How to copy multiple things and paste them one at a time

Why a new copy replaces the last one

The clipboard itself is a single slot. Android's developer documentation puts it plainly: there is only one clip on the clipboard at any time, and a new copy from any app overwrites the previous one. The other systems here behave the same way for the clipboard itself. Copying several things therefore needs a clipboard history, a separate list that keeps your recent copies so you can go back to an earlier one. Windows, macOS Tahoe and later, ChromeOS and the main Android keyboards include one. iPhone and iPad do not.

Windows 10 and 11: clipboard history with Windows key + V

Once clipboard history is on, Windows keeps up to 25 copied entries: text, HTML and pictures (bitmaps) up to 4 MB each. Every pick from the list pastes one item, so pasting five things means opening the panel five times. The list is cleared when you restart the PC, except for items you pin.

1. 1Press Windows key + V. The first time, select Turn on. You can also switch on Clipboard history in Settings, System, Clipboard.
2. 2Copy each thing you need with Ctrl + C as usual.
3. 3Click where the first item should go, press Windows key + V and select it.
4. 4Repeat for each item. Pin anything you want to keep after a restart.

Windows clipboard history has no paste-all option. Older unpinned entries are removed automatically once you pass 25. Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, but the feature works the same way there.

Word, Excel and Outlook on Windows: the Office Clipboard and Paste All

Microsoft Office has its own clipboard on top of the Windows one, and it is the only built-in tool covered here that pastes everything at once. It collects up to 24 items from Office documents or other programs; copying a 25th deletes the first. You can paste the collected items into any Office program. Paste All puts every item into the spot you selected, which suits assembling a document from pieces rather than filling separate fields.

1. 1On the Home tab, select the small dialog box launcher in the corner of the Clipboard group to open the Clipboard pane. In Outlook, open a message and use the launcher on the Message tab.
2. 2Copy each item with Ctrl + C. Each one appears in the pane, newest at the top.
3. 3Click where you want to paste, then double-click one item to paste just that one, or select Paste All.
4. 4To empty it, select Clear All, or use the arrow next to one item and choose Delete.

Options at the bottom of the pane can make the Office Clipboard open when you press Ctrl + C twice, or collect items without showing the pane. Microsoft says that on a Mac you cannot view or clear the Office Clipboard.

Mac: Spotlight clipboard history on macOS Tahoe and later

Since macOS Tahoe (macOS 26), Spotlight keeps a searchable history of recently copied text, images, links and files. Earlier versions of macOS have no history; the clipboard holds your last copy only. To paste an earlier item, you copy it again from Spotlight and then paste it.

1. 1Press Command-Space to open Spotlight.
2. 2Press Command-4, or click the Clipboard button beside the search field. If asked, allow search results from the Clipboard.
3. 3Type to search, then select an item and press Command-C, or click its copy icon.
4. 4Click where it should go and press Command-V. Repeat for the next item.

On macOS Golden Gate (macOS 27), System Settings, Spotlight lets you choose how much history Spotlight shows: 30 minutes, 8 hours or 7 days. Clear it with Clear Clipboard History in the same settings, or from the More button in the Clipboard view.

Android and Chromebook: the keyboard clipboard and Search + V

On Android the history lives in your keyboard. In Gboard, tap Clipboard at the top of the keyboard and tap a clip to paste it. Touch and hold a clip and tap Pin to keep it, because Google says unpinned history clears shortly after you last use it. On a Samsung Galaxy with Samsung Keyboard, tap Clipboard in the keyboard toolbar, or tap the three-dot Expand toolbar button first if it is hidden. Gboard can also pull parts out of a single copy: copy a message and it offers the email address, URL, phone number, number, address, date or time in it as separate suggestions above the keys (addresses, dates and times only in some countries and languages). On a Chromebook, press Search + V (Google also lists Launcher + V) to open a menu of up to 5 recent copies, move through it with the arrow or Tab keys, and press Enter to paste the one you want.

iPhone and iPad: one item, so collect in a note

iOS and iPadOS keep one copied item and have no built-in clipboard history, so each copy replaces the last. The free workaround is a note used as a staging area: copy the first thing, paste it into Notes, go back for the next, and repeat. When the list is complete, copy each line from the note as you need it. A clipboard app can keep a real history, but iOS does not let apps watch the clipboard in the background, so those apps save what you copy when you open them, share to them or use their keyboard.

Pasting several items into a form, in order

This is where built-in tools are weakest. Say you have a name, an order number, an address and a tracking link to put into four fields. With Windows key + V, Spotlight or a keyboard clipboard, you open the history, find the right item, paste it, and do that again for every field. It works for two or three items, but you keep going back to the list. A paste queue removes that step: you line up the items in order first, and each paste takes the next one, so you paste, press Tab to move to the next field, and paste again. That needs a clipboard manager with a paste queue, and apps name the feature differently. Clypy has one called Paste Stack: you queue several clips and paste them in order, one paste at a time. Clypy runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android, and its local clipboard history is free and unlimited, with no account.