You probably use the Windows Clipboard all day while working on a computer. The copy-and-paste-function is certainly one of the most important functions of any OS GUI. Unfortunately, the Windows Clipboard lacks a key feature. One can’t access older clipboard entries. I tested several free tools which close this gap.

I think, there are two important features for a clipboard tool. First, it should be easy and fast to access older clipboard entries. Second, the tool should not occupy too much RAM since it has to always run in the background.

No tool I’ve seen can beat Mike Lin’s Clipomatic 2.01 in respect to the latter point. It only needs 220 KB! The other tools, I tested, need at least ten times as much. Note that the memory usage of the tools may vary during run-time. The numbers I give here are only approximations.

Clipomatic is among the best tools, when it comes to the first feature. To access clipboard entries, one has to press CTRL+Alt+V. A tiny window will show the beginning of the last entries. Then, you select the text you need or you just press the number before the entry. You can configure the number of entries stored by Clipomatic. It is also possible to save the so-called clip sets. This way, you always have the more often-pasted texts available.

Such a small program as Clipomatic can’t have all the features that the more sophisticated programs offer. If you prefer to copy-and-paste using the mouse instead of the keyboard, you need another tool.

The best program in this category is M8 Multi Clipboard. There are several ways to access the M8 window which contains the last clipboard entries: click on its icon in the system tray, configure a function key or a screen edge button. The screen edge button will pop up, if you reach the screen edge with the mouse pointer. If you move the mouse over the beginning of the entries, it will show a larger part of it in a separate window. A single mouse click will paste it to the current application. Alternatively, you can enter the letter before the entry. M8 Multi Clipboard needs about 2,400 KB memory space.

When it comes to design, Clipboard Buddy 1.0.4, is the winner. The tool hides to the screen’s side, when it’s inactive. To access Clipboard Buddy, you just have to move the mouse to the desktop side, then it will slide open. You, then, select the clipboard entry, go back to your application and press CTRL+V. Too many steps for my taste. Clipboard Buddy is also the winner, when it comes to waste memory. It needs 9,000 KB.

ClipMagic 3.2.1 only needs about 1000 KB, when minimized to the system tray. It occupied 3000 KB, when I opened it. Considering the number of features this tool has, this is not too bad. ClipMagic allows you to edit the clipboard entries. It has a simple text editor offering basic formatting features. You can comment on your entries, spell check them, filter them, send them by e-mail, etc. ClipMagic even includes a simple web browser which allows you to use it as bookmark manager. Clicking on a URL will open the corresponding web site into an integrated browser or an external browser. I think, the rendering engine of the integrated browser is the Internet Explorer.

You access the tool by double-clicking on its system tray icon. To paste clipboard entries, you can just hit a configurable key combination to open the so-called Paste Picker. This is a small window, where you can select the last clipboard entries with the cursor or the mouse.

I somehow doubt that I would use all the features of ClipMagic. I prefer a simpler tool in this case. But this is a matter of taste. My choice, therefore, is Clipomatic. Using only 220 KB of memory space is quite charming, isn’t it? If you are “mouse-paster”, I recommend M8 Multi Clipboard.