ClipTen Clipboard history on Windows

Clipboard history on Windows

How to switch it on, what the 25-item limit really means in a working day, and what to do when the panel comes up empty.

The short answer

Press Win V. The first time, Windows shows a Turn on button — click it, and from then on Win V opens a panel of everything you have copied since.

The limits, from Microsoft’s own documentation: 25 entries, 4 MB per item, text, HTML and bitmap images only, and the whole list clears when you restart the PC apart from items you have pinned.

Turning it on

  1. Press Win V.
  2. The first time, the panel offers a Turn on button. Select it.
  3. That is all. Windows starts keeping copies from that moment — it cannot go back and recover the thing you copied before you read this.

If you prefer the long way round, it is Settings › System › Clipboard in both Windows 10 and 11, and the switch is called Clipboard history.

Using it

Win V opens the panel. Click an item to paste it, or walk the list with the arrow keys and press Enter. Each item has a small menu with three useful things in it:

  • Pin — keeps that item through restarts. This is the only part of the history that survives one.
  • Delete — removes one item.
  • Clear all — empties everything unpinned.

The panel also carries emoji, GIFs and symbols on the tabs across the top, which is why Win V sometimes opens on the wrong tab.

The limits, precisely

Windows clipboard history
How many items25. The 26th pushes the oldest out.
Size of one item4 MB.
What it holdsText, HTML and bitmap images.
Copied filesNo.
After a restartCleared, apart from pinned items.
Sync to other devicesOptional, with a Microsoft account.

Twenty-five sounds generous until you watch it work. Copy nine things in a busy ten minutes and the one you actually wanted is already four screens down the panel.

Should you turn on syncing

Windows can send your clipboard to your other PCs through your Microsoft account. It is genuinely handy across two machines on one desk, and it means your copies now travel to Microsoft’s servers. Whether that is fine depends entirely on what you copy. Anyone who copies passwords, client records, card numbers or anything under an NDA should think about it for a moment rather than switch it on by reflex.

Worth knowing: password managers can mark a copy as secret, and well-behaved clipboard tools skip those. Windows clipboard history honours that flag, and so does ClipTen — a password copied from a manager is never written to a slot.

When the panel is empty or Win V does nothing

Usually it is one of four things: history was never switched on, a work policy has disabled it, the Clipboard User Service has stopped, or you are inside a remote desktop session that captures the shortcut. Each one, and the fix →

Where ClipTen fits

Clipboard history is a memory. It is for the question what did I copy earlier?, and for that it is good and it is free and it is already on your PC.

It is the wrong tool for the other half of the job — the four or five things you paste again and again for an hour. Every one of those pastes costs you the same four moves: open the panel, read the list, find it, press Enter.

ClipTen gives those items a key instead. Ctrl C 1 puts the address on 1. Ctrl V 1 pastes it, in any app, without opening anything. Ten of them, 1 to 0, and they are all still there on Monday.

Win V historyClipTen
To pasteOpen panel, find item, EnterCtrl V + a number
What it keepsYour last 25 copies10 slots you choose
Size4 MB per item16 MB per slot
FilesNoYes, several in one slot
After a restartOnly pinned itemsEvery slot
Leaves the PCOnly if you turn on syncNever
PriceFree, built inFree for 30 days, then $20 once

Keep both. They answer different questions. More about ClipTen on Windows →

Last checked September 2026.

Questions

How do I see my clipboard history in Windows 11?
Press Win V. If it is the first time, select Turn on. The panel then lists everything you have copied since, most recent first.
How many items does Windows clipboard history keep?
25. When you copy the 26th item, the oldest unpinned one is dropped. Each item can be up to 4 MB.
Why does my clipboard history disappear when I restart?
Because that is how it is built. Windows clears the history on every restart, and the only things that survive are the ones you pinned. If you need something next week, pin it — or put it somewhere that keeps it, like a ClipTen slot.
Can I copy files into clipboard history?
No. Windows clipboard history holds text, HTML and bitmap images. Copied files are not kept in the panel. A ClipTen slot does hold files, including several at once.
Does clipboard history send what I copy to Microsoft?
Only if you switch on Sync across devices. Left off, the history stays on the PC. ClipTen has no sync at all, so the question never arises.
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