Both methods are not really straightforward and need more time than the process should take in first place. Thankfully though there is a way to copy command prompt outputs directly to the Windows Clipboard, it is only lesser known.

Open the command prompt as usual. You can open it with standard rights or elevated rights by right-clicking on the icon in the start menu and selecting to run it as an administrator.

Once there you can copy any output to the clipboard by appending | clip at the end of the command. A basic example is the dir command which outputs all folders and files of the current directory level directly in the command prompt. Please note that you won’t see the output anymore on the screen as it is redirected to the clipboard.

• dir – output in the command prompt
• dir > test.txt – output copied to the file test.txt in the same directory.
• dir | clip – output copied to the clipboard

The directory command is only a basic example to demonstrate the effect of the | clip command. You can obviously use it for complex commands and outputs as well. Whenever you use the clip command everything that is part of the output is copied to the Windows clipboard.

Did you know about the clip output command? If not, how did you copy the command prompt output until now?

Clipboard Help+Spell is a Donation Coder application. This means that it is free for personal use and well designed. The program might intimidate inexperienced users as it offers a wealth of features and options.

The basics however remain the same. Windows users can still use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-c and Ctrl-v, or the right-click menu items, to copy and paste items to the clipboard. Clipboard Help+Spell remembers all items that get copied to the Clipboard, unlike the Windows Clipboard which flushes out the old entry once a new is stored.

The new shortcut Ctrl-Alt-q displays a selection menu to paste a previous clipboard entry into the current application.

The last items saved to the clipboard are displayed on top. But Clipboard Help+Spell does not stop there. Lets take a look at the other options of the menu.

• Favorite Clips – It is possible to create permanent entries, like contact information, signature or a sentence that are often used.
• Time / Date TextClips – Paste various time and date formats into the active application
• Stack Operations – The stack system can be used to copy multiple items to one stack, to paste them at once after the copy operation into another application.
• Formatting Presets – Change the text formatting, for instance dashes to tabs or trim line break.
• All Clips – Displays all clipboard entries.

The main program window is customizable. It displays a tree structure on the left side, the selected contents on the right and a log at the bottom.

Here it is possible to modify specific clipboard entries. The entries can be modified manually which works the same way as in a plain text editor like Notepad. There are also options to spell check or change the format or case of the selected text.

New entries can be created in all available groups, for instance in the favorites which become then permanently available in the selection menu.

A search filter at the bottom can be used to find specific entries quickly. Other options include deleting clips or sending them to the printer.

Clipboard Help and Spell supports Virtual Folders. Two are configured by default with options to add custom ones to the mix. The program will automatically put all web addresses and images into those two virtual folders, completely independent from the actual clipboard entry.

This is great if you want to look-up an url quickly without going through all clipboard items to find it. Virtual folders tap right into the program database. The help file offers some configuration instructions.

The program ships with loads of options. From configuring different hotkeys to trigger the clipboard functionality over backup and maintenance to the layout and design of the Quick Paste menu.

Clipboard Help+Spell is a well designed clipboard manager for the Windows operating system. Interested users can download it from the program page over at the Donation Coder website. The software supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system.

There is a video tutorial available which explains the basics and advanced features.

Clipboard managers like Clipboard Master extend the standard Windows clipboard. Most add more functionality than just the ability to store multiple items in the clipboard at the same time.

Being able to access the Clipboard history is fine, but it is not the only thing that makes or break a clipboard software. It is for instance equally important that the program is compatible with applications on the system, or that the copying and pasting does not take longer than the same operation with the standard Windows clipboard.

Clipboard Master comes with a lot of extra features that make the application incredibly powerful.

Lets start with the basics though. The clipboard manager stores all copied items in the clipboard. The default option to select them again is either the standard Ctrl-v if the last item needs to be pasted, or Windows-v if a previously copied item need to be pasted. The program supports the selection and pasting of multiple items at once.

The selection menu displays a list of stored items. Icons in front of every entry indicate the type, for instance text or url.

The little window can be pinned to the top so that it is always visible on the screen. Items can be pasted with the enter key, or a double-click and the selection of paste.

A search is provided that automatically filters the listing based on the characters entered in the search form.

