+ V - Clipboard History

This is one of those small Windows features that I absolutely love: press Windows + V and you get a scrollable history of everything you've copied recently, not just the last item. Microsoft added it around 2018, which is just about when I started using computers professionally, and I haven't been able to work without it since.

I honestly don't remember how I first stumbled onto it. I've probably just fat-fingered Windows + V by accident once, saw the little history popup appear, and never looked back.

Since then, being able to find something I copied earlier has saved me an enormous amount of time. Instead of re-selecting text, re-copying a value, or switching back to some other window just to grab something again, I hit Windows + V and it's right there.

Spreading the habit

Whenever I'm working alongside colleagues, I make a point of introducing them to it. Most of the time, pressing Windows + V on their keyboard is the first time they've ever seen the feature. I'm honestly not sure if it sticks for all of them the way it did for me, but I keep doing it anyway, because when it does stick, it's an easy productivity win for basically zero effort.

I'm not the only one who thinks Microsoft undersells this one. As Neowin put it, clipboard history is such an underrated Windows feature, and I fully agree: Microsoft should do a better job promoting cool features like this.

Clipboard history on macOS?

When I started writing this post, I was convinced macOS had no equivalent at all. Turns out I was wrong: Apple does have a basic version of it, tucked away inside Spotlight (Command + Space, then Command + 4). No wonder I never ran into it. It's buried deep enough that I never would have found it on my own.

My actual solution on macOS was installing Raycast, and its clipboard history ended up being even better than the Windows default. Search is more powerful, and it holds onto history across sessions much better too. At least, I've been able to search much further back than I ever could on Windows.

One example I lean on constantly: I can never remember my GitHub noreply email address. Now I just hit option + V, search noreply, and there it is: 14346781+RamsesKools@users.noreply.github.com.