Here’s a small change that gives you a disproportionately huge increase in productivity. It will make your computer-based work tasks simpler, easier and quicker.
Copy and paste is broken
Standard copy and paste is a slow, one to one process.
Copy an item, then paste it. Copy another item, then paste it. Cut an item, then get distracted and copy another item, and, “Oh bother, where has the thing I just cut gone? I can’t paste it now!”
This is silly.
Use a clipboard manager
There are many clipboard manager tools out there which enhance your copy and paste functionality. Here are some of the advantages and features that you don’t have with standard copy and paste.
Copy/paste history
Have your complete copy/paste history at your fingertips to re-use any item you’ve copied.
Multi-copy then multi-paste
Use that history to multi-copy then multi-paste, speeding up the process by reducing the number of times you switch between windows.
Grab something for later reference
Grab something for later reference, like a screenshot or a quote or a reference number. You don’t need to create a note or task or document to store it, it’s already stored just because you copied it.
Save common text and links
Save common text and links that you frequently share, so you don’t have to write it out every time, or look it up. These can be stored under labels for easy reference.
For example, my calendar booking link, which I send almost every day, is stored in my clipboard manager so I can paste it in an email or message without having to go and copy it from somewhere first. Likewise I store address details, video meeting links, email “canned responses”, code snippets and much more.
Search copy history
Search copy history rather than starting search all over again. If I know I copied something recently or saved it, I can hit a keyboard shortcut, type what I need, and there it is ready to paste. No need to go to Google or hunt through emails or documents to find the original source.
Sync across devices
If I copy something on my phone, I can paste on my laptop or my desktop computers. It’s like magic!
Paste as plain text
This is something that I often need when working on websites. With a simple keyboard combination I can paste any of my copied items as plain text and avoid bringing along any underlying formatting.
Security concerns
Obviously, when a program is logging all the data you copy and storing it, you need to be sure that it is secure and safe. That may be partly why these sort of features are still not standard on computer operating systems.
As with any software decision, do your homework. Is it a legitimate company, recommended by reputable sources? What do they say about privacy and security?
My experience is that the safest option when choosing software is to pay for a premium product. You get the reassurance that there is a commercial incentive to keep it secure and up to date, and that you’ll have good support if you need it. Open source can be good too, but the responsibility is on you to decide if it’s being actively developed to a high enough standard by a large enough community to be trustworthy.
Which clipboard manager is best?
Windows
There is a built in clipboard manager in Windows which is probably the most secure if you are a Windows user, but it has a very basic feature set. It’s still far better than nothing though!
A better alternative is ClipClip, which has most of the features mentioned above. It also handles syncing between devices using your own cloud storage, e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive etc, so you’re in control of all the data you copy. (I haven’t used it myself, but it looks good from what I see on their website).
Apple Mac
On a Mac, I use the wonderful utility simply called Paste. It only costs a tiny amount of money per year and does the job beautifully.
Setapp
If you’re a Mac user, you should definitely consider signing up for Setapp. It’s a single monthly subscription and you get an insane amount of high quality apps like Paste, all included in the one fee. If you use my link you’ll get a month for free!
Go fix your copy and paste!
If you know of any better clipboard managers do get in touch and let me know – I’m always looking to enhance my stack of tools and be able to provide good recommendations to clients.
If you’re still copying and pasting manually, go get yourself a clipboard manager and enjoy the massive benefits every time you use your computer.