The small clipboard history window offers two additional features that become available by pressing f4 and by right-clicking on an entry.

F4 opens a side panel that displays categories. Here it is possible to filter the clipboard entries by type and to access pre-configured entries. Available by default are entries for mails and letters, HTML special characters or data and time information.

Options are provided to add or delete entries from those groups.

The right-click menu displays several processing options, from converting clipboard entries (e.g. lower case, decimal, binary, trimming) to different pasting options (for instance to paste with tab for form entries) and editing of entries.

The program settings offer additional options. From defining program related pasting methods over automatic text conversion options to keyboard shortcut modifications and the blacklisting of items.

Clipboard Master Features

• Store text, files and pictures in the clipboard
• Create groups to store often used text snippets
• Compatible with all Windows applications
• Automatic formatting and special pasting options
• Extensive list of keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys
• Clipboard history is saved between sessions

Clipboard Master offers an impressive feature set that leaves little to be desired. The program is compatible with all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows client and server editions, from Windows 2000 to Windows 7. Downloads of the latest version, a revision history and user manual are provided at the developer website. (via)

ClipCube is a lightweight portable clipboard manager for Windows that can store clipboard text for later usage. It basically saves all text clipboard entries and makes them available in its interface.

The program sits quietly in the Windows system tray for most of them time. A click on the program icon opens the program window showing all entries with the latest additions at the top of the application window.

The program goes back into hiding once another window is activated, a click on the “on top” icon in the header prevents this. Items stored in the program can be copied with the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-C after selecting them or by right-clicking and selecting the option from the context menu.

Internet addresses are recognized as well and it is possible to open the sites with a right-click and the selection of Go to Address. Timestamps are supported as well as grid lines and fixed width fonts for better readability.

Individual items or all items can be deleted either from the context menu in the program window, or the system tray right-click context menu. Here it is possible to delete all entries, select the retention of saved Clipboard items (indefinitely, until exit, for a week or month) and configure the program to launch on Windows startup.

ClipCube is a handy Clipboard history program. It is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. (via)

ClipUpload is an unobtrusive program for the Windows operating system to semi-automate some uploading tasks. The clipboard software can be used to upload images, text and files from the clipboard to the Internet.

The program options are displayed on first start. Here it is possible to set a custom ftp server, or rely on public file hosting sites to store the data.

The following services are used by ClipUpload if no ftp server is added to the program: Sendspace for files, Pastebin for textual contents and Imgur for images.

clipupload

Everything else after this initial configuration is handled by left-clicking on the icon in the Windows system tray. This opens the data uploader, which operates differently depending on the data in the clipboard. Images for instance are immediately uploaded to Imgur, with the data in the clipboard being automatically replaced with the url of the image uploaded to the image hosting service.

Text contents on the other hand are not uploaded directly, but the program window is shown instead before it is uploaded to Pastebin.

upload clipboard data

clipboard

ClipUpload can be a helpful program for users who regularly upload Clipboard data to ftp servers or public file hosting websites. The program could use a set of keyboard shortcuts to automate the process further.

The program requires the Microsoft .net Framework 4.0. ClipUpload should work on most Windows operating systems, downloads available at the developer website.

ShapeShifter is a lightweight Windows Clipboard replacement that comes with a few extras that not all alternative clipboard managers offer.

The software works with the standard clipboard commands. Ctrl-C will copy data into the clipboard, and CTRL-V will paste it again. This works with text, media, files and any other kind of data. Even program specific data formats are supported by ShapeShifter.

The clipboard manager stores all data sets in the program database. To paste a specific set, the user would press CTRL-V for some time, which opens the selection menu. Here it is possible to select one of the clipboard entries with the cursor keys on the keyboard or the mouse wheel.

Letting go of the keys pastes the selected data set into the active window or program. ShapeShifter displays additional information about each Clipboard entry in the selection menu. Each entry is represented by an icon and additional information including the program it was copied from, to improve the identification of each data set in the menu.

shapeshifter windows clipboard replacement

ShapeShifter’s memory usage is relatively low when minimized in the System Tray, and peaks only shortly whenever the selection menu is launched.

Windows users who are looking for a solid Clipboard replacement for their operating system should give it a try. The program is offered as a 32-bit and 64-bit edition at the developer website.

