How to View and Troubleshoot the Mac Clipboard

The Clipboard is an incredibly useful feature that allows users to quickly transfer important information and files from one application or file to another. The copy and paste keyboard shortcuts on Mac systems are Command key + C to copy and Command + V to paste. Users should keep in mind, however, that the Clipboard has space for one item that will be replaced immediately by the next thing you copy. This means that if you forget to paste the right thing, you will have to go back, find it again, copy it one more, and then go and paste it in the appropriate place. 

One way to bypass this limitation of the Clipboard is to save one item there and then use the Cut functionality to move a secondary item. While Cut is not the same as copy exactly; it can serve the same purpose in most situations. Use the Control + K combination on your keyboard to cut the desired text, image, or document, and then drop it to the location by pressing Control + Y. 

Users also can access the Clipboard history but do not get too excited as it doesn't contain a detailed log of all the things you have copied. Instead, it still shows only the last item saved there. Still, if you wish to access the Clipboard history, open Finder, click on 'Edit,' and select 'Show Clipboard.' The new window will show the latest item copied to the Clipboard. 

To fix common problems and issues associated with the copy/paste functionality and the Clipboard, users could try to restart the respective process. Go to your Applications folder and open 'Utilities.' From there, launch 'Activity Monitor.' Once its window appears, type pboard in the search bar and press Enter on your keyboard. Select the process and click on the X located in the top-left. This should force the process to restart and will hopefully resolve any previous issues.