
YourNextApp could earn an affiliate fee on purchases made by hyperlinks on our website.
It is as if you’re bodily choosing up a picture out of your iPhone and dropping it down onto your iPad — Common Clipboard is copy and paste that may look magical, but additionally has distinctive sensible use.
Common Clipboard is Apple’s title for a characteristic that means that you can copy any content material from one gadget and paste it onto one other. “Copy a quote, picture, or video from an app on one gadget and paste it into an app on one other gadget,” Apple mentioned when first advertising the characteristic in again in 2016’s macOS Sierra.
The sensible use of it’s that in the event you copy one thing in your Mac, you may instantly paste it in your iPhone. You possibly can write a textual content message utilizing your iMac’s full-size keyboard, as an example, then copy it and paste it into Messages on the iPhone.
Or maybe you want some textual content out of an iPad app shortly. Earlier than you realise what you’ve got carried out, you’ve got copied it from there and it is now in your Mac.
When you’re used to it, it’s possible you’ll by no means consider the title “Common Clipboard” once more, however you’ll undoubtedly not suppose twice about utilizing it. Your Mac, iPhone and iPad are so interconnected that you just cease occupied with totally different gadgets, and simply take into consideration your work.
Besides if you do that with a picture, then it is all the time spectacular. However earlier than you strive that, it is advisable to ensure that Common Management can work in any respect in your explicit gadgets.
Utilizing Common Clipboard is simple to do and easy to arrange, however it’s a must to ensure your gadgets help the characteristic. Listed here are the working system and gadgets the characteristic works on.
Working Techniques
- iOS 10 or later (for iPhones and iPads)
- macOS Sierra or later
Supported Gadgets
- iPhone 5 or later
- iPad Professional (all fashions)
- iPad (4th era and later)
- iPad Air (all fashions)
- iPad mini (2nd era or later)
- iPod contact (sixth era or later)
- MacBook (2015 or later)
- MacBook Professional (2012 or later)
- MacBook Air (2012 or later)
- Mac mini (2012 or later)
- iMac (2012 or later)
- iMac Professional
- Mac Professional (2013 or later)
- Mac Studio
These gadgets are those that can work with each other to make the most of the total characteristic of Common Clipboard.
The right way to use Common Clipboard
Common Clipboard is an effective way to repeat content material or textual content from one gadget and paste it on one other wirelessly. To uphold the characteristic, you need to guarantee some settings are turned on on your whole gadgets.
Every gadget must be signed into the identical iCloud account. Bluetooth and WiFi should even be turned on.
Every gadget should even have Handoff turned on as nicely. Right here is the best way to flip it on.
Personal your Mac
- Click on on the Apple Menu (the Apple icon on the highest left of the Mac display screen)
- Click on on System Settings
- Click on on Common
- Choose Airdrop and Handoff
- Activate Enable Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud gadgets

In your iPhone and/or iPad
- Open Settings
- Choose Common
- Choose AirPlay & Handoff
- Be sure that Handoff is turned ON

Utilizing Common Clipboard is like copying and pasting on the identical gadget however simply splitting the actions between two gadgets. Right here is the best way to use the characteristic.

- Copy textual content, picture(s), or different content material as you usually would
- Once you copy it, the content material will routinely be added to your Clipboard and shall be accessible to different
- iCloud-connected gadgets close by
- Content material that you just copy will keep copied for a transient period of time or till you copy one thing else from the identical or a unique gadget
- To stick on one other gadget, open the gadget you wish to paste the content material on and paste it such as you usually would

Launched in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, you may concurrently drag three fingers over the content material you wish to copy and your gadget will copy it, as in the event you have been pinching your fingers collectively to bodily seize one thing.
You can even pinch out, pushing your three fingers away such as you have been bodily dropping one thing onto the identical or a unique gadget that you need the content material to stick onto.
Begin on one gadget and finish on one other
Common Clipboard is a superb software to make use of to eradicate the necessity to repeatedly ship content material through iMessage or Mail to a different gadget if you need it there. It’s as simple as copying and pasting such as you usually would on one gadget.
The characteristic works seamlessly and practically immediately. It might take a second for it to stick in your different gadget, however it’s nonetheless quick.
Or moderately, it’s when it really works. You’ll find that it nearly all the time works completely, however simply generally, nothing occurs.
However whereas that’s annoying, it is solely actually annoying as a result of the characteristic is often so nice. When it does fail, simply strive it once more.