Update: The Shapeshifter website is no longer available and it seems as if program development has been discontinued. Interested users can download the latest version of the clipboard manager from Softpedia.

Clipbox is a barebones clipboard extender that can store up to two thousand different entries with the possibility to increase that number further by editing the ini file in the same directory as the program executable. There is one limitation though, the program only stores text entries in its database, images and other media that are copied to the clipboard are ignored.

clipbox

Here is how it works. The portable application will start to work immediately after it has been launched. The software places an icon in the system tray, which when clicked on displays all recorded clipboard entries.

Two options are available to copy an entry. It is possible to double-click an entry in the history or to press the default Ctrl-C to do so.

There do not seem to be any keyboard shortcuts unfortunately, which would add tremendous value to the program.

A right-click displays a set of options. It is for instance possible to enable timestamps, that display the date and time each entry was added to the clipboard.

The Clipbox window can stay open for faster access to the clipboard entries. Clipbox is a lightweight Open Source software that can be downloaded from the project’s Sourceforge page.

The software program will monitor the Windows clipboard by default and memorize any contents that are copied by the user. Contents that have been copied are displayed in the program’s interface. The length of text and the type of the contents are displayed there with a handy preview feature to preview image or text right in the interface. Images can also be zoomed in case they had to be resized to fit in the interface.

The copied contents in the interface can be saved so that they are available after a restart of the program. That’s handy for entries that need to be copied frequently. The settings contain two handy options to convert rft and html text that is copied to the clipboard manager. These are disabled by default but can be activated so that these formats get converted automatically. Good for uses who do not want to include html or rtf formatting when pasting contents they previously copied.

Contents that are stored in the clipboard manager can either be pasted by left-clicking on them and using the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl V], right-clicking the mouse button and selecting Paste or dragging and dropping them from the PasteCopy interface into another application.

PasteCopy is a small Windows clipboard manager that offers some interesting features. An option to use keyboard shortcuts for pasting various clipboard entries would be a good addition to the program though. The software program is compatible with most Windows operating systems including Windows 7. It can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

The software program runs quietly in the background and can only be seen in the task manager or by pressing keyboard shortcuts. The default Windows clipboard can still be used by pressing CTRL V to copy an item to the clipboard and CTRL C to copy it from the clipboard.

CCCCtrlC comes into play if the user presses the same keyboard shortcut for a longer period of time. It will then display a small clipboard selection screen in the lower right part of the computer screen (even if the Windows Taskbar is located elsewhere). The selection will display underscores and Cs. Each position stands for one clipboard entry where entries with an underscore are blank slots while those with a C are slots that are already filled with information.

Pressing and holding CTRL C will then cycle through the slots and save the information in the selected slot once the keys are released. Pressing and holding CTRL V on the other hand will cycle through all slots and paste the information of the active data field once the keys are released.

A few additional hotkeys are available. CTRL Insert X will erase all extended clipboard entries but keep the standard clipboard entry. CTRL CV will display the help file while CTRL Insert V will display a system tray icon that offers the options to suspend the hotkeys, pause the functionality of the software or to exit it.

CCCCtrlC uses less than four Megabytes of computer memory. It is available at the Donation Coders website.

ArcClip is a free Windows clipboard software replacement that remembers the last 50 text items by default that have been copied to the Windows clipboard. The options contain various settings to change that figure and the limitation to only accept text so that non-text items are also accepted and remembered.

The software program will automatically store items that are copied to the Windows clipboard with the means to access them using a hotkey combination (default is [Ctrl Shift Z].

ArsClip has several other advantages over the default clipboard program in Windows. It will by default remember items at the next system startup, provide options to process text that gets copied to the clipboard, to paste all items at once and to store permanent items.

ArsClip uses a very reasonable 6-8 Megabytes of computer memory while running depending on the amount and size of the items currently stored in the Windows Clipboard.

We already covered similar applications like the Windows clipboard manager Xneat in the past.

