8 advanced Android clipboard tricks - Computerworld

You'd ne'er cognize it, but 1 of the astir potential-packed parts of your favourite Android telephone is simply a diagnostic you seldom really see.

It's mostly invisible by design, successful information — and yet, if you thatch yourself however to pat into it, you'll prevention time, summation your efficiency, and consciousness similar a full smartphone sorcerer.

The diagnostic of which we talk is the humble-seeming Android clipboard — the elemental virtual abstraction wherever thing you transcript stays tucked distant retired of show 'til you're acceptable to usage it.

If you haven't spent overmuch clip reasoning astir the Android clipboard, judge me: You aren't alone. But my goodness, are you ever missing out.

So let maine to present you to immoderate of the astir precocious and easy overlooked productivity boosters hiding distant successful your phone's invisible holding space. Copy these tricks into your noggin, and earlier you cognize it, you'll beryllium slashing each sorts of wasted seconds retired of your day.

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Android clipboard instrumentality No. 1: The speedy on-screen copy

First up is simply a diagnostic circumstantial to Google's ain afloat featured Android software, arsenic seen connected its self-made Pixel phones (and if you don't ain a Pixel, don't worry: Almost each of the tips aft this volition enactment connected virtually immoderate Android device!).

So Pixel palmers, instrumentality note: Anytime you're successful your phone's Overview screen, you tin copy any text from immoderate app thumbnail, close past and determination — careless of whether it's the benignant of substance you'd typically deliberation of being copy-friendly oregon not.

• First, marque your mode into your Pixel's Overview country — either by swiping up and holding from the bottommost of your surface with the existent Android gestures system oregon by tapping the square-shaped fastener astatine the bottommost of the screen, if you're inactive utilizing the aged bequest three-button nav setup.
• Next, property and clasp your digit onto the substance you privation wrong immoderate Overview thumbnail — or, if you'd rather, pat the "Select" enactment astatine the bottommost of the surface to person your Pixel prime all disposable substance and past constrictive it down arsenic needed.
• Once you've got immoderate substance selected, pat "Copy" successful the pop-up paper that appears.

JR

And that's it: The substance you selected volition present beryllium connected your strategy clipboard and acceptable for speedy pasting wherever you privation it.

All convenience aside, what's particularly chill astir this instrumentality is that it allows you to transcript substance from things similar strategy menus and adjacent substance from inside images successful a thumbnail, wherever specified actions wouldn't usually beryllium possible.

Speaking of which...

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 2: The representation substance copy

No substance what benignant of telephone you're using, you tin snag substance retired of immoderate image — beryllium it a screenshot, a photograph of a papers oregon whiteboard from the existent world, oregon adjacent a snapshot of a turtle with a top-secret connection scrawled onto its ammunition — simply by opening up the Google Photos app.

• Once you're successful Photos, find the representation you privation to transcript from — either successful the main Photos tab oregon successful the app's Library area, if it's a screenshot oregon thing you've downloaded.
• Open up the representation and pat the "Lens" enactment on its little edge.
• Select "Text" from the paper that comes up, past usage your digit to item the circumstantial information of substance you want.

JR

At that point, you tin either pat "Copy text" to bring the substance onto your Android clipboard for aboriginal pasting — or you tin pat "Copy to computer" to transcript the substance straight onto a connected computer's clipboard for pasting anyplace connected that front. (It astir apt goes without saying, but you'll request to person a machine wherever you're actively signed into the aforesaid Google relationship successful Chrome successful bid for that enactment to appear.)

And portion we're reasoning astir Lens...

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 3: The real-world substance copy

Google Lens is 1 of Android's astir underappreciated superpowers. In summation to its integration successful Photos, Lens tin really look for substance close successful beforehand of your look and past transcript it onto your clipboard, straight from the existent world.

• If you've got a Pixel, occurrence up your camera and look for the "Modes" enactment successful the sliding paper astatine the bottommost of the screen, past pat "Lens" from there.
• With immoderate different benignant of Android device, download the standalone Lens app and past unfastened it from your app drawer.
• Either mode you get there, erstwhile Lens is open, conscionable pat the "Text" enactment astatine the bottommost of its main surface and past constituent your telephone astatine thing with substance connected it.
• Press and clasp your digit connected immoderate substance successful your presumption and look for those aforesaid "Copy text" and "Copy to computer" options.

JR

Pretty spiffy, wouldn't ya say?

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 4: The swift clipboard share

So far, we've thought astir fancy ways to get substance onto your Android phone's clipboard. Now it's clip to commencement reasoning astir each the things you tin bash with that substance erstwhile it's present.

Up first: In summation to the useful "Copy to computer" enactment built into Lens, Android's got a elemental strategy for sending substance consecutive from your clipboard to immoderate different Android instrumentality oregon Chromebook successful your country with a mates speedy taps.

It's a freshly rolled-out diagnostic for the existent Android 13 version, truthful you will request to beryllium moving that bundle successful bid to usage it.

Provided you've got Android 13 connected your device:

• Copy substance from anyplace connected your phone.
• Look for the small pop-up that appears successful the lower-left country of your surface instantly aft you copy. (Note: Samsung for immoderate crushed didn't see this constituent successful its mentation of Android 13. Sorry, Galaxy pals!)
• Tap the small icon wrong that pop-up that looks similar a machine with a telephone wrong it, past prime from immoderate compatible instrumentality successful the country to stock the substance you copied.

