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Microsoft Word

The Office Clipboard

Clipboard is a virtual area for the temporary storage of an object (text, files, images, etc.) that you copy or cut. You copy or cut an item from one location, and then paste it into a different location. The Windows Clipboard stores only a single item at a time. But the Office Clipboard can store up to 24 items. In this tutorial we’ll discuss how to use the Office Clipboard and control its behavior from the Clipboard task pane.

Cut vs. Copy

  • The Cut command removes the selection from its original location and pastes it elsewhere.
  • The Copy command copies the selection and pastes it in various places.

How to Copy, Cut and Paste an Item in MS Word

The Clipboard Group in Home Tab
  1. Select the item that you want to copy or cut.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy (or press Ctrl+C) or Cut (or press Ctrl+X) command.
  3. Click at the desired location.
  4. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the Paste command (or press Ctrl+V).

You can change the appearance of pasted item by clicking the down-arrow at the bottom of the Paste command, see Using Paste Options and Paste Special.

The Clipboard Task Pane

The Windows Clipboard stores only a single item at a time. But the Office Clipboard can store up to 24 items. Each time you copy or cut a new selection, the Microsoft Office adds it to the top of the list in the Office Clipboard.

By default, when you copy a selection (or item) you used Windows clipboard. If you want to use the Office clipboard, the Clipboard pane must be displayed. Follow these steps to use Office Clipboard:

Clipboard task pane
  1. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the dialog box launcher.
  2. In the Clipboard pane, hover over any item, click the drop-down arrow that appears next to the item, and then click Paste to paste the item into the document or click Delete to remove that item from the clipboard.
  3. You can click Paste All to paste all the items in the clipboard at the insertion point in the document.
  4. You can click the Clear All button to remove all the items at once.
  5. You can control the behavior of the Clipboard pane by clicking Options button at the bottom of the pane.

Clipboard Task Pane Options

To control the behavior of the Clipboard pane, click Options button at the bottom of the pane, and choose the option which you want:

Customize the behavior of Clipboard task pane using options button
  • Show Office Clipboard Automatically
    Opens the Clipboard pane automatically when you cut/copy two or more items.
  • Show Office Clipboard When Ctrl+C Pressed Twice
    Opens the Clipboard pane when you press Ctrl+C twice quickly in a row (press and hold Ctrl button then press C button twice Ctrl+CC).
  • Collect Without Showing Office Clipboard
    Use this option to store cut/copied items in the Office Clipboard even the Clipboard pane is not opened/displayed.
  • Show Office Clipboard Icon on Taskbar
    This option displays the Office Clipboard icon in the notification area of the Windows taskbar.
  • Show Status Near Taskbar When Copying
    Shows a message near the Windows notification area when you cut/copy items to the Office Clipboard.

If you want to use the Office Clipboard even the Clipboard pane is hidden, choose the “Collect Without Showing Office Clipboard” option to automatically add items to the Office Clipboard even if the Clipboard is not displayed.