Mac: Over the years, dozens of clipboard managers have popped up and most do one simple thing: store a history of what you copy and paste. Tapbot, developers of the popular Twitter client Tweetbot. Clipboard Manager Gadget. Simple but productive. No new features planned but will always be proudly offered by us. Loved by 100,000's since 2006! Paste is the world's favorite clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It stores everything you copy and keeps your clipboard organized across all your devices.Paste is an invaluable productivity app for writers, developers, designers, and everyone else.THE SMART WAY TO COPY AND PASTEPaste keeps everything you copy regardless of its format so that you can quickly access data that you. A clipboard manager is a tool where you can manage what you copy. It keeps the copied items in the computer memory so you could review and retrieve any of those anytime. Such a tool extends your copy, cut and paste functionality offering a lot of useful features like paste modes, separate lists, content formatting, auto-sync, etc.
Clipboard history manager for Mac OS X - The standard clipboard operation is that when you copy a new item, it replaces the existing one. This great clipboard history manager will keep a log of every word or image that you copy to the clipboard.
We had previously covered some of the best clipboard managers for Android. Today, it’s time for macOS. Since macOS doesn’t have an in-built clipboard manager, you’d need a third-party tool. Don’t spend your time searching among thousands of tools. We’ve prepared a list of the best clipboard manager for Mac.
We tested around 20 Mac apps that offered clipboard management. Some of them were impressive, some were not. At the end of the day, we have come down to 7 best clipboard managers for Mac, offering various levels of features and productivity. We will start with the simple ones!
Read: How to Copy Unselectable Text on Your Screen Typer shark for mac.
Best Clipboard Managers for Mac
#1 CopyClip
Just so you know, CopyClip is my personal favorite when it comes to clipboard managers. It comes from FIPLAB, a popular developer of utility software.
For one, CopyClip does not come with fancy features. Despite that, this simple tool will boost your productivity like never before. It seamlessly integrates with your Mac, which is great.
It can record a big number of text-based entries, but you can decide how many entries are shown in the interface. There are also some customization options like blacklisting. It means that you can configure CopyClip to not record entries that are recorded from certain apps.
Pros: Simple interface, top-notch macOS integration, minimal footprint, and overall customizability
Cons: It can record only text.
The Verdict: If you are someone like me, who loves minimal clipboard management, CopyClip is perhaps the best choice. You don’t have a fully-fledged interface or additional features. But, when it comes to recording clipboard entries and accessing them quickly, CopyClip is just great. You can also disable recording or enable ‘clip copied’ notifications through the preferences.
Check Out CopyClip (Free)
#2 CopyClip 2
You guessed it right. CopyClip 2 is advanced — and paid — version of our first recommendation. It does offer a few extra features that are not present in the free version. There is also some room for customization and optimization. If you need better control, hotkey support, and other options, CopyClip 2 is a great choice. Unlike the free version, CopyClip 2 can record non-text clipboard entries too.
For starters, CopyClip 2 lets you set up hotkeys for toggle the window. Instead of going to macOS menu and clicking on the CopyClip 2 icon, you can simply open the window. In addition, there is an option to search for all the recordings, which isn’t present in the free version. You can also decide whether you want to paste the content directly and whether you want to paste formatted text.
Pros: Additional features like Search, UI Customization, Touch-bar compatible and Hotkey support
Cons: The UI doesn’t integrate well with macOS
The Verdict: If you found CopyClip inadequate for control and customization, CopyClip 2 is the next best one to go for. If you ask us, CopyClip 2 offers a lot of features for the price you are paying. Personally speaking, we loved the search feature and UI customization. That having said, it would have been great if CopyClip 2 had a better-blending UI.
Check Out CopyClip 2 ($7.99, 7-day Free Trial available)
#3 Clipy
Clipy is often called the missing clipboard manager for Mac OS X. After testing the program for a while, we’d found it’s true. Clipy is the epitome of simplicity and productivity. In the first look, you’d find it as something really simple. Download celemony melodyne studio 4 1 1 011. However, Clipy offers better features than both of the clipboard managers we covered above. And, rejoice, Clipy is open-source.
You can decide how many entries Clipy will record for you. We must say that we loved the Preferences very well. Despite being free, this tool can record images and other clipboard entries too. And, you can decide if you don’t want to record certain clipboard types. Some of the additional features include Snippet support, application blacklisting, and in-depth customization.
