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Three methods to clear the Windows Clipboard

The following guide provides you with three methods to clear the Windows Clipboard from content that it holds at the time.

Microsoft has not improved the clipboard functionality of its Windows operating system in a long time. Even the Windows 10 version allows you to only hold one entry in the Clipboard at all times. When you copy something new, the old is no longer available.

That's probably the main reason why third-party clipboard managers such as Clipboard Help+Spell or Clipboard Master are popular programs. These programs allow you to keep a record of previous items copied to the clipboard, and may introduce additional functionality such as spell checking, item manipulation, or fast access to the previous ten or so entries.

Methods to clear the Windows Clipboard

The following methods provide you with options to clear the Windows Clipboard so that the stored entry is no longer available.

While there are not that many situations where you might want to clear the clipboard, some that come to mind are to avoid pasting data accidentally, avoid that software may record what is stored in the clipboard, or block others with access to the PC from checking it out.

Method 1: using the command line

clear windows clipboard command line

One of the easier options. Simply run echo off | clip from the command line to clear the Windows Clipboard.

  1. Tap on the Windows-key, type cmd.exe, and hit the Enter-key. You may speed this up by pinning a link to the Windows command prompt to the taskbar, desktop or start menu.
  2. Type echo of |clip and hit the Enter-key.

The clipboard is now empty. You can speed things up further by creating a batch file and pinning it to a location you have access to quickly.

Method 2: Overwriting the content

If it is just about getting rid of whatever information is stored in the clipboard, you may simply copy something else into it to overwrite the previous entry.

To do so select a word, letter or even a blank space and hit Ctrl-C to copy it to the clipboard. Simple but faster than the command line option listed above.

Method 3: Using ClipTTL

ClipTTL is a free simple program for Windows that automates the process. The program wipes the clipboard in 20 second intervals.

All you need to do is run it to make use of its functionality. While it is certainly more comfortable than using the other methods, it may overwrite content too early or not quickly enough due to the 20 second interval that it uses.

Now You: Have another method not listed here? Let us know in the comment section below.

 

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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