Accessing the Clipboard contents in Word 2007

In previous incantations of Word it was fairly easy to see, and therefore to know, that the Office clipboard contains more than just the most recently copied or cut item. In Word 2007 this is not the case and you need to know where the clipboard is and to understand that it contains much more of your document history than you might think it does.

How it works is that it retains everything you copy and cut to the clipboard during the current session. As you copy or cut something, all the other items are moved further down the stack leaving the current item at the top. This is the item that is pasted in if you choose the Paste option. However, you can paste anything that is on the clipboard, provided you can find it.

In Word 2007 click the Home tab and, below the Paste button you will see a small entry for the Clipboard and a flyout indicator. Click it and the clipboard will appear and all the items in it will be listed. The clipboard stores up to 24 items and as each additional one is added the one at the bottom is lost. You can paste any of the items that display in the list into your document by just clicking on it.

So, next time you know you cut or copied something a while ago and you need it back, check the Clipboard, chances are it's there waiting.