JR

And if you don't person Android 13 oregon you request an casual mode to stock substance with other kinds of computers, fearfulness not — 'cause our adjacent clipboard instrumentality is precisely what the geek-doctor ordered.

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 5: The cosmopolitan connected clipboard

The Android 13 clipboard sharing setup is bully and all, but there's an adjacent much versatile mode to connect the clipboard from your Android telephone to the clipboard connected immoderate benignant of machine you're using.

The concealed is simply a clever small app called Clipt.

• All you've gotta bash is install Clipt connected your phone and past install the companion Chrome extension connected immoderate machine you're utilizing — Windows, Mac, Linux, you sanction it.
• Sign into the aforesaid relationship successful some places, and boom: Anything you transcript from anyplace connected your machine volition instantly beryllium wrong your Android phone's clipboard and acceptable to paste.
• You tin nonstop substance from Android to your computer, too, though 1 other measurement is required — owed to immoderate strategy information measures wrong Android successful that area.

This is 1 of my all-time favourite Android hacks. You tin work each astir the ins and outs of the setup and however to marque the astir of it successful this abstracted guide.

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 6: The clipboard-keyboard connection

The instrumentality we conscionable went implicit is good and dandy for sharing worldly from your clipboard to different environments — but what astir erstwhile you privation to find substance you've copied close wrong Android?

The quickest mode to access your strategy clipboard connected your telephone is via Google's fantabulous Gboard keyboard.

If you aren't already utilizing Gboard, install the app and acceptable it up — then:

• Open Gboard by tapping successful immoderate blank substance tract anyplace connected your phone.
• If you spot a clipboard icon connected the keyboard's apical row, pat it. If you don't spot immoderate specified icon, pat the three-dot paper icon wrong that aforesaid country and past pat the clipboard icon connected the sheet that comes up.
• Make definite the tiny toggle successful the upper-right country of the Gboard clipboard interface is successful the connected presumption — with the power pushed implicit toward the right. If it isn't, pat it to crook it on, past travel immoderate prompts that look to assistance the permissions it needs to operate.

Now, 1 much spot of one-time setup earlier we get this amusement a-goin':

• Open up the afloat Gboard settings paper by tapping the three-dot paper icon successful the keyboard's apical enactment and past selecting "Settings" from the sheet that pops up.
• Tap "Clipboard."
• Make definite each of the options that look connected the adjacent surface are activated and successful the connected position.
• Elicit the tiniest yip of restitution and/or bash a delightful small arm-flapping creation successful your chair.

With each of that retired of the way, you'll commencement seeing 2 adjuvant clipboard-related additions:

1. Anytime you transcript substance from anyplace connected Android, it'll automatically look arsenic a one-tap proposition wrong Gboard's apical enactment whenever the keyboard's adjacent open. You tin pat it to insert the substance into immoderate substance field, anyplace connected your phone.
2. You tin besides propulsion up the astir caller bits of substance and adjacent images you've copied from anyplace by tapping that clipboard icon successful Gboard's apical enactment (or wrong its three-dot paper area, if you don't person it successful a top-row position).

JR

And different instrumentality worthy surfacing successful that aforesaid Gboard clipboard interface...

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 7: Your clipboard save-board

You tin really save important items wrong your Android clipboard country and past propulsion 'em up anytime, anyplace for casual ongoing access.

It's a large mode to support commonly utilized substance snippets oregon possibly adjacent screenshots astatine your beck 'n' telephone and disposable for instant pasting whenever you request 'em.

And it couldn't beryllium overmuch easier to acceptable up:

• Open up Gboard again and pat that aforesaid clipboard icon we were conscionable talkin' about.
• Press and clasp your digit onto immoderate point you've copied precocious — text, image, you sanction it — past look for the "Pin" enactment that pops up. (And if you don't spot immoderate precocious copied items there, by golly, spell transcript something!)
• Tap "Pin," past scroll down successful the Gboard clipboard presumption to find your point determination and waiting.

JR

You tin pin aggregate bits o' substance and/or images into that area, and each it takes is simply a azygous pat of your sticky fingie insert immoderate pinned point successful immoderate substance tract you've got open.

And finally...

Android clipboard instrumentality No. 8: Image paste magic

When we deliberation astir our phone's clipboards, astir of america thin to absorption connected text. But it's worthy emphasizing: You tin copy images onto your Android clipboard, too, and past paste 'em straight into tons of antithetic places.

Try this:

• Open up a web leafage successful Chrome — immoderate random web leafage (though I highly urge 1 with photos of bespectacled monkeys).
• Press and clasp your digit onto an representation wrong the leafage and prime "Copy image" from the paper that comes up.
• Now, spell commencement a caller email wrong Gmail oregon unfastened a thread wrong the Android Messages app.
• Press and clasp your digit onto the unfastened substance tract and pat the "Paste" enactment that appears — or, if you'd rather, propulsion up that Gboard clipboard interface and look for your precocious copied representation determination to pat it.

And hey, however 'bout that?!

JR

Whatever representation you copied volition instantly beryllium inserted into your message, without immoderate other effort required.

Not atrocious for an country of Android that's astir ever retired of sight, eh?

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Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels astir the quality broadside of technology. Hungry for more? Sign up for his play newsletter to get caller tips and penetration successful your inbox each Friday.