you enable this feature, you can access your clipboard history from any other Windows device synced with your Microsoft account. To enable clipboard syncing:
- Open Settings.
Open Settings. - Go to System > Clipboard.
Head to System > Clipboard. - Turn the “Sync across your devices” toggle on.
Turn the Sync across your devices toggle on. - Choose between:
Automatically sync text that I copy: This automatically syncs your clipboard content to the cloud as soon as you copy something.
Manually sync text that I copy: This manually syncs your clipboard content whenever you want.
Choose between Automatically sync text that I copy and Manually sync text that I copy.