Apple has again Sherlocked developers with Clipboard History

AppleInsider

The updated macOS Tahoe has added a clipboard history to Spotlight and what seems like a small addition is a gigantic productivity boost -- that has always been offered by third-party apps.

Spotlight's new clipboard history -- image credit: Apple

It's the feature you never knew you wanted, until you've used one. Clipboard history, also known as a clipboard manager, lets you paste what you copied just now, or an hour ago, or yesterday.

Clipboard history gives you instant access to anything you've copied, from a phone number to the whole text of a document, from a URL to an image or a chart.

It's also a feature that has been available on the Mac for 28 years -- via third-party apps. The very first to bring it to the Mac was an app called CopyPaste, and an updated version is still available from Plum Amazing.

This year's Sherlocking

It seems that each year, Apple manages to introduce at least one feature that was previously the exclusive domain of a third-party app. In 2024, for instance, its Apple Intelligence Writing Tools became a direct rival to Grammerly and password managers.

One argument is that Apple is merely adding features that would naturally have come to the Mac or other devices, although waiting three decades to do it to clipboard managers is pushing that a bit.

Another is that Apple will only ever go so far with a feature, because of its aim to make everything accessible to all users. So when it added Journal to the iPhone -- and now also to the Mac -- it didn't attempt to offer all of the features that the existing Day One did in that same genre of apps.

There is an idea that what this does is show users an app or feature category exists. Then once they've used Apple's version, at least some will hit its limits and go looking for the more powerful third-party options.

That could just be wishful thinking on the part of developers, but it is certainly true that Apple shining a spotlight on a feature will bring it to the attention of just about infinitely more users.

Clipboard managers

Compared to 1Password or Day One, CopyPaste is not very well known, but other clipboard managers are. There are dozens of Mac apps that provide this feature, sometimes as one small part of a much larger suite of functions, such as with the macOS automation app, Keyboard Maestro.

The existing Clipboard Manager in Spotlight rival Alfred 5

Putting this feature into Spotlight, though, means that Apple is directly targeting the most popular versions of this feature. That's because it is how the Spotlight alternatives Alfred 5, LaunchBar 6, andRaycast all work.

Alfred 5 does also give quick keystroke access directly to the clipboard history. But all of these launchers as they are called, generally present a very Spotlight-like appearance.

Arguably, those apps have always been a kind of reverse-Sherlock, because they act as total Spotlight replacements. They are even launched with a keystroke and the developers all recommend Command-Space, the same one that by default launches Spotlight.

Productivity boon

This is going to hit those third-party apps, but they will concentrate on how they offer many more features. Alfred 5, for instance, lets you collect different files from across your Mac and then perform actions on all of them. Or with Raycast, the launcher is a fast gateway into AI searches.

Then both Raycast and Alfred 5 give users the ability to create their own custom automations, or download them from the apps' user communities. Spotlight doesn't directly have this feature, though it can be used to launch Shortcuts which can be made to offer a lot of the same functions.

Overall, if you've not used a clipboard manager then it seems such a tiny addition to the Mac, but in reality it is a massive productivity boost. Putting it into Spotlight and making it quickly accessible will surface this feature for very many more Mac users who might not even know of the third-party alternatives.

We'll be talking about what else got nabbed by Apple in macOS 26, iPadOS 26, and iOS 26 very soon.



Read on AppleInsider

ericthehalfbee

I think the word Sherlocked gets used too much.

Certain features are supposed to be a part of the base operating system: File manager, calculator, browser, mail, clipboard, gallery, cloud and so many more.

If you’re a developer that makes an App that’s one of these essential features I don’t think you can complain when Apple (or anyone) adds it to their OS.

If you want to gamble on a feature that people have been asking Apple to add for years, don’t be surprised when Apple finally adds it.

purplepear

It also a feature that got added to Windows 10 despite clipboard management tools being available for Windows.

It is the sort of thing that should be included in a modern OS. Arguably it is the sort of thing that should have been relatively obvious to add long ago seeing, as you point out, it can really aid productivity.

Writing an article about ‘sherlocking’ like only Apple have and would do such a thing with a clear OS enhancing feature is pure click baiting.  

If Apple didn’t add this feature when other OS have it you would write an article complaining about its absence too. 