Pros: Open-source, top-notch customization, hotkey support, intuitive UI
Cons: None
The Verdict: Clipy is the perfect choice if you need a feature-rich, open-source alternative to both tools we’ve mentioned earlier. You will have better control over what you have copied — be it text, images or some PDF documents — while using Clipy. We don’t think that not many clipboard managers offer as many features as offered by Clipy. Just so you know, Clipy is a remake of Clipmenu, which is an abandoned project.
Check Out Clipy (Free)
#4 Copy’em Paste
Copy’em Paste lets you not only record clipboard entries but also manage them seamlessly. It offers a better organization method of clipboard entries when compared to other listings we’ve made. As long as running, it will record almost everything you copy — including media files. You can open the interface and keep them organized in a way you like.
Copy’em Paste also packs a few features that we haven’t seen in other clipboard managers. For instance, it offers all the controls on the main interface. You can turn off/turn on recording, take screenshots, enable or disable plane-text mode and even delete the stored clippings. There are also different themes you can try for Copy’em Paste.
Another notable feature lets you export and syncs your clipboard entries via iCloud, thus making it available across all of your devices.
Pros: Easier controls via a fully-fledged interface, extension support, Hotkeys for instant pasting
Cons: Lack of Preferences pane
The Verdict: We’d say Copy’em Paste is one of the most feature-rich clipboard managers we have seen here. It packs every feature you need for recording and organizing different clipboard entries. We really loved its option for exporting, syncing and customization. Just so you know, Copy’em Paste is a premium macOS app, but the features are worth what you pay. You can find the full feature list on the official website.
Check Out Copy’em Paste ($9.99)
#5 Pastebot
Pastebot is a clipboard manager for those who need better control over what they copy. Just like the others on the list, it too has an interface via the menu bar. However, when it comes to saving snippets and accessing something you’ve copied long back, Pastebot becomes a rockstar. It opens up a fully-fledged window that is showing a list of everything you copied.
Just clicking on those entries will copy the text/file into your clipboard. When compared to other managers we have reviewed, Pastebot is smoother. There are some awesome filters too. For instance, using one of the HTML filters, you can convert lists into HTML codes. We’d say Pastebot would be a superb companion for a lot of coders out there.
Pros: A complete interface, Snippet support, filter support, better content organization
Cons: The menu-bar interface isn’t that intuitive.
The Verdict: As we said, Pastebot is the best companion for people who copy a lot of stuff and coders. It has a bunch of features that enhance the total user experience, in addition to options like iCloud Sync, sequential pasting, custom pasteboards, blacklisting, and keyboard shortcuts. In short, Pastebot would be a great choice if you are looking for an advanced and feature-rich clipboard manager for Mac.
Check Out Pastebot ($9.99 | Free Trial on Website)
#6 Unclutter
Technically speaking, Unclutter isn’t a dedicated Mac clipboard manager. In fact, it goes a bit further than a clipboard manager. As the name says, Unclutter lets you make your desktop uncluttered. It does so by giving you space where you can keep your necessary files, clipboard entries, and even important notes. Just after you have installed the program, you can access this area from the menu bar.
However, the clipboard manager section of Unclutters offers better features than what we have seen above. It records all the entries. It lets you organize saved clipboard entries. It even lets you edit the current entry. There is also a Star button to save the clipboard entries for later. Simply clicking on the entry will copy it to the current clipboard.
Pros: An out-of-the-box productive suite, a simple yet effective UI, better organization
Cons: Unclutter is a bundled suite; clipboard manager isn’t available standalone
The Verdict: If you prefer having a productive program alongside, Unclutter is one of the best ways to record and manage clipboard data. For the amount you are paying, you get a lot of features. You will love all these features if you are a professional user. So, even with the limitation that you should have the whole program on your Mac, Unclutter seems to be an awesome clipboard manager.
Check Out Unclutter ($11.79, Free Trial available)
#7 Paste 2
We save the best for the last — Paste is probably the best clipboard manager for Mac that you can try right now! There are a few things that attracted us to Paste, the macOS integration being the best. Simply press the keyboard combination to launch Paste from the bottom part of the screen. From the grid-based view of clips, you can double-click to paste anything.
