Unlock macOS clipboard history, efficient copy and paste techniques

On Mac, it is common to frequently need to copy and paste content between different documents. The macOS clipboard only retains the last copied item, which limits our work efficiency. Fortunately, there are some third-party applications that can help us view and manage our clipboard history easily.

How to view the clipboard contents in the Finder

"Finder" has a built-in clipboard viewer, allowing you to view the contents of the current clipboard at any time to avoid pasting errors.

The operation is very simple: open the "Finder", click the "Edit" menu, and then select "Show Clipboard".

View the clipboard contents in the Finder

Although this function is small, there are a few points to note:

• The clipboard viewer in "Finder" can only display the content and cannot edit it.
• If you copy text, it will display the text content.
• If you copy a file, it will display the file name.
• If you copy an image, it will show the copied image.

This is a very useful feature for users who often copy and paste on Mac. However, because the function is too simple, if you want to view and manage the clipboard history, you need to use other third-party applications.

How to view macOS clipboard history

The default clipboard function of macOS can only save the latest copied item, which is obviously not enough for handling multitasking. To manage clipboard contents more efficiently, there are some more comprehensive third-party applications available.

Maccy: Lightweight and free clipboard manager

Maccy is a free and lightweight clipboard management tool mainly used to simplify text copying and pasting operations. It can save the latest 200 copy records for users to check at any time. Although it supports non-text formats, its simple interface design makes it more convenient and efficient when processing text content.

1 Download Maccy for free from GitHub, unzip it, drag and drop Maccy.app into the "Applications" folder, and double-click to open it.

2 Click the Maccy icon in the menu bar to enter "Preferences".

3 Check "Start at login" and add "Login Items" to ensure that Maccy can run automatically every time you start the computer. Check both the "Auto-Paste" and "Match Format" options, and when prompted, grant Accessibility access to the app.

Configuring Maccy autostart and behavior

4 Click the Maccy icon in the menu bar to see the copy history list. You can paste content by clicking on an item in the list. The latest 9 projects are also automatically associated with shortcut keys for quick pasting.

Paste clipboard records using Maccy

5 If you need to find earlier records, you can use the "Search" function to quickly locate them.

There are many other useful options in Maccy's "Preferences" that are worth digging and exploring. For example, in the "Ignore" tab, you can specify which applications' content will not be copied to the clipboard record; also You can check "Clear history on exit" in the "Advanced" tab to clear all clipboard records when closing the app to protect personal privacy.

Pasty: Advanced Clipboard History Tool

If you need more features, there are many paid options on the market. Pasty is a great tool, and even its free version offers a rich set of useful features.

1Install Pasty through the App Store.

2 When starting up for the first time, Pasty will provide a simple boot process to help you customize settings according to your personal needs.

Pasty Startup Wizard

3The usage of Pasty is similar to Maccy, and it is also operated through the icons in the menu bar. After clicking the Pasty icon, a full-width panel will appear showing a thumbnail of the copied content so you can see it at a glance.

Use Pasty to manage your clipboard

4 The "Search" function can help you quickly locate specific clipboard content, and the "Filter" allows you to view only copied records from the selected application.

5 Double-click the highlighted item to paste it into the current document.

Pasty’s “Spaces” function is one of its core features. You can think of “Spaces” as a dedicated folder for saving clipboard items, which is especially suitable for users who need to maintain good content organization.

By default, all clipping content will be saved in "History". You can also create multiple "Spaces" (up to three in the free version) and move clipboard content into them by dragging and dropping, so you can manage clipboard items in a more organized way.

Considering user privacy protection, Pasty also provides many functions, such as the ability to pause recording of clipboard contents, exclude copy operations of specific applications, and set the option to automatically clear the clipboard contents after a certain period of time.

If you have higher requirements for organizing clipboard history and protecting privacy, Pasty will be your ideal choice.

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