Even in the new Windows 7, clipboard functionality is still very basic and only allows to keep in memory one item. Luckily there many free applications out there that can improve it by allowing us to access the history of copied items. Some of them are very simple, while others have lots of settings in order to control the behaviour of the improved clipboard.

Here are the six free utilities that will help you to get the most out of Copy & Paste:

CopyPasteTool

This simple application keeps a history of any text copied to the clipboard by pressing Ctrl+C. To navigate the clipboard history just keep press Ctrl key and the press V until you find the text you were looking for. To clear the clipboard history just press Ctrl+C+C. CopyPasteTool is a free software available in both installer and portable version.

ClipX

Another free tool with support for text, images and files. Allows to filter the type of content that will be kept in memory. Its main features are speed and ease of use.

xNeat Clipboard Manager

Basic clipboard extension with almost no options to choose from. It has some issues with the image handling and can’t be used inside Notepad.

CLCL

Excellent Windows clipboard improvement tool with great image and file support. Very flexible, it allows to customize the key combination to access clipboard histoy popup menu, the maximum number of items to keep in the clipboard, type of content to store (text, files, images) and many other things.

Clipboard Recorder

Very similar tool to CLCL, plus it allows to paste several items at once and send copied items to other computers on the network. Free version has everything you need, although a paid version is also available with some others features.

Ditto-cp

This tool takes the clipboard customization to the limit, with so many options that is very difficult to learn. A handy feature allow us to export the clipboard content to a file and import it in another computer. It’s open source and free.