What is the clipboard in Windows? Clipboard: what is it, where is it located and how to view it? What is the windows clipboard
During everyday work, many do not even think about what is happening and how the system works. Specifically, this article talks about the clipboard. Many people have heard this phrase, but did not go into too much detail.
What is a clipboard?
The clipboard is an area of RAM that is allocated for temporary storage of data for later insertion.
For English-speaking managers, you can take a closer look at Save.me. It is also free and does not require installation.
One of the features worth noting is that it has 3 viewing modes: block (default), book (logbook) and list (Research). Usually you should use only the first one, but some types of files, for example *dll and *exe, can only be seen in "logbook" mode.
Another distinctive feature of this program is that it has a built-in file “viewer” and its own browser.
This means that when you select, for example, a link, the site will be displayed in the right section. Or the contents of a text file or image.
You can download this program from .
That's all about the Windows clipboard.
Today’s article is dedicated to the clipboard in Android, let’s briefly go over what the clipboard is in Android, where it is located and what are the ways to clear the clipboard on the phone. The information will be especially useful for beginners who are encountering Android devices for the first time.
In simple terms, this is RAM for temporary storage of information. An analogy can be made with the Windows operating system on personal computers, highlighting a test or copying a link to photos on social networks or the Internet - the information goes to the clipboard and is stored there until the computer is restarted, or until the user copies new information there. Recently, Windows has become able to store not only text information, but also images and even sound and video files in a buffer.
Every user has already encountered storing information in a buffer, for example, highlighting text on the screen of a smartphone or tablet.
We copy any text, paste it into a search engine - and continue searching for information, send it to friends or save it in a notepad. The situation is similar with photos, videos and music. Open the file manager, hold your finger on the desired one, when you select “Copy”, the desired file goes to temporary storage for subsequent work with it. At this stage, it becomes clear that the clipboard is located in the device’s RAM, created for convenience and quick copying and pasting of information.
Can multiple fragments be stored?
In previous versions of Android 4.4, manufacturers LG and Samsung introduced this feature; when copying and pasting various fragments, the system offered the option of selecting the required fragment for pasting. However, during everyday use the user does not have such a need, because one type of file is used. For example, when copying or moving photos from one folder to another.
How to work with multiple pieces of text?
For people who need to store several fragments of text or links while using a smartphone, there is a free Clipper application that can be downloaded and installed on the Play Store. The application is shareware, in the regular version you can save and work with 20 text fragments. The most frequently used ones can be placed above others, and the ability to group by type is also implemented: links, text fragments, details, addresses, interesting notes, quotes, etc. If a large amount of unnecessary information accumulates, a convenient “Delete all” button is provided.
How to clear the clipboard on your phone or tablet.
Don’t be afraid that the clipboard will be overloaded with information and make the phone slow down; even a huge piece of text will take up no more than a few kilobytes of memory in the system. On modern Android devices, memory is measured in Gigabytes.
Starting with Android 5.0, access to the clipboard has been made hidden, and to clear it you just need to restart the device. If you do not have applications installed for working with temporary files, the buffer will be cleared.
Most Chinese smartphones, which are used by the majority of the population, have a “Swiftkey” keyboard. It has its own section for storing temporary fragments that can be saved and cleaned.
Conclusion
I hope you understand what the clipboard is in Android, where it is located and how to clear temporary storage on the device. If you are not going to copy all the volumes of War and Peace to the buffer, you will have to work hard to load all the RAM, but excess garbage and unnecessary applications, viruses and other nasty things will easily make your device “stupid”. Therefore, regularly keep your phone “clean” and remove excess debris. A short video on how to clean a smartphone.
I would like to devote this article to a question that worries many novice users -
You've probably heard very often in the conversations of "experienced" computer scientists that they copied something in clipboard, or in articles, or in books, there were words about this thing, but what it was was not explained. So this and where is the clipboard , now I’ll tell you.
What is a clipboard, in normal language?
First, I will give the definition that is given in all computer dictionaries. Clipboard is an intermediate data store provided by software and intended to be transferred or copied between applications or parts of the same application. An application can use its own buffer, accessible only within it, or a shared one provided by the operating system or other environment through a specific interface.
Now I’ll explain in my own words.
Clipboard- this is an invisible part of memory in which information that you have copied is temporarily stored before pasting it into the desired location. That is, you selected any file(s), folder(s), text, or something else, right-clicked, then clicked on the “Copy” item or simply pressed Ctrl+C (hotkey), read more.
