As an iPhone user, I’ve often found myself asking “where is the clipboard on my iPhone?” It can be frustrating to not be able to easily access and use the clipboard, but fortunately, there are a few simple solutions that can get you going. In this blog post, I’ll share my own experience of finally finding the clipboard on my iPhone, as well as a few other solutions that I discovered. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of how to access the clipboard on your iPhone.
Topic | Description |
---|---|
Copyable Contents | Texts, web links, pictures, screenshots, videos |
How Clipboard Works | Temporarily stores copied content from an app and pastes it onto another; deletes pasted content from phone memory |
Enabling Clipboard | Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Switch on “Clipboard” |
Accessing Clipboard | 1. Create a clipboard shortcut using Shortcuts app 2. Use Notes app to copy clipboard history 3. Use third-party clipboard managers |
Clearing Clipboard | 1. Modify device settings: Settings > General > Accessibility > Clipboard > Clear All 2. Use Siri: Press Home button, activate Siri, say “Clear Clipboard” |
Table of Contents
What Can I Copy on My iPhone Clipboard?
Your iPhone clipboard can copy contents such as:
- texts
- web links
- pictures
- screenshots
- videos.
How Does My Clipboard Work?
The function of your built-in clipboard is pretty straightforward. It works by temporarily storing copied content from an app and then pasting it onto another.
The problem is that once the content is pasted, it’s immediately deleted from your phone memory. Unfortunately, this isn’t ideal if you’re looking to paste the same content in another location. This lack of content history is a limitation we’ll also address in the succeeding sections.
How Do I Enable Clipboard on My iPhone?
To utilize the clipboard on your iPhone device, first, you have to make sure it’s enabled by doing the following:
- First, go to your device’s “Settings.”
- Next, select “General.”
- Then, choose “Keyboard.”
- Finally, switch on “Clipboard.”
You can now begin copying and pasting between apps. To do this, tap and hold the content you want to copy until a pop-up appears. Then, select “Copy.”
To paste, go to the desired app. Tap and hold until the “Paste” option appears, then tap on it.
Once this is done, you can copy other content and repeat the same procedure as often as you want.
Where Is the Clipboard on My iPhone?
Now that you’ve activated your clipboard, let’s discuss how to gain easier access to this feature. There are three ways you can maximize your clipboard.
Create a Clipboard Shortcut on Your iPhone
Like most applications, you can create a clipboard shortcut on your display screen for easier access.
Here’s a walk-through of the process:
- First, locate the “Shortcuts” application.
- Next, search for the option “show clipboard” on your “Gallery” menu.
- From that, select “Add shortcut.”
- Then, look for the clipboard shortcut on your “My shortcuts” tab.
- Finally, activate the shortcut by tapping on the “Adjust Clipboard.”
Use the Notes Application to Copy Your Clipboard History
As previously mentioned, the iPhone’s built-in clipboard deletes pasted content. So, when copy-pasting the same content into multiple locations, you’ll need to switch back and forth between applications.
Luckily, there’s a quicker way to do this by using the “Notes” application. Using this app, which is already available on your phone, will make it easier to copy as much content into a “note.” From there, you can copy whatever item you want as many times as you want.
Here’s how:
- First, open the “Notes” application.
- Next, create a “New Note.”
- Keep the app running in the background while you switch to a different app.
- From the source app, copy the content.
- Then, paste it into the “New Note.”
- Repeat until you get everything you need safely copied into the note.
- Finally, save the note for later use.
Use Third-Party Clipboard Managers
For a more satisfying user experience, you can also opt to use third-party clipboard managers. There are a lot of available applications you can browse through in your iOS app store.
The main feature of these apps is making all your copied content available by syncing it into iCloud. Another plus is that they make your data available across multiple devices.
Another common feature of these apps is the organization of data. The saved contents are categorized based on importance, allowing for a quicker retrieval of information. This feature can be especially helpful if you’re doing research and have to deal with a lot of details at once.
Read more: White spot on iPhone screen
How Do I Clear My iPhone Clipboard?
Keeping your copy-paste history is a good thing for traceability purposes. However, there are instances when you need to clear your history, especially when it contains sensitive information, like your passwords.
You can clear your clipboard in two ways:
- Modify your device settings:
- First, go to your device “Settings.”
- Under “General,” select “Accessibility.”
- Search and tap on “Clipboard.”
- Finally, tap on “Clear All” to clear your entire clipboard.
- Use Siri:
Another way to clear your clipboard is through voice commands. However, the process can drain your battery, so make sure you have a charger always on hand.
To do that, follow these simple steps:
- First, go to your “Home” button.
- Then, press down until Siri appears.
- Next, say, “Clear Clipboard.”
- Siri should reply, “Okay! Your iPhone clipboard has been cleared!”.
- Repeat the process if you don’t hear a reply.
Read more: What to do if you click on a Phishing link on iPhone
Summary
Your iPhone’s built-in clipboard is extremely helpful in handling vast amounts of data. Through it, copy-pasting activities can be easily carried out between various applications.
In this post, we discussed how to create a shortcut to this feature. We also talked about using the “Notes” application, as well as third-party apps, to address history limitations.
With all these options at your fingertips, you can easily access your clipboard and maximize its functionality.