Did you copy some items on your Mac and then copied something else before pasting the previous content? Discover how to view clipboard history on Mac in this article. Find out about powerful clipboard manager applications like Paste and JumpCut.
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As a Mac user, you’ve probably copied and pasted countless text, files, or image snippets to streamline your work or share information. But did you know that the clipboard holds the content you copy or cut, allowing you to paste it elsewhere? That’s right.
Unfortunately, the clipboard on macOS only retains the most recent items you’ve copied, leaving the previous ones inaccessible. But don’t worry. In this article, we’ll guide you through the steps to view your clipboard history on Mac. Keep reading to find out how you can retrieve the items you’ve copied or cut in the past.
Where Is The Clipboard On Mac?
The clipboard is a temporary storage area that holds the items you’ve most recently copied or cut. And if you are wondering where the clipboard is on your Mac, we have good news. The clipboard is located inside the Finder app. Follow these steps to find the clipboard on Mac:
Step 1: Open the Finder app
Step 2: Next, head over to the toolbar
Step 3: Click Edit. A drop-down menu will appear
Step 4: Select Show Clipboard and the clipboard will appear on your screen
The clipboard will contain no visible content if you’ve not recently copied any text, images, or files. However, if you want to see how the clipboard feature works, select the piece of text you want to copy and hit Command + C. You should then follow the steps above to view the content on the clipboard. To paste the text to the desired location, press Command + V.
Can I View Clipboard History on Mac?
The clipboard on macOS only retains the most recent item you copied. If you copy something else, the previous content will be replaced, making accessing a comprehensive clipboard history difficult.
However, to view clipboard history on Mac, you must utilize third-party clipboard manager applications such as Paste, JumpCut, and more. These applications store the history of your copied or cut items, allowing you to quickly retrieve previous clipboard content.
Best Mac Clipboard Manager Applications
Here are some popular clipboard manager apps for macOS:
1. Paste
Paste is a well-known clipboard manager with a range of features designed to boost your productivity. The clipboard manager app allows you to access and retrieve previously copied content, including text, links, and images.
The Paste has a search bar to find a specific item within your clipboard history quickly. You can also organize your clipboard history into pinboards, making locating and managing items in this app easier.
Paste also offers seamless integration with iCloud, providing convenient backing up and syncing of your clipboard history across multiple Apple devices. With iCloud support, you can access your items on:
- Mac
- iPhone
- iPad
Paste pricing starts at $14.99 per year. To use the clipboard manager app, head to the Mac App Store and install it. However, you can also get Paste for free through Setapp. Once you’ve successfully installed Paste, every item you copy will be stored on the app. If you are working on multiple tasks, you can copy multiple items at once and access them conveniently from Paste’s clipboard history later.
2. JumpCut
JumpCut is another popular clipboard manager app that has been around for over a decade. Since its inception, JumpCut has established itself as a reliable and trusted tool among Mac users seeking a versatile clipboard management solution. The tool has been praised for its ability to store a large number of clipboard items, ensuring that Mac users have quick and easy access to a record of their clipboard content whenever they need it.
Unlike Paste, JumpCut is completely free to use. You only need to download and install the app. However, when you download JumpCut, you’ll see a message stating that the app can’t be installed since Apple does not recognize the developer. The issue arises because JumpCut is not one of the apps available on the official Mac App Store. If you encounter this problem, here’s what to do:
Step 1: Go to System Preferences on your Mac
Step 2: Click General
Step 3: Hit Open Anyways
Step 4: Proceed with the installation
Once JumpCut is installed on your device, you’ll see a small scissor icon in the menu bar. And guess what? JumpCut will start creating a list of all your copied items. To use the copied data, click the scissor icon and select the clipped text line. Press Command + V to paste it to another location.
3. Copy ‘Em
Copy ‘Em is an excellent clipboard manager app available for Mac users worldwide. The app stores an extensive history of your copied items. Whether it’s texts, images, links, color codes, screenshots, or even an entire file, Copy’ Em keeps a comprehensive record of your clipboard content.
Copy’ Em also gives you the option to create custom lists and assign clippings to them. This helps you keep your clipboard history organized and ensures that you can quickly find the relevant content when you need it. You can create separate lists for work-related clippings, personal clippings, and more.
If you’ve recently deleted an item in Copy’ Em and realize you still need it, don’t panic. Copy ‘Em understands that such accidents can happen and provides a reliable way to recover mistakenly deleted items. Just head over to the Recently Deleted list, and you’ll be presented with a list of the items you’ve deleted from your clipboard history.
4. CopyClip
Last and definitely not least, we have CopyClip. CopyClip is a powerful clipboard manager app that enhances your copying and pasting experience. The app is easy to use and, unlike the default clipboard on macOS, which only retains the most recent items, CopyClip allows you to view the clipboard history of your copied texts on Mac.
CopyClip offers a helpful feature that allows you to prevent certain apps from being saved in your clipboard history. This feature gives you control over which apps or sensitive information you want to exclude from being stored in CopyClip. To block these specific apps, click the Exclude Apps option.
Final Words
MacOS has a default clipboard feature that allows you to copy and paste content easily. However, the clipboard has some limitations that can hinder productivity and efficiency. Fortunately, the above clipboard manager apps offer a solution to these limitations. These clipboard managers store a comprehensive history of your copied or cut items, ensuring you never lose valuable information, even if you copy something else afterward.
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