How to Enable Windows 10 Clipboard History

If you use a clipboard manager app on Windows 10, updating to the Windows 10 October 2018 update may negate the need for it. This new version lets you store your Windows 10 clipboard history and recall a previous entry with a simple keyboard shortcut. Here’s how you can view clipboard history in this version of Windows.

How to Enable Windows 10 Clipboard

First, make sure you’re on the October 2018 build by opening the run box and typing winver. The version should be 1809. If you’re using an older version, run Windows Update to get the latest edition.

Before you can view clipboard history on Windows 10, you need to first enable it:

1. Open the Settings app (press Win+i to get there immediately).
2. Select the System group of settings.
3. Select the Clipboard tab.
4. Turn on Clipboard history.

You can view clipboard history on Windows 10 from this point forward. Anything that you copied before enabling it will not appear.

How to Open Windows 10 Clipboard History

How you get to the clipboard history is easy: Tap Windows +v. A little panel will open that will list all items, images, and text, that you copied to your clipboard. Scroll through it and click an item you want to paste again.

If you look closely at the panel, you will see that each item has a little pin icon on it. Clicking it will exempt the item from being cleared when you clear your clipboard history.

Speaking of which, you can clear your history by clicking the Clear all button on the clipboard history panel. You can also delete it from the Clipboard tab in the Settings app.

The clipboard can also be synced across devices, but this option isn’t enabled by default.

A word of caution on clipboard history

Users tend to copy and paste sensitive information like logins, passwords, and even banking information to their clipboard.

This isn’t a good idea, ever, but before the 2018 update, it wasn’t as dangerous because Windows only remembered the last entry on your clipboard.

If you enable clipboard history on Windows 10, you need to take special care that you do not copy sensitive information to your clipboard. If you do copy sensitive information to the clipboard, make sure that you clear it out immediately. You can remove individual items from your history.

Disabling Windows 10 Clipboard History

Turning off the clipboard history on your computer is easy. Whether for privacy reasons or something else, reverse the setup steps above, this time turning off the Windows 10 clipboard history:

1. Open Settings (press Win+i).
2. Go to System > Clipboard.
3. Find the Clipboard history toggle and select it to switch it off.

Parting words

The history will persist past a system restart so you have to be proactive about keeping it clean.

Sensitive information shouldn’t be stored there but to make sure that it’s still usable, you should trim the items on the clipboard regularly so that only important items are kept long term.

There doesn’t seem to be any limit on how many items it can store but since this is a native Windows 10 feature, you can expect it to store a reasonably large number of items.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I turn on my clipboard history? Select Windows logo key + V, and then select Turn on.
• How do I sync my clipboard items to my Computer? Select Start > Settings > System > Clipboard . Choose On under Sync across devices.
• How do I clear my clipboard history? Select Start > Settings > System > Clipboard > Clear clipboard data > Clear — this will clear everything on your device and the cloud, except for pinned items. Select Windows logo key + V  and then select the Clear all option at the top — this will clear your device clipboard history.
• What if I want to get rid of something in the clipboard history? Select Windows logo key + V to open the clipboard settings and then next to the item in question, select Delete.
• How do I sync my clipboard to my phone? Unfortunately, you can’t sync your clipboard history to your phone yet. This feature will be added in the future.

Read Full Bio

Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

Latest from Author

How to Take a Screenshot on Windows Best FPS Counter Software for Windows