Ctrl+C on Windows keeps one clip in a single slot, and the next copy from a browser or a document replaces that slot on this PC. Win+V keeps 25 clips in the panel you turned on, but a restart drops every clip you left unpinned in that panel. A clipboard manager is a separate program on the same PC, with its own list and a search box for an older line.
QuickBoard is that program inside PeakFlow, and the Windows panel steps sit on the page for turning clipboard history on in Windows 11.
One slot, then the Win+V panel
The ordinary clipboard is one slot, so a second line from a browser, a spreadsheet, or a chat removes the line you copied a moment earlier. People paste into a scratch document, or they walk back to the source window, because the slot itself will not hold both lines.
Windows 10 added this history panel in the October 2018 update, and Windows 11 still opens it with Win+V over the window you are using. The panel stays off until you turn it on from that popup or from Settings on this PC. Open System, then the Clipboard page, and switch Clipboard history to On. The same switch is the Turn on button in the Win+V panel on this PC.
The panel holds 25 clips of text plus images. A pin survives a restart of Windows on this PC. Unpinned clips are cleared on the next start of Windows. One Windows clip in this history is capped at 4 MB, and a copied file is kept as a path rather than as the file itself. The panel has no search box, nor a plain-text paste, so a web heading keeps its fonts on the way into an editor on this PC.
Text can move to another Windows PC on the same Microsoft account when Sync across your devices is on in Clipboard settings. Images from that copy stay on this PC, and the local list is not encrypted. Windows does not skip a copy that came from a password app or a bank window.
The panel is enough for a few recent clips in one sitting, under 25 copies, with no need to find yesterday's line. It 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 on this PC.
What you can check in the program
Check the cap before you trust the list. Windows stops at 25 clips in the panel. A separate program should show the number it keeps, plus whether a pin sits outside that number. Then restart the PC and see which unpinned clips are still in the list the next morning.
Open the list and type a word from an older clip you still remember from earlier in the day. A matching row means the program can search. A scroll with no field means it cannot. Pins, folders, or tags are the next thing to look for in that same window.
Copy an image, a formatted line from a browser, and a file in File Explorer, then see which of the three return in the list. Try a plain-text paste into an editor that should not inherit fonts, colors, or a heading size from the page.
Copy from a password app and from a bank window, and see whether the clip is skipped, stored in full, or stored with the characters masked. See whether encryption of the store is off until you turn a switch on in that program. A Microsoft account switch, a share on the local network, and a store that never leaves this PC are three different paths for the same clip.
QuickBoard, Ditto, CopyQ, and the Windows panel
Four lists are the ones people compare on Windows: QuickBoard in the PeakFlow installer, Ditto, CopyQ, and the Win+V panel that is already on the PC. A longer side-by-side page is what QuickBoard, Ditto, CopyQ, and Win+V each keep.
QuickBoard in PeakFlow
PeakFlow is six tools in one Windows installer, and you can turn each tool on or off without removing the others. QuickBoard opens with Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows. 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, and it includes no telemetry from this suite.
The history field starts at 500 and accepts any number from 10 to 2000. Pinned clips sit above that cap, so a newer copy does not push a pin out of the list on this PC. Unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed by default, and pinned clips stay past that removal on this PC.
Search is fuzzy across the text of stored clips, so a fragment of the line is enough to find the row in the list. Plain-text paste strips fonts when the destination should not inherit a heading from a browser or a document. You can edit the text of a clip in QuickBoard before the paste into the editor. A copied image can be read for text on this PC, and
QuickBoard skips the copy when the 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. Secret-like text stays in the list with the characters masked, rather than being thrown away from the store.
Encryption of the history store stays off until you turn that switch on, and encrypted history is a Pro feature along with tags, collections, custom hotkeys, import and export, and the AI clipboard actions. 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 on that same price page for PeakFlow.
QuickBoard fits when you want search and a cap you set, inside the PeakFlow installer, without a script editor on this PC. Code clips are covered on the page about pasting an earlier code clip.
Ditto on Windows
Ditto is a free open-source clipboard program for Windows. Clips remain in Ditto after a restart, with search across that store on the PC. It can share clips with other computers on the local network. Ditto also includes groups, tags, its own shortcuts, encryption, plus a portable build. You set the cap, the shortcut, and the network share inside Ditto, in a window that is separate from the Win+V panel. The closer comparison is what Ditto keeps that QuickBoard and Win+V do not.
CopyQ on Windows, Mac, and Linux
CopyQ is a free open-source program for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Clips sit in tabs, and you can run a script on a clip in that window. You can edit a clip in CopyQ before the paste into another window. The window has more controls than QuickBoard, so the first sitting on this PC takes longer than Ctrl+Shift+V.
