When you copy or cut or move data, it is held temporarily in an invisible portion of memory. This is called as the ClipBoard. The clipboard enables applications to transfer data or between applications or within an application.
Windows XP had clipbrd.exe, referred to as the Clipboard Viewer or the ClipBook Viewer, which could be used to see what was saved on your clipboard. If you try to search for this exe file in Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista, you will be unable to find clipbrd.exe.
Clipboard in Windows 11/10
In Windows XP clipbrd.exe was situated in C:\Windows\System32\clipbrd.exe. It is now missing as a part of the Windows 11/10/8/7 installation. You can try to copy it from a Windows XP installation, if you have access to it, and paste it into your System32 folder. In most cases, this is known to work.
To access Clipboard, press Win+V anywhere, and the clipboard will pop up. In Windows 11/10, you can make use of the Cloud Clipboard History feature.
Download Windows Clipboard Viewer
If you wish, you can download Windows Clipboard Viewer from here. But if it does not work or if you are confronted with a message of sorts: Entry Point Not Found, then you may try to run it in Windows XP/SP2 compatibility mode and see if it works.
Clipboard alternatives
The Windows Clipboard is very basic in nature and does not offer many features. As a result, many free Clipboard alternatives like ArchiveClipboard, Enhanced Clipboard Manager, CopyCat, Clipboardic, Orange Note, Ditto, Clipboard Magic, etc., are available on the Internet.
You may also try this freeware Karens Clipboard Viewer. This application allows you to look inside your Windows clipboard.
Clipboard UWP apps for Windows 11/10
Clipboard app for Windows 11/10 will allow you to share it to and from your clipboard. This is especially useful for bridging desktop applications with Windows Runtime applications that support sharing features. There are also other UWP apps like Clipa.Vu, Clipboard Plus, Clipboard+, and Clipboard Circle can act as clipboard managers.
Incidentally, Clip.exe is a different file, which is a part of Microsoft Word/Office Clip Organizer. It is a cmd command. And rdpclip.exe is the main executable for File Copy, which allows you to copy and paste between server and client.
Windows Snipping Tool may also be considered as a variation of sorts. It lets you copy any portion of any screen, make notes and then copy it to the Clipboard as a graphic, save it as a graphics or an HTML file and/or send it by email. But you cannot view the clipboard with it.
Read next: Windows Clipboard Manager Tips and Tricks.
