How to Clear Your Clipboard History in Windows 10

Copy and paste is a function we use numerous times a day. It has become one of the most well-known keyboard shortcuts, as many people find it useful with the ever-evolving online world. Whether you need to copy a quote for your essay, paste a link into your web browser, or copied a picture to use in a design project, you're using Windows 10's clipboard functionality.

Ever since Windows 10's update back in October of 2018, Update 1809, you can easily access your keyboard history. This allows you to look back on things you've copied and easily re-use them in the future.

However, many people find this feature more of a burden than a blessing. Having a large clipboard history can create a plethora of temporary files that may slow down your device if the service itself hasn't already.

In our article, we go through the easiest ways of clearing your Windows 10 clipboard history. These methods all aim to bring you a clear clipboard ready for work.

Method 1: Clear clipboard history from the Settings app

One of the most straightforward methods of clearing your clipboard history is using the Settings app. This gives you the ability to start clean with your items, however, it keeps all pinned items safe from deletion. 

If you want to clear your clipboard history while keeping pinned items, make sure to proceed with this method.

1. Open the Start menu in your taskbar (indicated by the Windows icon,) then select “Settings.” For those who like shortcuts more, you can open the application using the Windows + I keyboard combination.
2. Click on the “System” tile.
3. Use the panel on the left side to switch to the “Clipboard” tab. You might have to scroll down while hovering in this panel to see the tab.
4. Locate the “Clear clipboard data” heading.
5. Click on the “Clear” button when you’re ready to delete your clipboard history. Press the Windows + V keys to open your Clipboard panel and verify that all items except pinned items are gone.

Method 2: Clear the clipboard history entirely

On some devices, you can simply disable the option to save multiple items within the Windows 10 clipboard. This will essentially turn off the clipboard feature, then turn it back on whenever you need it and want to start with a clean slate. Keep in mind that doing this will also delete your pinned items.

1. Open the Start menu in your taskbar (indicated by the Windows icon,) then select “Settings.” For those who like shortcuts more, you can open the application using the Windows + I keyboard combination.
2. Click on the “System” tile.
3. Use the panel on the left side to switch to the “Clipboard” tab. You might have to scroll down while hovering in this panel to see the tab.
4. Locate the “Save multiple items” header. Make sure that the toggle under it is switched to say “Off.”
5. Whenever you want to start saving items again, simply click on the toggle so it displays “On.” This will re-start your clipboard, giving you an entirely clean window to start storing items in.

Method 3: Clear clipboard history items individually

A quick way to clear items from your clipboard history is simply deleting them individually. This gives you the most control over what you want to remove from your history, even if you don’t want to pin a bunch of items to save them from deletion. 

This can be done easily.

1. Open the clipboard window by pressing the Windows + V keys on your keyboard.
2. Click on the three dots in the corner of the clipboard item you want to delete.
3. Select the “Delete” option to permanently remove this item from your clipboard history.
4. Repeat this for all items that you want to remove from the clipboard history.

Method 4: Use the “Clear all” button

You can easily clear your clipboard items using a different button within the clipboard window itself. This method keeps pinned items but deletes everything else similar to the “Clear” button found in the Settings application in Method 1.

Here are all the steps you need to take.

1. Open the clipboard window by pressing the Windows + V keys on your keyboard.
2. Click on the three dots in the corner of any clipboard item you want to delete.
3. Select the “Clear all” option to permanently remove all non-pinned items from your clipboard history. This can be repeated at any time, however, there is no undo option so we suggest you stay careful or pin important items beforehand.

Method 5: Run a command in the Command Prompt

The Command Prompt is a powerful tool for making adjustments to your computer, as well as troubleshooting. It gives you the ability to execute commands and directly tell your PC what to do through a scripting language. Using this, you can easily clear our all items saved in your clipboard history.

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility.
2. Type in “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard. Doing so, you’re launching the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.
3. If prompted, click Yes to allow the Command Prompt to make changes on your device.
4. Once in the Command Prompt, type in the following command and press Enter to execute it: cmd /c "echo off | clip"
5. You can now close the Command Prompt and check the cleared out clipboard history by using the Windows + V keyboard shortcut.

Method 6: Create a shortcut to delete clipboard history items

You can easily create a shortcut for the Command Prompt empty to easily delete your clipboard history with two clicks. Here is a guide on how to set up a shortcut for this within no more than a couple of minutes.

1. Right-click on any empty space on your Desktop, then choose New → Shortcut.
2. Use the input field under “Type the location of the item” and put in the following line: cmd /c “echo off | clip”
3. Click on the Next button and name your shortcut however you like. When done, simply click on the Finish button.
4. Double-click on the shortcut you made to clear your clipboard history.

We hope that this guide was helpful in learning how to clear your clipboard history on a Windows 10 operating device. If you ever need help with this issue in the future, feel free to return to our page!

Are you interested in learning more about Windows 10? You can browse our dedicated Help Center section and find articles about everything related to Microsoft’s groundbreaking operating system. 

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