They were copied to the invisible part
After which, you went to the right place, right-clicked and selected “Paste” or pressed the Ctrl + V combination on the keyboard.
And now, what you copied is pasted where you need it. That's it. I hope you understand where the clipboard is - nowhere :).
Moreover, you can paste the copied information many times. It is stored in this most invisible part of memory until you copy something new.
That is, you copied the folder, it was saved to the clipboard, you pasted it in one place, in another, in the fifth, in the tenth. And then they copied another folder, and so, the first one is automatically erased from it.
And also, in the buffer, the copied information is stored until you restart or turn off the computer. Those. Suppose you copied something and were distracted, you walked away from the computer, you were gone for an hour, two, five, you come back and can safely paste the copied information into the right place. Only provided that you did not turn off or restart the computer.
By the way, sometimes, clipboard They simply call it a buffer, just so you know.
How to clear the clipboard of copied files?
Honestly, clearing clipboard, should not cause you any difficulties. You need to clean the clipboard because the invisible space in which copied information is stored also takes up memory on your computer, and this memory is occupied on the system drive (on drive C, you can read more about it in this article -). And if you copied some huge file, for example, a high-definition movie, then after copying it is better for you to clear the clipboard so that it does not load the memory.
Many masters offer various programs for this matter, but there is a simpler method. After you have copied a large amount of information from the clipboard to the place where you need it, simply select some text (you can even have one word), right-click after “Copy” or just press Ctrl+ C and that's it. That huge file will be deleted and in its place will appear a small piece of text that weighs almost nothing.
You only need to clear the clipboard when you copy something that weighs a lot; there is no need to clear it every time.
Addition.
In general, the previous version of the article that you read above caused a whole war in the comments, and now I will tell you why.
I have already said many times, and regularly repeat in articles, that this site is for beginners. That is, for people who either don’t know a computer at all, or who don’t know how to use a computer. But almost every time, in the comments, there are “smart guys” who throw mud at the article. They say it is not written professionally. Gentlemen, “smart guys”, I will repeat once again - this site is for beginners, and my task is to give an answer to the question they pose so that they understand it and do not get confused.
I would tell where to go to those “not good people” who express themselves in the comments, thinking that I don’t know where the clipboard is, but sending them on an erotic journey on foot is unlikely to raise me in the eyes of people who are normal about this article.
The main topic of debate in the comments to the article was the answer to the question - where is this clipboard? And since a whole war began there, I decided to answer this question in more detail.
Where is the clipboard in Windows 7 and Vista?
I will start answering this question not with Windows 7 and Vista, but with XP.
In Windows XP, the clipboard was easy to find. Everything you copied was stored in a file clipbrd.exe. The path to it was like this: Drive C (system drive) -> WINDOWS folder -> system32 folder -> clipbrd.exe. And if you opened it, you would find in it the text or picture (or anything else) that you copied .
As for Windows 7 and Vista systems, there is no clipbrd.exe file there, there is a file clip.exe and if you try to open it, you will not succeed. Although, when you hover your mouse over this file, an explanatory window with a description will appear, and it will say “Clip - copying data to the clipboard.” It is this file that is responsible for the clipboard in Windows 7 and Vista, but there is no access to it.
You can, of course, copy the clipbrd.exe file to the system32 folder of Windows 7 and Vista systems; there are many instructions on the Internet, but the question is - why?
In many articles about the clipboard, it is written something like - Windows XP had this arch-important function, but for some reason the developers removed it. Question to those who made various complaints about this in the comments - why does a beginner need this function? The question probably confused many “smart people”, because the answer, most likely, will be unequivocal - there is no need. As a result, if I answered the question where the clipboard is in a similar way, I would confuse people even more, and instead of answering, they would have a mess in their heads. However, if you suddenly, for some reason, need to take previous entries from the clipboard, then this setting is available in the Punto Switcher program, you can read more about it in this article -
Some novice users may ask - why didn’t you immediately tell us that in Windows XP, buffer, can you “touch” it? The answer, I have said more than once, is that novice users should not go into the Windows file again, because everything and the entire operating system is there. God forbid, you decide to “edit” something, or accidentally delete something “unnecessary”, then the entire functionality of the system may be disrupted. So as soon as you look at the file clipbrd.exe, immediately leave there so as not to do things that, most often, happen by accident.
Well, that's all, I hope this article will be useful to you. Good luck everyone, bye!
