Enable Clipboard History in Windows 11: Full Guide

Press Win+V in the window you are already using on this PC. Click the Turn on button in that small panel if clipboard history is still switched off for this Windows account. The panel then shows the last 25 clips you copied in this session. A restart removes every clip you left unpinned in that same panel.

The built-in list stops at those 25 clips, with no search box on the panel and no plain-text paste. Programs that keep a clip Win+V has already dropped are covered in the clipboard manager guide.

Clips inside the Win+V panel

Clipboard history is the Windows list of earlier copies, in place of the single slot Ctrl+C replaces on every new copy from a document or a browser. Windows ships with that list switched off, so the panel on this PC stays empty of every clip except the single latest copy. With the switch on, Win+V opens thumbnails over the window you were typing in, which lets you paste an earlier clip without a trip back to the source page.

The panel can hold text, an image, or HTML from a page, along with tabs for emoji, GIFs, and symbols in the same window. A file you copy in File Explorer stays out of that list, because Windows still hands the file only to the ordinary paste slot.

Turn the list on from the panel or from Settings

The panel and the Clipboard page in Settings both write the same Windows switch for this account.

Ctrl+C still fills the latest slot the way it always has on Windows. Win+V is only the panel where you pick an older clip from the list. Arrow keys in the panel move the selection onto the row Enter will paste. A click on the row pastes it as well.

A pin, a delete, or Clear

Click the pin icon beside a clip you still need tomorrow. A restart removes every unpinned clip, but the pin remains in the panel on the next start of Windows. Click that pin again if the clip should age out with the other rows. Delete one row from the three-dot menu on that clip if a password or a private line should not sit in the panel. Open Settings, then System, then Clipboard, and click Clear under the clipboard data heading. Clear leaves the pinned clips in place on that page.

Twenty-five clips, no search, and Microsoft sync

Windows keeps 25 clips in the panel. The Clipboard page does not offer a field for a different number. The 26th copy removes the oldest unpinned clip from the panel. A long afternoon of copying lines runs into that wall. A snippet from earlier in the day is the subject of copying several clips before you paste and of pasting an earlier code clip.

You move through the thumbnails in order, because the panel has no search field for a word inside an older clip. Five similar screenshots often show up as plain icons in that list. Win+V has no plain-text paste, so a web heading keeps its fonts on the way into an editor.

Text can move to another Windows PC on the same Microsoft account when Sync across your devices is on in Clipboard settings. Images and files from the copy stay on this PC only. Microsoft encrypts that text on the way to its servers. No switch on the Clipboard page sends clips only to other computers on your local network.

Where the Windows panel fits

Win+V is enough for a clip from the last few minutes, under 25 copies, with no need for yesterday's line or a paste with the fonts removed. The panel is a poor fit for a restart in the middle of a document, for a search through old clips, or for plain text in an editor. A separate clipboard program can sit beside Windows for those cases without taking the place of the Win+V shortcut.

QuickBoard on the same PC

QuickBoard is the clipboard tool in PeakFlow. PeakFlow is six tools in one Windows installer. You can turn each tool on or off in that installer. On Windows, QuickBoard opens with Ctrl+Shift+V in the window you are using. The free tool includes history, copy, paste, pins, fuzzy full-text search, image clips, source tracking, edit text, and link preview. The free download asks for no account. The free download includes no telemetry.

Unpinned clips stay up to the number in the history field. That field starts at 500 and accepts a number from 10 to 2000. Pinned clips sit above that cap, so a newer copy does not push a pin out of the list. Unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed by default on this app. Pinned clips stay past that removal.

Search is fuzzy across the text of stored clips, so a fragment of the line is enough to find it in the list. Plain-text paste strips formatting when the destination should not inherit fonts from a browser or a document. You can change the text of a clip in QuickBoard, then paste the edited line into the editor. A copied image can be read for text on this PC.

QuickBoard skips the copy when the active window title matches 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, KeePass, Dashlane, RoboForm, Keeper, NordPass, Enpass, Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, PayPal, Windows Security, Credential Manager, or User Account Control. Text that matches the secret detector stays in the list with the characters masked. The clip is not thrown away.

Encryption of the history store stays off until you turn that switch on. Encrypted history is a Pro feature. Tags, collections, custom hotkeys, import and export, and the AI clipboard actions are Pro as well. The download includes a 14-day Pro trial with the installer. Pro is $6.99 a month, or $39.99 a year, which the price page shows as $3.33 a month. One tool is $9.99 once. All six tools are $49.99 once.

Win+V and QuickBoard can stay open together on this PC. The Windows panel is for the last few copies. Ctrl+Shift+V is for search, a clip from earlier today, or plain text. Ditto and CopyQ are separate programs with their own windows. What each one keeps is on the QuickBoard, Ditto, CopyQ, and Win+V page. What Ditto keeps is on the Ditto and QuickBoard page. The move away from Paste on a Mac is on the Paste for Windows page.

Feature	Windows 11 Clipboard	QuickBoard
Storage Capacity	25 items	Default 500, set from 10 to 2000. Pins sit above that cap.
Search Functionality	✗	✓ Fuzzy search
Persistent History	✗ Unpinned clips clear on restart	✓ Unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed. Pins stay.
Image Previews	Limited	✓ Image clips. Text in an image can be read on this PC.
Organization	✗ Chronological only	✓ Pins. Tags and collections are Pro.
Paste as Plain Text	✗	✓ Plain-text paste mode
Keyboard Shortcuts	Win+V only	✓ Ctrl+Shift+V. Custom hotkeys are Pro.
Security Features	Basic	✓ Skips copies from the password and bank list. Secrets stay masked. Encryption is Pro and starts off.
Performance Impact	None (built-in)	Separate app.
Price	Free (included)	Free core tools. Pro is $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year.

Leave Win+V on after you install QuickBoard

Set the history field anywhere from 10 to 2000 if 500 is the wrong count for the clips you copy in a day. Leave the 24-hour removal of unpinned clips as it ships. Pins are the clips that should still be in the list tomorrow.

Questions about the Windows panel

What does clipboard history keep on Windows 11?

It keeps up to 25 clips of text, images, and HTML, and you open that list with Win+V on this PC. The list stays empty with the switch off on this PC. A file copied in File Explorer does not join the list.

How do you turn clipboard history on?

Press Win+V and click Turn on in the panel. Or open Settings, then System, then Clipboard, and switch Clipboard history to On. Either path enables the same Windows list for this account.

How many clips does Windows keep?

Windows keeps 25 clips in the panel. Settings has no field for a different cap on this PC. The next copy removes the oldest clip that is not pinned, with the panel already full.

Does a restart clear Win+V?

A restart clears every clip you did not pin. Pinned clips stay in the panel after that restart. In QuickBoard, unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed, with pins above the cap on this PC.

Can you search the Win+V panel?

The Win+V panel has no search box on Windows 11. You move through the thumbnails in the order Windows kept them. QuickBoard search is fuzzy across the text of the clips stored on this PC.

Does Win+V send text to another PC?

Text moves to another Windows PC with Sync across your devices on for the same Microsoft account in Clipboard settings. Images stay on this PC. QuickBoard does not use that Microsoft switch. QuickBoard history stays on this computer.