Have you ever copied something and then copied something new before you pasted what you originally had? Or maybe you’ve found yourself recopying the same information over and over again by opening the original document and looking for what you need every single time.
![]() ![]()
Clipboard Recorder Software for Various Platforms. The clipboard is an important aspect of any device. Naturally, each device running on separate platforms will have individual clipboards. You cannot use a clipboard software which has been developed for Windows to operate it on Mac. If you've ever felt the pain of accidentally copying over something important on your clipboard, you need a clipboard manager. We round up the top options for this essential Mac utility, including.
Since macOS doesn’t include a built-in feature for tracking anything besides your most recently copied items, you’ll need to install a clipboard tool. Luckily, there are plenty of great options!
Where is Clipboard on Mac?
The clipboard is the place where your Mac stores the item you most recently copied.
You can see what’s stored there by opening Finder and then choosing Edit > Show Clipboard.
When you do this, a small window will pop up and show you what’s being stored and what type of content it is. For example, my clipboard contains a sentence of plain text, but it can also store images or files.
![]()
To copy something to the clipboard, select it and then press Command + C, and to paste it press Command + V.
This clipboard feature is pretty limited since you can only see one thing at a time and you can’t recover old items that you’ve copied.
4 Great Mac Clipboard Manager Apps
If you want to copy multiple things, you’ll need to install a clipboard tool to accomplish this. There are a lot of options, so here are a few of our favorites.
1. JumpCut
JumpCut is an open-source clipboard tool that will allow you to see your full clipboard history as needed. It’s not the fanciest app, but it has been around for a while and will work reliably. You can download it here.
When you do download it, you will probably see a message saying the app can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.
This is completely normal – by default, your Mac tries to protect you from potential viruses by preventing unrecognized programs from running. Since this is a safe app, you can go to System Preferences > General and pick “Open Anyways” to allow Jumpcut to run. Or you can go to Applications, locate the app, right-click and select Open.
Note: Not comfortable with allowing JumpCut on your Mac? FlyCut is a “fork” of JumpCut – this means it’s a version of JumpCut built by a separate team to add additional features by building on the original application. It looks and functions almost exactly the same, however, unlike JumpCut, you can get FlyCut from the Mac App Store.
Once installed, Jumpcut will appear as a small scissors icon in your menu bar. Once you’ve copied and pasted a few things, a list will start to form.
The list shows a sample of whatever you’ve copied, like this:
To use a particular clipping, just click on it, then press Command + V to paste it where you want to use it. Jumpcut is limited to text clippings, and can’t store images for you.
2. Paste
If you’re looking for something a little fancier that can support more than just text, Paste is a good alternative. You can find it on the Mac App Store (where its actually called Paste 2) for $14.99, or you can get it for free with a Setapp subscription (which is what I’m using right now). Both versions are completely the same though.
To get started, install Paste. You’ll see a quick startup screen with a few settings, and then you’re ready to go!
Anytime you copy something, Paste will store it for you. You can use the standard CMD + V shortcut if you just want to paste your most recent clipping. But if you want to get something you previously copied, just press SHIFT + CMD + V. This will bring up the Paste tray.
You can organize everything you copy into pinboards by assigning colorful tags, or you can search for something specific using the convenient search bar.
Furthermore, you can back everything up to iCloud so that your clipboard history can be accessed on any of your other devices that have Paste installed.
Overall, Paste is one of the most convenient and clean clipboard apps available for Mac and will definitely serve you well if you’re willing to spend a little bit.
3. Copy’em Paste
If you’re looking for something in between JumpCut and Paste, Copy’em Paste is a good option. Available on the Mac App Store, it stores all your clippings in a scrolling vertical tab, so you can grab one anytime.
It also focuses on adding shortcuts you can use to paste a specific item, which is great if you need to repeat information in multiple places. Additionally, you can star/favorite specific snippets, tag them, and sort the list in half a dozen different ways for maximum convenience.
Overall, it offers many of the same features as Paste but in a different format, so you should pick based on which one you are most comfortable with.
4. CopyClip
As lightweight as JumpCut but a little bit cleaner, CopyClip has a few special features that make it noteworthy.