P.S. All comments with obscene language have been deleted.
Every PC user is familiar with the Ctrl-C – Ctrl-V key combination. Copy-paste.
It allows you to quickly transfer large amounts of information from one place to another without the need to create new files or documents.
Thanks to this, working on a PC is greatly simplified - there is no need to retype texts, and you do not need to search for and download files again.
As with any workflow, even such a small and simple action requires a program and a file. At the moment when data is prepared for transfer, it ends up in a special place called the clipboard.
What is it
What is a clipboard? This term refers to a special program that is permanently open in the system in the background.
Its main function is to transfer information to a separate memory section for some time.
It is worth considering that if the user copies other data again, then the data that was there before is automatically erased. The same thing happens when you restart or turn off your PC.
There are programs that allow you to expand the capabilities of your native temporary data storage.
For example, Ditto, which allows you to view the history of copied data and interact with the database in a more comfortable way.
It is worth mentioning that temporary data storage is available, in addition to PCs, also in portable devices - phones, mobile computers.
The principle of its operation in the OS Android or iOS absolutely the same as in laptops and desktop PCs.
Where is the buffering function located?
On the computer
Like any system data, the temporary data storage file is located on the system disk in the folder system32.
In it you need to find a file with the name clipbrd.exe, clicking on which will open the clipboard program.
But it’s much easier to launch it from the start menu using the “Run” button. In the window that appears, you need to enter the name of the file and then the desired window will also open.
It will contain text copied earlier or a file of any format. In this case, its information will be encoded and displayed using text.
This method only works for PCs running Windows XP.
On Windows 7, the default data store is not available and cannot be opened. In the system it is located under the file name clip.exe.
To access it, you need third-party helper programs - for example, Clipboard Viewer or Clipslim.
Utilities will allow you to easily manipulate and interact with it. The same applies to Windows 8.
On the phone
On Android phones, temporary storage of information is located in RAM and also exists as a separate program.
However, it is impossible to enter it; you can only view its history.
1. On new phone models, the temporary data storage has the ability to store more than one copied text.
In order to get into it, you need to enter any text editor, hold down the field where you want to copy the text with your finger, and wait until the “Clipboard” box appears in the corner.
Click on it, and a list of phrases placed there recently will open on the screen.
2. In addition, you can use the Clipboard Mamager mobile application, with which you can also see the history of phrases placed there.
In addition, it can be used to clean the data warehouse, as well as interact with it in different ways.
Clearing the clipboard
The specificity of the buffer is that it places a certain amount of data in RAM, which is subsequently transferred to another medium or address.
Therefore, on weak or overloaded PCs, situations often arise when, after copying a particularly large file, the system begins to slow down.
In this case, the only way out is to clear the temporary information storage.
On the computer
1. In fact, the surest method to clean out your data storage is to restart or turn off your computer. Then all data from RAM will be erased automatically.
Unfortunately, other unsaved information will also be lost, so this method is not very good.
2. In the Windows XP operating system, you can go to the utility itself that manages the clipboard, and there click on the “Clear” button. The window will become white and clean, and all data from RAM will be erased.
3. The temporary storage of information is cleared if you simply copy any one letter. The previous information will be deleted, and the new one will not weigh as much - the device will stop slowing down.
4. Again, you can use third-party additional utilities. Clipboard Viewer has a feature that allows you to clear temporary data storage.
On the phone
Similar problems with brakes occur on phones. In this case, their capabilities for cleaning temporary storage are more modest.
2. Copying one letter. The information warehouse will erase a large amount of data and replace it with less.
In new phone models, this is especially convenient because the previous copying will be saved in history and can be slowly restored.
3. Use of third party programs. The Clipboard Manager mobile application allows you to interact with the clipboard on your Android device, including clearing it.
In addition, the save history will be saved, which means it can be retrieved later.
That's all that can be said about temporary data storage.
This seemingly small program makes working on a PC more convenient and faster, helping to solve many problems of working with information.
What utilities do you use to work with the clipboard?
Any computer user knows that it is very common to copy or move data from one place to another. For such operations, the clipboard, or simply a buffer, is used. In most cases, not every user has a clear idea of what this is. Even dictionaries of computer terminology often give very vague explanations. And even fewer users know where the buffer is located in the system. Therefore, below will be some simple explanations of what it is and how it all works.
Buffer: what is it?
First, a few words about the official interpretation. It is generally accepted that a buffer is a kind of intermediate storage that serves to temporarily save copied or moved data (files, folders, pictures, text fragments, etc.).