The Windows panel alone
Win+V fits a PC where you will not install a program, you stay under 25 clips, and you do not need a search box. Turn Sync across your devices on only if copied text should reach another Windows PC on the same Microsoft account.
| Feature | QuickBoard | Ditto | CopyQ | Windows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large History | Default 500, from 10 to 2000. Pins sit above the cap. | Set in Ditto | Set in CopyQ | 25 max |
| Full-Text Search | Fuzzy | Yes | Yes | No |
| Persistent Storage | Unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed. Pins stay. | Survives a restart | Survives a restart | Unpinned clips clear on restart |
| Image Support | Image clips. Text can be read on this PC. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| File Support | No file copies listed | Yes | Yes | Paths only |
| Cloud Sync | Not a QuickBoard feature | Local network only | No | Text, when the Microsoft switch is on |
| Automation/Scripting | No script editor. Pro has transforms. | No | Scripts | No |
| Text Transformation | Plain-text paste. Pro transforms. | Ditto's own paste options | Edit before paste | No |
| Encryption | Pro. The switch starts off. | Yes | Yes | No |
| Resource Usage | Separate app. | Separate app | Separate app | Built in |
| Modern UI | Ctrl+Shift+V | Ditto's own shortcut | CopyQ's own shortcut | Win+V |
Leaving Paste on a Mac is a separate comparison, on the Paste for Windows page, for people who want the same kind of list on this PC.
Install QuickBoard beside the Windows panel
Download PeakFlow Setup 1.6.5 for Windows, a 134 MB installer for that version.
Run the installer and leave QuickBoard switched on, along with any other PeakFlow tool you want on this PC.
Press Ctrl+Shift+V, copy a line in the browser, then copy a line in a document, and confirm both rows are in the list.
Leave the history field at 500, or type a number from 10 to 2000, and leave Win+V on if you still want the Windows panel.
With QuickBoard open, type to filter the rows, then press Enter to paste the row you selected into the window behind it. Pin a clip you still need after the 24-hour removal of unpinned clips. Edit the text of a clip in QuickBoard for a small change, then paste the edited line into the editor behind the list. Delete a row for a private line copied outside the password list and the bank list on this PC.
Copy first, then paste
Copy the lines you need while you are still on the source pages, switch to the document once, and paste from the list in the order you want them. That avoids one copy, one window change, and another copy for every line in the same job. The same pattern is written out on the page for copying several clips, then pasting an earlier one.
Pin an address or a boilerplate block you paste most days, so it sits above the cap instead of aging out with the unpinned rows. For a password, use the password app's own fill rather than the clipboard list on this PC. QuickBoard already skips the named password and bank windows, and it masks secret-like text that still lands in the list.
More about these programs
QuickBoard keeps history on this PC, skips the password and bank windows named above, and masks secret-like text, with encryption as a Pro switch that starts off. The free download includes no telemetry and asks for no account. Ditto and CopyQ are open source, with encryption in those programs, while Win+V can send text to Microsoft when the sync switch is on.
QuickBoard is a separate program in the suite, and you can turn that tool off if you do not want it running beside Win+V.
QuickBoard does not record the copy when the window title matches 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, KeePass, Dashlane, RoboForm, Keeper, NordPass, or Enpass. A secret-like line that still gets copied stays in the list with the characters masked. Windows clipboard history has no matching skip list on the Clipboard page.
The history field starts at 500 and accepts a number from 10 to 2000, with pinned clips above that cap on this PC. Unpinned clips older than 24 hours are removed by default.
Clipboard history is the list of clips, and Win+V is the Windows list: 25 clips, no search, with unpinned clips cleared on a restart. A clipboard manager is another program with its own list. QuickBoard adds fuzzy search, a cap you set, pins above that cap, and a plain-text paste.
Win+V can send text to another Windows PC when Sync across your devices is on for the same Microsoft account, while images stay on this PC. Ditto can share clips with computers on the local network. QuickBoard history stays on this computer and does not use that Microsoft switch.
Win+V, QuickBoard, Ditto, and CopyQ can each keep an image clip in the list on this PC. QuickBoard can also read text from a copied image on the machine, and QuickBoard does not list a File Explorer file copy as a stored clip.
Win+V clears unpinned clips on a restart, while pinned clips in that Windows panel stay for the next session. QuickBoard keeps its list across the restart, then removes unpinned clips older than 24 hours, with pins above the cap. Ditto and CopyQ also keep their clips after a restart of Windows.
Try QuickBoard Free
PeakFlow Setup 1.6.5 for Windows is a 134 MB installer, and the free tools include QuickBoard with a 14-day Pro trial and no account. See all PeakFlow tools or compare with Paste on Mac before you pick a list.
Download QuickBoard