title: Clipboard History

description: Access and manage previously copied text

category: Clipboard

difficulty: beginner

Clipboard History

CleverKeys maintains a history of text you've copied, making it easy to paste items from earlier.

Quick Summary

What	Description

Purpose	Access previous clipboard items
Access	Swipe SW from Ctrl key, or add Clipboard to Extra Keys
Capacity	Configurable (default 50 items)

Accessing Clipboard History

Method 1: Ctrl Key Swipe

1. Find the Ctrl key on the bottom row
2. Swipe SW (down-left) to activate switch_clipboard
3. Clipboard history panel opens
4. Tap any item to paste

Method 2: Extra Keys

If you've added a clipboard key to Extra Keys:

1. Tap the clipboard icon in your extra keys row
2. History panel opens
3. Tap item to paste

Method 3: Per-Key Customization

You can assign clipboard access to any key's short swipe:

1. Go to Settings > Activities > Per-Key Customization
2. Select any key
3. Assign switch_clipboard to a swipe direction

Using Clipboard History

Paste from History

1. Open clipboard history
2. Tap any item
3. Item is pasted at cursor position

Delete Item

1. Open clipboard history
2. Tap the 🗑 delete button on the item

Pin Items

Keep important items from being removed:

Pin an Item

1. Open clipboard history (History tab)
2. Tap the 📌 pin button on the item
3. Item is added to the Pinned tab

Unpin Item

1. Switch to the Pinned tab (📌)
2. Tap the 📌 pin button on the item to unpin
3. Item is removed from Pinned tab

Pinned items:

• Appear in the dedicated Pinned tab
• Don't auto-expire
• Don't count toward history limit

Todo Items

Mark clipboard items as to-do reminders:

Add to Todos

1. Open clipboard (History or Pinned tab)
2. Tap the ✓ todo button on the item
3. Item is added to the Todos tab

Mark as Done

1. Switch to the Todos tab (✓)
2. Tap the ✓ todo button to remove from todos
3. Item is removed from Todos tab (still in history)

Todo items:

• Appear in the dedicated Todos tab
• Can also be pinned (both flags independent)
• Useful for quick reference or follow-up

Tab System

The clipboard pane organizes items into three tabs:

Tab

Icon

Description

History	📋	Recent clipboard history (default)
Pinned	📌	Items you've pinned for quick access
Todos	✓	Items marked as to-do reminders

Switching Tabs

1. Open clipboard pane
2. Tap the tab icon (📋, 📌, or ✓) in the header row
3. Active tab is fully visible (alpha 1.0), inactive tabs are dimmed (alpha 0.5)

Item Actions by Tab

Action

History Tab

Pinned Tab

Todos Tab

Pin button	Pins item	Unpins item	Pins item
Todo button	Adds to todos	Adds to todos	Removes from todos
Delete	Deletes item	Deletes item	Deletes item
Paste	Pastes to editor	Pastes to editor	Pastes to editor

Pagination

For large clipboard histories (>100 items), pagination improves performance:

• Items are displayed 100 per page
• Pagination bar appears at the bottom when needed
• Shows current page / total pages (e.g., "1 / 6")
• ◀ and ▶ buttons navigate between pages
• Search still searches ALL items across all pages

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ [◀] 3 / 6 [▶] │

└─────────────────────────────────────┘

History Panel Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ 📋 📌 ✓ [Search...] 📅 [▼] │ ← Tabs + Search + Close ├─────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Recently copied text here... [📌✓🗑]│ ← History items │ Another clipboard item... [📌✓🗑]│ │ More text from earlier... [📌✓🗑]│ ├─────────────────────────────────────┤ │ [◀] 1 / 3 [▶] │ ← Pagination (if >100 items)

└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Privacy Features

Password Manager Exclusion

CleverKeys can exclude clipboard entries from password managers:

Setting

Behavior

Enabled	Clips from 1Password, Bitwarden, etc. not saved
Disabled	All clips saved normally

Supported apps include: 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, Dashlane, KeePass variants, and more.

Password Field Detection

CleverKeys automatically detects password fields:

Behavior

Description

Don't save	Password field text not saved to history
Mask display	Sensitive items may show masked

Tips and Tricks

• Pin frequently used: Pin items you paste often
• Clear sensitive data: Regularly clear history with sensitive info
• Quick access: Add clipboard to Extra Keys for one-tap access
• Customize access: Assign clipboard to any key via Per-Key Customization

[!TIP]

The Ctrl key's SW subkey is switch_clipboard by default on most layouts.

Settings

Setting

Location

Description

Enable History	Clipboard section	Turn history on/off
History Size	Clipboard section	Maximum items to keep
Exclude Password Managers	Clipboard section	Don't save from password apps

Clear History

To clear clipboard history, use the export/import features in Settings > Backup & Restore, or delete items individually using the delete button on each item.

Common Questions

Q: Why don't I see clipboard history?

A: Check that it's enabled in Settings > Clipboard section (expand it).

Q: How do I access clipboard quickly?

A: Swipe SW (southwest/down-left) on the Ctrl key, or add a clipboard key to your Extra Keys.

Q: Why wasn't my copied text saved?

A: It may have been from a password field or a password manager app (if exclusion is enabled).

Q: Can I recover deleted items?

A: No, deleted items cannot be recovered. Pin important items.

Related Features

• Text Selection - Select text efficiently
• Shortcuts - Keyboard shortcuts for clipboard
• Privacy - Privacy settings

← Password Field Mode Text Selection →