 

welshdog

Wonder how this behaves with Handoff? I don't keep sensitive passwords on my phone and thus sometimes use Handoff Copy from my Mac password manager to get a password over to the iPhone. Is Clipboard History going to hang on to these passwords until they are pushed out of the buffer? I would imagine there will be a keyboard shortcut to clear the buffer. Also, the option of turning this feature off might be nice.

bloggerblog

ericthehalfbee said:

I think the word Sherlocked gets used too much.

Certain features are supposed to be a part of the base operating system: File manager, calculator, browser, mail, clipboard, gallery, cloud and so many more.

If you’re a developer that makes an App that’s one of these essential features I don’t think you can complain when Apple (or anyone) adds it to their OS.

If you want to gamble on a feature that people have been asking Apple to add for years, don’t be surprised when Apple finally adds it.

True, and those 3rd party companies had enough time to turn a profit

stabitha_christie

ericthehalfbee said:

I think the word Sherlocked gets used too much.

Certain features are supposed to be a part of the base operating system: File manager, calculator, browser, mail, clipboard, gallery, cloud and so many more.

If you’re a developer that makes an App that’s one of these essential features I don’t think you can complain when Apple (or anyone) adds it to their OS.

If you want to gamble on a feature that people have been asking Apple to add for years, don’t be surprised when Apple finally adds it.

It does, but it is also fantastic clickbait so don't expect that to change. 

jfreedle2

AppleInsider said:

The updated macOS Tahoe has added a clipboard history to Spotlight and what seems like a small addition is a gigantic productivity boost -- that has always been offered by third-party apps.

Spotlight's new clipboard history -- image credit: Apple

It's the feature you never knew you wanted, until you've used one. Clipboard history, also known as a clipboard manager, lets you paste what you copied just now, or an hour ago, or yesterday.

Clipboard history gives you instant access to anything you've copied, from a phone number to the whole text of a document, from a URL to an image or a chart.

It's also a feature that has been available on the Mac for 28 years -- via third-party apps. The very first to bring it to the Mac was an app called CopyPaste, and an updated version is still available from Plum Amazing.

This year's Sherlocking

It seems that each year, Apple manages to introduce at least one feature that was previously the exclusive domain of a third-party app. In 2024, for instance, its Apple Intelligence Writing Tools became a direct rival to Grammerly and password managers.

One argument is that Apple is merely adding features that would naturally have come to the Mac or other devices, although waiting three decades to do it to clipboard managers is pushing that a bit.

Another is that Apple will only ever go so far with a feature, because of its aim to make everything accessible to all users. So when it added Journal to the iPhone -- and now also to the Mac -- it didn't attempt to offer all of the features that the existing Day One did in that same genre of apps.

There is an idea that what this does is show users an app or feature category exists. Then once they've used Apple's version, at least some will hit its limits and go looking for the more powerful third-party options.

That could just be wishful thinking on the part of developers, but it is certainly true that Apple shining a spotlight on a feature will bring it to the attention of just about infinitely more users.

Clipboard managers

Compared to 1Password or Day One, CopyPaste is not very well known, but other clipboard managers are. There are dozens of Mac apps that provide this feature, sometimes as one small part of a much larger suite of functions, such as with the macOS automation app, Keyboard Maestro.

The existing Clipboard Manager in Spotlight rival Alfred 5

Putting this feature into Spotlight, though, means that Apple is directly targeting the most popular versions of this feature. That's because it is how the Spotlight alternatives Alfred 5, LaunchBar 6, andRaycast all work.

Alfred 5 does also give quick keystroke access directly to the clipboard history. But all of these launchers as they are called, generally present a very Spotlight-like appearance.

Arguably, those apps have always been a kind of reverse-Sherlock, because they act as total Spotlight replacements. They are even launched with a keystroke and the developers all recommend Command-Space, the same one that by default launches Spotlight.

Productivity boon

This is going to hit those third-party apps, but they will concentrate on how they offer many more features. Alfred 5, for instance, lets you collect different files from across your Mac and then perform actions on all of them. Or with Raycast, the launcher is a fast gateway into AI searches.