It looks fairly basic at first – just a collection of links or text clippings stored in the menu bar icon. However, the top ten most recent clippings can be easily pasted by using the hotkey listed next to them for convenience. This means you don’t have to select it and then paste — just press the right number key and you’re good to go!
The other key feature in CopyClip is that you can do is set it to ignore copies made from specific apps. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually super important – since this app isn’t going to encrypt any content, you definitely don’t want it to save any passwords that you copy and paste. Or, if you work in an industry dealing with sensitive data, you can tell it to ignore the app you use to write your notes. This is a great security feature.
Conclusion
Convenience is king when it comes to computers, and clipboard managers like JumpCut, Paste, Copy’em Paste, and CopyClip will help you streamline your workflow and maximize productivity. Let us know which one works best for you?
If you want to reuse the text that you just copied and pasted 30 seconds ago, you often need to go back to the page and redo it again. If you want to see the information you copied two days ago, chances are you won’t find it.
You like to keep files on your desktop but later you have no clue how to manage them. When you have an idea of what to jot down, but it’s gone when you launch your note app.
Do any of the above experiences resonate with you? If yes, then you’ll probably like Unclutter — a handy app that can help you manage all those works, clipboard, files and notes. Read on and see what’s the app about and how to use it.
What is Unclutter?
Unclutter is a place where you store your paste clips and notes. And it will manage all the files for you. With Unclutter, you are able to re-use and check your paste history. You can note down your ideas at any time. You can even drag and drop files to keep your desktop clean. In a word, it’s more like a multifunction toolbox.
How Does Unclutter Work?
After you installed Unclutter, you can find it at the Mac menu bar.
There are four ways to open the mainboard. Move your mouse to the top of the screen, scroll down, hold the key that you set up, or wait for a half-second, or customize the short key. This can be set in the Preferences.
1. Review Clipboard
The clipboard is the place to store your paste history. You can set up how many histories can be kept, from 10 to 50 items. This is super convenient when you want to go back to check what you copied as well as to reuse the information if you need any of them.
Unclutter also cares about your privacy. It allows you to set up the information where you copied can be kept in the clipboard or not. So if you have sensitive data from some apps, you can add those apps to the setting, and then all the information you copied from them will not be kept in the clipboard.
2. Manage Files
Unclutter can also be used as a place to store your files. When Unclutter is running, you can drag your files and bring them to the top of the screen, then you can put it in the board. The files will be kept in the default place, if you have a destination or the folder for your files, just set up in the setting and the files will be kept there.
Another job Unclutter can do for you is helping you move files faster. When you move files between different folders on Mac, you know that’s a pain. However, by using Unclutter, you can take that space as a temporary stop for your files and open other folders to move them in. This way you will not need to open two folders and busy around.
3. Take notes
Unclutter is also a notebook where you can quickly write down your ideas or things that you might easily forget. No need to open another note app.
The difference between Unclutter’s notes board and other note apps is that the notes board is more convenient, and you don’t need to switch between apps. It’s more like a sticky note, write and leave. It fits more for the fast thoughts that you might forget when you are waiting for the note app to be launched.
Price and Platform Compatibility
Unclutter is only available for macOS at the time of this writing.
You can get it from its official website, or from the Mac App Store. It’s not a free app, but you still can get the trial version from their website and see how it works for you. The one-time cost is $19.99.
Unclutter is also available on Setapp. Setapp is an app subscription service where you can get a lot of great paid Mac apps. It has a 7-day free trial, and then $9.99 per month. You can use Unclutter as well as access all other apps in Setapp.
Is Unclutter Worth It?
It depends on which feature attracts you the most in Unclutter, for me personally, I love the clipboard the most. Previously, I also used the Paste app to manage clipboard history. While Unclutter is more like a toolbox for clipboard, files, and notes, and more powerful than Paste.
Conclusion
Unclutter is a great utility toolbox for clipboard, files, and notes. It’s very simple to use and able to help you more efficiency. Try it and see how it can help you.
Jessica is the co-founder and content manager. She has been fascinated by the startup culture in Silicon Valley and she loves building things from zero to one. When she is not writing, she loves getting close to nature and shoot photos with her iPhone and Canon EOS 80D.
![]() Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
January 2023
Categories |