Why do people prefer Ditto over Windows Clipboard?

If you work with text all day, you probably rely heavily on your clipboard. While the built-in Windows clipboard works as expected, many people have recently switched to Ditto and found that it has completely changed the way they manage copied content.

1. Group clipboard items easily

One of the biggest frustrations with the Windows clipboard is that it can only hold 25 items at a time. Once that limit is reached, it starts replacing older items, which becomes a problem when you want to refer back to previously copied content.

Ditto doesn't have these limitations and allows users to save as many items as they need. Even better, you can organize multiple clipboard items into groups.

Instead of cluttering your clipboard with pinned items, Ditto lets you separate work-related snippets from personal notes, links, or random ideas.

This makes it easy to find exactly what you need when you need it. It's like having multiple clipboards in one app, and it completely streamlines your workflow.

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2. Clipboard history search option

Another feature that puts Ditto ahead of the Windows Clipboard is its built-in search function. With this feature, you only need to remember a small portion of what you copied and can find the exact clip instantly without endless scrolling.

The search function also works with images, as Ditto saves all images with the generic name CF_DIF. So just type "CF_DIF" into the search bar and it will show you a list of all the copied images, ready to paste wherever you need them.

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3. Full control over the clipboard interface

There is no one size fits all. The same is true for the Windows Clipboard. It displays a small rectangular window with no options to resize it.

Ditto, on the other hand, is very flexible. You can resize the clipboard window to any size you want. Plus, you can easily expand or collapse the clipboard with just one click.

Ditto also comes with a variety of themes, such as Classic, DarkerDitto, or Selenized-Dark, so you can easily match its appearance to your custom Windows theme. If you want to customize it further, you can adjust the transparency of the clipboard window and the font style to enhance the overall look of the clipboard.

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4. Extensive keyboard shortcut support

One of the things people love most about Ditto is its extensive support for keyboard shortcuts. It saves a lot of time, and the best part is that you can customize these shortcuts directly from the app's settings menu.

For example, you can assign three different shortcuts to access the clipboard itself. There's even an option to set a shortcut to paste text without formatting.

The most useful feature, however, is the ability to set a shortcut to paste the last 10 clipboard items without opening the clipboard window. This makes copying and pasting multiple snippets much easier.

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5. Easy to organize and delete

Finally, people like how Ditto simplifies clipboard organization significantly compared to the Windows Clipboard. For example, you can select multiple clipboard items by holding down the Ctrl key and then delete them all at once. Additionally, clipboard items can be created or edited with the Ctrl + N and Ctrl + E shortcuts .

If you've copied multiple items and need to arrange them in a specific order, Ditto makes that easy too. You can right-click any clipboard item, navigate to Clip Order , and choose from options like Move Up, Move Down, Move to Top , or Move to Last .

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This increased flexibility and customization has made Ditto the favorite clipboard app on Windows. Unless Microsoft improves Windows Clipboard with these powerful features, it will be difficult to attract users back.

Micah Soto

Update 07 February 2025