4 Best Ways to Enable Clipboard History in Windows 10
In Windows 10, the clipboard history feature allows users to view items copied over a specific time period. Elements can be text, HTML, or images (less than 4MB). You may have a list or history of the content you copied for later use. However, you will need to enable Clipboard History on your Windows computer first.
Clipboard history can help you recover copied content, especially when the browser or an application crashes. Thus, the chain of copied content remains safe.
To activate yours, you can use the methods below.
1. Activate clipboard history through Windows settings
One of the ways to turn on Clipboard History on Windows 10 is through Settings. Here is how it works:
Step 1: Launch Windows settings from the Start menu or with the Windows key + I shortcut.
2nd step: In the new window, click on System.
Step 3: Scroll down the system tray and select Clipboard.
Step 4: In the clipboard history menu, activate the option by toggling the switch to On. You can also turn off clipboard history by turning it off.
Step 5: To make sure you’ve turned on the feature, press Windows Key + V to display the clipboard.
When the Clipboard History is activated for the first time, it appears as empty. However, when items are copied to the PC, the items are automatically stored in the clipboard. These items can be copied from the clipboard and pasted elsewhere.
2. Activate clipboard history via keyboard shortcut
As the shorthand term suggests, this method is short and straightforward. Here’s all you need to do:
Step 1: Press these keys on your keyboard Windows key + V.
2nd step: The Clipboard History prompt should appear.
Step 3: Click Activate to activate the clipboard history.
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3. Activate clipboard history through Windows registry
If you are an advanced Windows 10 user, you can use the Windows registry to enable clipboard history. This method is only advisable if the other options above fail, as one misstep can make your PC unstable.
Check out the steps below:
Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to launch the Run dialog box.
2nd step: When the Run dialog box opens, type regedit in the box and press Enter.
Step 4: In Registry Editor, select the drop-down menu next to Computer.
Step 5: Select the drop-down menu next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
Step 6: Select the drop-down menu next to Software.
Step 7: Scroll through the options and select Microsoft
Step 8: Select the drop-down menu next to AuthCookies.
Step 9: Select Clipboard and to the right of the pane you should see the Enable Clipboard History option. However, if it doesn’t, follow the steps below to include it.
Step 10: Right-click on Clipboard to display a list of options.
Step 11: Select New from the list of options.
Step 12: Select DWORD (32-bit) Value from the following list of options.
Step 13: Type Activate clipboard history as a name.
Step 14: Double-click on the new name to open a dialog box.
Step 15: In the value data menu, enter 1 to enable clipboard history. To turn off clipboard history, type 2.
Step 16: Click OK to save the changes.
Step 17: Restart your PC to make the changes.
4.Enable clipboard history via local group policy editor
If you plan to enable clipboard history for multiple users, the fastest way to do this is through the Group Policy Editor. However, this method only works if you are a system administrator. Here’s how:
Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to launch the Run dialog box.
2nd step: When the Run dialog box opens, type gpedit.msc in the box and press Enter.
Step 4: In the editor, click the drop-down menu next to Computer Configuration.
Step 5: Click the drop-down menu next to Administrative Templates.
Step 6: Click the drop-down menu next to System.
Step 7: Scroll down the menu bar and click on Operating System Policies.
Step 8: Double click on Allow Clipboard History in the right pane and it brings up a new window.
Step 9: To turn on clipboard history, select On. You can also turn it off by selecting Off.
Step 10: Click OK to save the changes.
How to use clipboard history
It is important to note that the Clipboard History can only save a maximum of 25 entries. Copying new items replaces old ones. Clipboard history also automatically resets once your PC is restarted. To avoid losing a copied item, it must be pinned to the clipboard.
Last updated on July 23, 2021
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