How to save clipboard image to file on Windows 10
Windows 10 added a new feature where, if you tap the Win+Printscreen keys, a screenshot is captured and saved to a folder called Screenshots in the Picture library. This is by far the easiest way to capture a full screen screenshot of practically anything. The PrintScreen key, when tapped on its own, also captures your screen but the image goes to your clipboard. It’s not saved as a file unless you paste it into an image editor. This is tedious so if you want a quicker way to save a clipboard image to a file on Windows 10, a free app called Paste InTo File will do the trick.
Clipboard image to file
Download and install Paste InTo File. When you install the app, it asks for permission to add itself to the context menu. Allow it to add itself to the context menu to make it easier to use. Once you’ve done that, it will ask where you want to save the file to when you save it from your clipboard.
This does point to a shortcoming of the app i.e., you can only save it to a certain directory. You can change the directory each time you paste a file from the context menu but it adds an extra step.
To save a clipboard image to a file, right-click anywhere and select the Paste into file option. In the window that opens, you can change where the file is saved, what file extension it’s saved with, and the file name it is saved with. If you don’t want to change anything, simply click the Save button and the image will be saved.
This app doesn’t just work with images copied to your clipboard after you’ve tapped the PrintScreen key. If you right-click an image in your browser or in a word processor, and copy it to your clipboard, you can use Paste into file to save it.
You should also know that as of Windows 10 1809, you can recall your clipboard history past the one item that’s currently saved to it. You of course have to enable clipboard history but once you’ve done that, you can use it with this app to recall and save to file any image that you copied to your clipboard.
This isn’t a simple one-click solution however, it is much easier than opening an app like Paint, pasting the file, and saving it. Paint’s save dialog for a new file is itself a bit tedious.