But this explanation does not seem very clear. In fact, we can say that a buffer is a reserved invisible area of RAM memory into which information is copied or moved for the purpose of subsequent pasting into a program or location on the hard drive.
In this case, two types of buffers can be distinguished. One is common to the entire system, the second represents its own storage provided (used) by the installed software.
How the clipboard works
How does the clipboard work in Windows or another operating system or program? Surely many have noticed that when copying or cutting fragments and objects, they can be pasted into other places on the hard drive or into applications repeatedly.
This is only due to the fact that the information is in the buffer both permanently and temporarily. It is deleted only during the next copying and replaced with a new one. But the complete clearing of the storage contents occurs every time the system is rebooted or the program is restarted (but only if the application uses its own buffer rather than a shared one).
Where is the clipboard in Windows XP
As for the location of the reserved memory area itself, copying is done into RAM, and if there is not enough space, virtual memory (swap file) is used. Therefore, although this area is not visible to the user, if large enough amounts of data are placed in it, the system may begin to slow down.
And now directly about where the clipboard is in Windows and how to view its contents. A set of files located in the System32 system directory of the main system directory is responsible for the operation of the storage. In the XP modification, the main file is called clipbrd.exe. Interestingly, to view the contents of the repository, you can simply launch the “Run” console and enter the original service name there. After this, the contents of the buffer will open, which can be deleted if desired.
Buffer Service Location in Windows Vista and higher
With Vista systems and higher ranks the situation is somewhat more complicated. The clipboard is located in the same system directory, but is called clip.exe.
But it is not possible to view what is currently in the buffer. True, if you hover over a service file in Explorer, the pop-up description will indicate that it is intended specifically for actions with the storage, but you won’t be able to edit its contents, as you could do in XP.
Basic keyboard shortcuts for quick access
Today you can find quite a lot of special programs and applications for working with data storage. However, the easiest way is to use Windows' own tools in the form of keyboard shortcuts.
Every user should know them:
- copy - Ctrl + C;
- cut - Ctrl + X;
- paste - Ctrl + V.
Just in case, you can use the combination Ctrl + A to completely select the necessary elements or text.
Issues of cleaning and increasing the buffer
As mentioned above, sometimes it is necessary to delete data from storage, although if too large amounts of data are copied at the moment the program is closed, the system itself prompts you to save it in the buffer.
However, you can do it in a simpler way by copying one word or even a letter from some text. All storage contents will be cleared and replaced with new information. In addition, the storage can be cleared by simply rebooting the system.
Sometimes, by the way, it is useful to clean the system partition of unnecessary garbage. To do this, just use the properties section from the RMB menu. On the general tab there is a special button to start the disk cleanup process. After clicking it, the necessary ones are selected from the list of elements to be deleted, including the contents of the buffer.
If you don’t like this method, you can also use optimizer programs. In almost all of them you can find the function of troubleshooting and cleaning disks in one click. First, in the list of modules involved, you need to note what will be used to clean and optimize the system.
To increase the possible amount of data stored in the buffer, you can use the virtual memory settings in the system performance section, but setting values too high is not recommended. And if the amount of RAM (random access memory) is large enough to prevent data from being copied to the hard drive (space is reserved there), the paging file can be disabled altogether so that copying is carried out exclusively in RAM, which is much faster in speed.
Android mobile systems
Finally, let's see where the clipboard is located on Android. The answer is the same as for other systems: in RAM. But there is no specific file in the system that is responsible for actions.
True, relatively new Samsung devices from 2014 and later have introduced an interesting feature. Here you can find a special section, and several fragments can be stored simultaneously in the buffer itself. Thus, the user can choose what to insert and where. A definite plus. In Windows systems, this cannot be done even with all the desire using standard tools.
Brief summary
To summarize, it should be noted that a buffer in the form of a kind of virtual storage is an exclusively reserved RAM space for performing copying or moving information operations. Another thing is the program files responsible for the correct functioning of the buffer and the use of RAM or virtual memory. They are located exclusively in system directories, although at the time of performing some actions with the buffer, they also load their own components into RAM (the functioning of most programs is generally based on this).
For ease of use, special utilities like CLCL 1.1.2 or Comfort Clipboard are sometimes recommended, intended for use in modifications of Vista and higher, where it is impossible to view the contents of the data stored in the buffer. But, as practice shows, most ordinary users will not find such tools useful in their daily work.