The best part is that Paste saves an unlimited number of clipboard entries. In addition to normal entries, there is another section named Useful Links. Here, you can keep hyperlinks that you access regularly. You can also create customized lists where you can keep different types of clipboard entries. The visual display and many options in sync make Paste one of the best tools ever.
Pros: Visual design, iCloud Sync support, Drag-and-drop support, custom shortcuts, and iOS app
Cons: None
The Verdict: Paste is the perfect clipboard manager for everyone! The visual design makes it usable for most professionals. Also, we really loved the category options and hotkey support. In addition, you are getting the support for iCloud sync. With a dedicated iOS app available, you will have access to all your recordings from anywhere.
Check Out Paste 2 ($14.99, Free Trial available)
The Bottom Line
These will be our recommendations when you ask for the best clipboard managers for Mac. We have made sure that the article consists of different apps. For instance, if you need a simple tool for text-based clipboard entries, CopyClip and Clipy are best options. On the other hand, if additional features matter to you, Paste and Copy’em Paste should work fine too. Which is your favorite clipboard manager for Mac? Do let us know.
Read: Automatically Copy Selected Text to Clipboard [Chrome]
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Copy and paste has been revolutionary for productivity. That may sound bizarre, considering how commonplace it is. Everyone copy–pastes, all the time. But without such functionality, we’d have to start from scratch on whatever we are working on every time.
Instead of starting over, copy and paste gives us control and time. Control to know that once we’ve created something once — whether it’s a passage of text, an entire document, images, videos, music, code — we can replicate it, instantly and easily. And wherever we have an internet connection, we can share those creations or links with anyone else in the world.
When you stop and think about it, copy and paste is remarkable (on a Mac: Command/⌘+C to copy, then Command/⌘+V to paste). The problem is, we are so used to it, so used to skipping back and forth between tasks that once we’ve copied something, if we don't paste it, we can quickly lose it and need to start again. Such a pain! Unfortunately, even the most expensive Macs only have one clipboard.
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How to view and manage clipboard history on macOS
Once you’ve copied something else, what you originally copied is lost. A Mac clipboard is a transient memory function, only designed to hold one item at a time. Once it's gone, it's gone. Clearly, this is a problem, and one that developers have been working on with numerous solutions, known as clipboard managers, appearing over the years. Thankfully, we have a solution we highly recommend to this particular problem with copy and paste history.
Where do you find the clipboard on your Mac?
A Mac clipboard is one of those macOS programs that runs in the background. You can find it and view clipboard through the Finder menu, in the top toolbar. Find and select Show Clipboard to see the last item you copied.
How does the macOS clipboard work?
As a native program, macOS clipboard runs the same way as other macOS operating functions. Clipboard is a basic program, which is why it takes up almost no processing power or space, except for the item it currently holds. Unfortunately, this comes with limitations. You can’t see anything else, apart from the latest item you copied. Once you copy something else, the first copied item disappears.
Gladly, now we have a solution for viewing the little-known secondary clipboard, where you can find your clipboard history.
The Mac’s hidden secondary clipboard
Not many people know that macOS has a hidden secondary clipboard. It’s a very well-kept secret. Select any text and press Control + K to cut it. To paste it in its new location, press Control + Y. Note that this cuts, rather than copies, the text. As this feature uses a different functionality, it won’t remove what is currently on the “main” clipboard.
Universal Clipboard
Universal Clipboard is a feature that was introduced in macOS Sierra and iOS 10, and allows you to copy and paste between Apple devices, as long as they’re signed into the same iCloud account and connected to the same WiFi network, with Bluetooth switched on. They also need to be physically close to each other.
Clipger A Clipboard Manager For Mac Download
To use Universal Clipboard, all you have to do is copy on one device and paste on the other.
How to view clipboard history
The main way to view your clipboard history is to paste (Command/⌘+V). That will show you the most recent item you copied. But did you know you can copy and paste in the Finder too? If you want to copy a file from one folder to another, for example, you can select it, press Command/⌘+C, then click in the folder you want to copy to and press Command/⌘+V.
You can even access clipboard history on a different device than the one you copied from, thanks to Universal Clipboard in macOS Sierra and iOS 10. To use it, your devices must be running at least iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, have both Bluetooth and WiFi turned on and be close to each other. They’ll also need to be signed into iCloud, since Universal Clipboard uses iCloud to sync data. Then all you have to do is copy on one device and paste on the other, using the usual copy and paste method on each device.