Then both Raycast and Alfred 5 give users the ability to create their own custom automations, or download them from the apps' user communities. Spotlight doesn't directly have this feature, though it can be used to launch Shortcuts which can be made to offer a lot of the same functions.

Overall, if you've not used a clipboard manager then it seems such a tiny addition to the Mac, but in reality it is a massive productivity boost. Putting it into Spotlight and making it quickly accessible will surface this feature for very many more Mac users who might not even know of the third-party alternatives.

We'll be talking about what else got nabbed by Apple in macOS 26, iPadOS 26, and iOS 26 very soon.



Read on AppleInsider

Of course Apple is providing these features to people that would have never purchased the third-party applications in the past.

eightzero

welshdog said:

Wonder how this behaves with Handoff? I don't keep sensitive passwords on my phone and thus sometimes use Handoff Copy from my Mac password manager to get a password over to the iPhone. Is Clipboard History going to hang on to these passwords until they are pushed out of the buffer? I would imagine there will be a keyboard shortcut to clear the buffer. Also, the option of turning this feature off might be nice.

At the risk of thread jack, there are a *lot* of UI and OS features i'd really like to turn off, perhaps selectively (AI I'm looking at you...) I find that I see these announcements for updates and upgrades, and think "oh, that's kinda cool" and then when I actually try it, it really isn't. I admit, maybe I'm not using my Apple devices like the machines the developers think. I just want simple, intuitive, and predictable. For example, this clipboard thingy has been 30 years in the making. When it arrives in September, my guess is I will look at it, and it won't be like what i've been using for...30 years. I'd like to turn it off. Will I be able to and just stick with the nice 3rd party one? YMMV.

And oh, I've never been able to actually use Spotlight. Yes, I guess I'm a dumbass, but it doesn't work for me and my needs at all. YMMV. Go to the finder, get a new window, do a search in a search bar. Found. Done. Bet that's been around for 30 years too.

How about a big button on the UI that erases all those search histories, clipboards, caches, cookies, hidden stuff. Put *that* in the UI, Apple.

brianus

eightzero said:

And oh, I've never been able to actually use Spotlight. Yes, I guess I'm a dumbass, but it doesn't work for me and my needs at all. YMMV. Go to the finder, get a new window, do a search in a search bar. Found. Done. Bet that's been around for 30 years too.

Spotlight is one of Apple's most unreliable and bloated systems and it's been that way for 20 years. In the Intel days I constantly had to kill the background indexing that was wasting gigs of RAM and tons of CPU time, making external drives silently un-ejectable and being a general nuisance while still failing to properly find my files or emails. Now in the Apple Silicon era, it's not as bad in terms of wasting resources, but that may be why it's even worse at actually doing what it's supposed to do (find my shit quickly). If anyone's mail search still works for them, I'd love to hear what voodoo they're employing to make that happen.

That off my chest, I'd like to un-thread-jack and second the OP's question. I didn't even notice clipboard history mentioned in the keynote, but is it Mac exclusive or shared over iCloud to all devices? I've found clipboard sharing to be somewhat unreliable over handoff/continuity, but if the history syncs via iCloud that could be quite interesting. I use Macs and iPads together all day but it's been frustrating that only the Macs (via a third party app) could reach back into their clipboard history. How is it accessed in the UI?

edited June 9

welshdog

eightzero said:

And oh, I've never been able to actually use Spotlight. 

One thing Spotlight offers is the fastest app finder/launcher in Mac OS. Hit Command+Spacebar, type a few letters of the app name, return - pow app launched. It takes seconds to perform and no need to go to the finder. If Clipboard History works as easily and smoothly as this, it will be useful, but it will still need an quick "Clear" function.

edited June 9

eightzero

welshdog said:

eightzero said:

And oh, I've never been able to actually use Spotlight. 

One thing Spotlight offers is the fastest app finder/launcher in Mac OS. Hit Command+Spacebar, type a few letters of the app name, return - pow app launched. It takes seconds to perform and no need to go to the finder. If Clipboard History works as easily and smoothly as this, it will be useful, but it will still need a quick "Clear" function.

Sure. But the results are (to me) unintelligible. To. Me. And I admit I'm not real bright about using it, and rather just don't want to bother with it. I'm just looking for files and content I know is on my mac. somewhere. from...20+ years ago.