ClipCopy is a portable software for the command line that can easily be used to copy output directly to the Windows clipboard. The easiest way to use the software is by appending it to the command issued. To copy the output with Clipcopy one would simply use the command dir | clipcopy

The output size is not limited which means that it can copy large amounts of data to the Windows clipboard easily. The command will not echo the dir command in the command line. Clipcopy provides an option to do both. This is done by appending the -e parameter to the command. The full command would be dir | clipcopy -e for that.

It is also possible to output clipboard contents to the command line with clipcopy -g which can also be combined with the command to output the clipboard to a file with clipcopy -g > file.txt.

Lastly there is the option to output text to the clipboard with clipcopy text.

The xNeat Clipboard Manager comes with a shiny modern looking interface with neat looking rounded buttons but basically provides the same functionality than Clipomatic. It stores additional entries in the clipboard, the default value is ten just like the value that Clipomatic uses. This value can be changed in the program’s options which are available in the main interface.

The original functionality remains the same meaning that users can still copy and paste one item with the usual CTRL C and CTRL V shortcuts. The additional clipboard entries can be opened with CTRL Shift V which will open a small menu displaying the latest entries to the clipboard.

The user can use the arrow keys and enter to select on entry that should be pasted or use the mouse to select one. It is rather surprisingly that this Clipboard Manager is only using about 1.5 Megabytes of computer memory when the interface window is open and only 300 Kilobytes when it is minimized in the system tray.

Hopes are that Windows 7 will see a redesign of the Windows clipboard function just like the Windows Calculator will get his overhaul, too. Users who want to store more phrases in the Windows clipboard have to look at third party solutions and one of the best is Mike Lin’s Clipomatic.

Clipomatic adds a series of new features to the Windows clipboard without changing the whole process of storing and pasting complicated. It introduces a clipboard cache that can contain a number of phrases. The number is defined in the program’s option, by default it is 10 entries.

The entries are added as usual by marking text anywhere in Windows, for example in a browser window, email or word document, and either pressing the shortcut CTRL C or by right-clicking the phrase and selecting Copy from the menu.

The user can still paste the last phrase that he has added to the Windows clipboard by using the usual CTRL V command or selecting Paste from the right-click menu.

Pressing CTRL ALT V however opens the Clipomatic menu which provides access to the last ten phrases that have been added to the Windows clipboard. Those entries can be selected by pressing their corresponding button or by left-clicking them.

Clipomatic has another interesting feature. It provides access to permanent clipboard entries which can be added. This is useful for adding phrases that are used regularly, like names, email addresses or signatures.

The software program saves the clipboard entries whenever the user closes the application or logs out of Windows. These entries will be loaded during the next program start again.

Clipomatic uses a whooping 300 Kilobyte of computer memory and less than 2 Megabyte of virtual memory when in minimized state. This is a great Windows clipboard tool.

If Clipboard Fusion is running the formatting will be removed automatically.  Optionally all html tags can be removed as well which is great if you want to copy text from source files without the html tags.

The second feature of Clipboard Fusion deserves some praise as well. A small popup appears in the right lower corner of the screen whenever you copy an image. the popup contains a thumbnail of the image and it is possible to save it from there directly without having to paste it into an image viewer or editor first.

The Clipboard Caching utility CLCL is a small program for Windows that can store as many items that you copy as you want. The default value is 30 items but that figure can be changed in the options. CLCL stores everything that you throw at it, it does not really matter if you copy text or files, everything is stored in the clipboard.

The default keyboard shortcuts for copying (CTRL + C) and pasting (CTRL + V) remain untouched. The CLCL menu with all the stored items can be accessed by pressing ALT + C instead. (this can be changed in the options)

Plugins can be used to add functionality to CLCL. Some are available on the developers homepage, they convert upper to lower case for instance, quote, put tags around it or add support for additional formats.

Pretty much everything can be configured in the program’s options. Hotkeys can be changed and added and formats can be added and filtered.

Clipboard Caching is a excellent software with a low memory consumption.

Previously saved information can be accessed by double-clicking, using a hotkey or dragging and drooping the entries or using the build in search functionality – either way they can be pasted into any windows that allows basic copy and paste operations. It furthermore makes it possible to sync clipboards over a network making it a very effective tool if you have to work on more than one computer on the same project.

Data that is send over a network will be encrypted to ensure that no one can use the information except the destination. Ditto uses the sqlite database to speed up operations.