Windows 10’s Clipboard History is Getting Even Better

Windows 10 has a built-in clipboard history, and it’s about to get a lot more handy with the upcoming release of Windows 10 Build 20185, currently available for Windows Insiders to test.

We’ve talked about the clipboard history before, and here’s my confession: By “we,” I mean “I.” And even though I wrote the piece, I completely pushed the clipboard history out of my head until today, when I realised that: 1) It existed and 2) I hadn’t enabled it for whatever reason.

Oops.

So, I’m back to remind you that Windows 10’s built-in clipboard history is incredibly easy to set up and access. You only need to remember one keyboard shortcut that’s oh-so-similar to the CTRL+V you already use to copy and paste. Instead of hitting that, hit Windows Key+V instead. When you do, you’ll see this pop up on your screen (if you haven’t yet enabled clipboard history):

Click that big blue button to turn it on — easy as that. You can also visit Windows 10’s Settings > System > Clipboard to enable clipboard history as well as Microsoft’s handy clipboard sync feature, in case you want to keep that history consistent between your various Windows 10 systems. (Make sure you’ve done the same steps on the rest of them to make sure this feature is enabled, and check that you’re signed in with the same Microsoft account on each.)

Now, you only need to untrain yourself from the comforting CTRL+V and move on to the futuristic Windows Key+V — the exact problem I had when I first reported about Windows 10’s clipboard history. And if being able to copy and paste from a history of text, images, or HTML code isn’t enough to help you make the switch, Windows 10 Build 20185 will sweeten the offer even more.

As Windows Latest reports, Microsoft is expanding the clipboard history to add tabs for (searchable) emoji, symbols, kaomoji, and GIFs. It feels like almost too much firepower for one’s clipboard, turning it into the kind of interface you’d expect to see when texting a friend on whatever messaging app you use.

Still, that’s a lot of helpful firepower that saves you time from having to look up emoji or GIFs yourself. I can’t promise that I would use these new clipboard history features every day of my life, but I do look up a bunch of emojis and GIFs when chatting with friends. The ability to do that Windows-wide certainly seems helpful.

If you’re itching to use this new clipboard history right now, you’ll have to sign up for Microsoft’s Windows Insider program (via Windows Update). Once you’ve done that, sign up for Dev Channel updates to get Build 20185. Here’s hoping nothing bugs out on you.