Using and Customizing the New Office XP Clipboard

By Beth Sunny
Posted Friday, December 3, 2004

The newly extended MS Office XP Clipboard can now contain up to 24 objects - twice as many as in previous versions of Office. Here's how to paste, delete, and clear objects...

The newly extended MS Office XP Clipboard can now contain up to 24 objects - twice as many as in previous versions of Office! Clipboard objects can include any type of data that will fit in the Windows Clipboard, including graphics, text from Word, or charts, forms and data from Excel or Access, to name a few. You can choose to paste all or one of the 24 objects into any MS Office document.

Adding an Object to the Office XP Clipboard

The Clipboard Pane appears automatically after you have cut or copied more than one item without a corresponding paste in between. You can also open the Clipboard Pane manually by choosing Office Clipboard from the Edit menu. Each item on the Clipboard is represented by an icon depicting the application it was taken from, as well as a thumbnail view of the object.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Each time you add something to the Clipboard, the new item will appear at the top of the Clipboard list. Once you have 24 objects in the Clipboard, the oldest item in the Clipboard will be deleted to make room for the new object.

Pasting an Object from the Office XP Clipboard

1. Place your cursor where you want the object pasted.
2. If necessary, open the Clipboard Pane by choosing Office Clipboard from the Edit menu.
3. In the Clipboard Pane, click the object you wish to paste.

Deleting One Object from the Office XP Clipboard

1. If necessary, open the Clipboard Pane by choosing Office Clipboard from the Edit menu.
2. Click the arrow to the right of the item and choose Delete.

Clearing All Objects from the Office XP Clipboard

1. If necessary, open the Clipboard Pane by choosing Office Clipboard from the Edit menu.
2. Click the Clear All button (near the top of the pane).

Customizing the Office XP Clipboard

The Options button (near the bottom of the pane) lets you customize the Clipboard in a number of ways. Show Office Clipboard Automatically, which is active by default, can be unchecked if you would prefer that the Clipboard Pane only be opened manually. Collect without Showing Office Clipboard, which is not active by default, can be checked if you would prefer that the Clipboard Pane not automatically open when you are in the middle of collecting objects. By default, when the Office Clipboard is open, a corresponding icon will appear in the system tray (lower right corner of your screen taskbar), and a brief message appears each time you copy an item. You can choose to hide either of these indicators by unchecking the corresponding commands in the Options menu (Show Office Clipboard Icon on Taskbar and Show Status Near Taskbar When Copying). To stop the Office Clipboard from allowing any more objects to be placed on it, right-click on the Clipboard system tray icon and choose Stop Collecting from the shortcut menu. This will cause the Clipboard Pane to close and the system tray icon to disappear. When you are ready, view the Clipboard Pane (and system tray icon) manually by choosing Office Clipboard from the Edit menu.

Now YOU are in full control of the newly enhanced Office XP Clipboard!

About the Author
Beth Sunny is a writer, publisher, and computer trainer. She owns Software Training Resources (STR), a courseware company known for their "QuickSteps to Learning" training manuals. STR launched an exciting web site in January of 2001. The web site is specifically for the Computer Training Industry - (http://www.sharpertraining.com). The site offers a place for individuals in the Computer Training Industry a place to advertise their business, correspond with others in the industry, find training products, and discover software tips and read great articles relating to computer training. Visit the site today! (http://www.sharpertraining.com)