How to avoid clipboard limitations
If you have problems using Universal Clipboard, try logging out of iCloud on each device and logging back in again.
There are a couple of alternatives to copying and pasting.
Clipger A Clipboard Manager For Mac Windows 7
- One is to use text clippings. These are snippets of text that look like files, but can’t be edited and behave differently. To create a text clipping, select text in any document and drag it to the desktop. You can then drag it onto any document in any application that accepts text and drop it at the point where you want to paste it. You can also drag and drop the snippet directly from one application window onto the window of another — missing outboard stores multiple items.
- Paste is quite straightforward. Think of it as a clipboard manager for your Mac, which automatically keeps everything you’ve copied regardless of the format. You can record all clipboard types, from plain text to images, screenshots, links, and more. Anytime you need, you can smart search through the clipboard history manager, share anything through AirDrop or sync to iCloud, and even access clipboard history on other devices using the Universal Clipboard.
- Rocket Typist is another great app that approached solving clipboard limitations from a different angle. This app allows you to create multiple text snippets for passages you use frequently, from email greetings to PHP scripts. Assign trigger combinations for saved snippets and call on them in any app or environment. Alternatively, you can then paste directly into the document you’re working on by selecting the snippet in Rocket Typist to move it to the clipboard and pasting it the regular way.
- One more tool to help solve the clipboard problem is Unclutter. Designed as an app for storing notes and files neatly on your Desktop, Unclutter features a clipboard manager that retains the contents of your Mac’s clipboard, even after you copy something else. An organized interface makes your clipboard history easily accessible, allowing to find any old item you need to paste again.
How do you paste from the clipboard on a Mac?
To paste something from the standard macOS clipboard, use Command/⌘+V. However, when you are using a clipboard manager like Paste, you’ve got several options for pasting items from the clipboard.
- Drag and drop items from the Paste interface directly to any Mac app
- Select and paste multiple items at once
- Paste items as plain text, no matter the format of the original
- Access and paste files from multiple devices using iCloud sync
- Paste using customized shortcuts for most recent as well as old items
- Allow others to paste your snippets by sharing over AirDrop.
How to fix it a non-working clipboard
The first step when you discover that copy and paste don’t work is to check that it’s macOS that’s at fault and not your keyboard. Select some text in any application, then go to the Edit menu and choose Copy. Then go back to the Edit menu and choose Paste or Unclutter. If that works, the problem is with your keyboard.
If that doesn’t work, trying fixing the issue with Activity Monitor.
- Go to Applications > Utilities and double-click on Activity Monitor to launch it
- In its search box, type: pboard
- When it shows the pboard process, select it and press the X in the toolbar
- Click Force Quit and then close Activity Monitor
Go to an app where copy and paste wasn’t working and try again. If it still doesn’t work, try using Terminal to fix it.
- Go to Applications > Utilities and double-click on Terminal to launch it
- Type: killall pboard
- Hit Return
- Close Terminal
Try and copy and paste again in the same app as before. If neither Activity Monitor nor Terminal solves the problem, the next step is to restart your Mac.
How to recover clipboard history on a Mac
The fact that the macOS clipboard only retains the most recently copied thing means that there’s no way to easily view or recover clipboard history. You can, however, use Command/⌘+Z to undo the most recent action and then press it repeatedly to step back through everything you’ve done. Eventually, assuming the application you’re using supports unlimited undos, you’ll get to the point where you pasted the item you want to recover.
A much easier way to recover clipboard history is to use apps like Paste or Unclutter. They retain multiple items and allow you to view them easily in the app, selecting the one you need.
Snippets manager for Mac
Check out the top three best clipboard managers for handling snippets. Grab the handiest one for the job.
How to clear the clipboard
Clearing your clipboard is easy. Either overwrite the current copied item with a copy of something else or, in case of using Paste, delete the clipboard history with a few clicks. However, it’s a good idea to store some items or the whole clipboard history in iCloud just in case you need some of it in the future. Paste or Unclutter make managing clipboard history as straightforward as it can be.
While most Mac users limit themselves to one clipboard item at a time and feel frustrated with every accidental overwrite, you can use apps like Paste, Unclutter, and Rocket Typist — all available in the Setapp app collection — to extend the native capabilities of your Mac and save yourself hours of headaches in the future.
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