Store multiple items to the Windows Clipboard using ClipX

Posted on March 31, 2008 at 5:21 am

Probably one of the most used features of Windows is the Windows clipboard, the feature that allows you to copy and paste text, images, and files between different programs and folders. I had written an earlier article on enhancing the Windows clipboard using a program called Ditto, which let you store more items in your Windows clipboard.

If you have not already installed that, you might want to check out another really cool program that can transform your Windows clipboard into a tool for productivity gurus. I personally love both of these small freeware apps because there have been countless occasions when I had to copy multiple items and choose which one I needed to paste, instead of the default one by one copy and paste.

ClipX is a small Windows program that will basically allow you to copy more than one item into the clipboard, including text and images. You can then easily access all of your copied items at any time using either the system tray icon or via handy little shortcut keys.

Once installed, you can start copying text or images to test out ClipX. For example, I have copied four pieces of text and one image. ClipX has recorded this and if I click on the system tray icon, I will see all of my copied items, which I can then choose by simply clicking on any item.

The cool thing is that I can actually see the images in the clipboard queue, which makes it very easy to quickly pick the item I want. If you’re already in a program, let’ say Word, you can bring up the same display above and paste any item into the document all without having to use your mouse! Just press the Windows Key + V and press the number corresponding to the item in the clipboard.

In a nutshell, that’s what ClipX can do for you! It enhances the clipboard by allowing you to save multiple items and access those at any time. However, there’s a lot more you can do with ClipX that makes it even better.

If you right-click on the tray icon and go to Configure, you’ll see all of the different options you can set for the program.

You can change how many items you want ClipX to remember and whether you want it to auto-start with Windows. It also supports multiple users, so each user will have their own super clipboard which will be maintained across sessions (logging on and off).

Another cool feature of ClipX is that you can save your entire clipboard to a file and re-load it later on the same computer or a different computer. Just right-click on the tray icon and go to Clipboard History and then choose Save History.

Finally, ClipX itself can be enhanced via plugins. On the ClipX homepage, you’ll notice a section called Download Plugins, which extend the functionality of the ClipX program. Here’s the full list of plugins and what they do:

ClipX Stickies Plugin 1.8 Keeps a list of permanent entries at the bottom of your history.

ClipX Auto Update Plugin 1.5 Automatically checks for and downloads the latest version of ClipX. RSA authenticated. (now able to fetch beta versions)

ClipX Limits Plugin 1.1 Lets you ignore some clipboards based on size in memory. Originally an SDK sample, but turns out to be kinda useful, so here it is.

ClipX “Save Image As” Plugin 0.1 Lets you save image clipboards as PNG or JPG (Requires GDI+).

ClipX DiskLog Plugin 1.1 Records your clipboard lifetime history to disk (text entries only).

ClipX SmartNavigation Plugin 1.1 Uses regular expressions to analyze your clipboard and construct URLs to navigate to, or programs command lines to run.

ClipX ColorPicker Plugin 1.1 Grabs the color of the pixel under the mouse and formats it to your preferences before sending it to the clipboard.

Overall, ClipX can save you a lot of time and greatly increase your productivity if you find yourself doing a lot of copying and pasting. It’s definitely helped me out a lot and I would highly recommend it. Enjoy!

[tags]copy and paste, clipx, windows clipboard, window multiple clipboard, windows clipboard viewer, clipboard in windows, windows clipboard history[/tags]

» Filed Under Free Software Downloads

Comments

4 Responses to “Store multiple items to the Windows Clipboard using ClipX”

Russell English said on : January 19th, 2009 at 3:24 am

Just installed ClipX after trying Arsclip and Clipomatic. Arsclip was just too complex, configuration is very hectic.
Clipomatic was just too basic, especially being tied to nothing less than Ctrl+Alt+ to paste. Too many fingers on the keyboard to just do a simple paste.

ClipX has really impressed me. Copies text and images, I am not too concerned about formatted text. Simple installation, although no fanfare about install finished, until I noticed a different icon in the SysTray I was looking for a desktop icon and a welcome screen and a cup of coffee. Even without any help-info I found it an obvious setup.

The configure window is just enough and offers enough customization for anyone especially the hotkeys settings. I want a tool that works without all the bells and whistles and ClipX has really delivered. I use it for programming, copying code from other sources. ClipX takes Clipboard into the 21st century. Even if you are not a programmer ClipX saves the Ctrl+C -> Notepad -> Ctrl+C … dance.

Best thing I did was to play with ClipX for a few hours. And anybody trying to work with dinosaur Notepad should give Metapad a try. (hope that last comment was not out of line).

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