Microsoft has been working on a cloud-powered Clipboard
feature for over a year now. Clipboard is a data buffer which
is used for data transfer by cut, copy, paste options. A
cloud-powered Clipboard feature will allow cloud
synchronisation between devices with the same account. This
means that you can cut or copy a data from one device and paste
it into another device with the same Microsoft account.
Microsoft officially announced Cloud Clipboard back in Build
2017. Cloud Clipboard will allow users to sync their Clipboard
data across their phones and PCs. It would be able to sync
text, pictures, links, videos, PowerPoint presentations, Word
documents, Spreadsheets and also PDFs.
Cloud Clipboard was originally meant for the Windows 10 Fall
Creators update but it got delayed to Redstone 4. It was first
found out several months ago in Windows 10 Insider 17004 but it
wasn’t quite functional.
A few weeks ago, a new settings page was found which showcased
Cloud Clipboard functionality.
The Settings page shows two distinct options. You can either
choose to automatically sync everything that you copy with all
devices. This means that whatever you copy from one device will
automatically get stored in the Clipboard of another device
with the same account. Another option is to choose manual
synchronisation. If this option is enabled, you can press the
Windows key and V to open Clipboard history. From there, you
can choose which text you want to share with another device.
With the recently released Windows 10 build 17643, a new
Group Policy has been found out by Tero Alhonen which
provides more information about the feature.
Allow Clipboard synchronization across devices Policy in
Windows 10 build 17643If you enable this policy setting, Clipboard contents are
allowed to be synchronized across devices logged in under the
same Microsoft account or Azure AD account. pic.twitter.com/nm9ZesUiTw— Tero Alhonen (@teroalhonen)
April 13, 2018
Enabling this policy will synchronise your Clipboard contents
across devices. It confirms that synchronisation will take
place between devices logged in with the same Microsoft account
or Azure AD account. On your iOS or Android device, this
feature will work if you use Microsoft apps such as the
Microsoft Launcher or Swiftkey.
There is also another policy which when enabled will allow the
history of Clipboard contents to be stored in the memory of the
devices logged in with the same Microsoft or Azure AD account.
This has been tweeted be WalkingCat.
there is another policy “Allow Clipboard History”, “This
policy setting determines whether history of Clipboard
contents can be stored in memory.” https://t.co/xAo29TE5E2— WalkingCat (@h0x0d)
April 13, 2018
Cloud Clipboard will make it easier for people to use both
their PC and smartphones as productivity tools. Copying a text
or a document on your PC and pasting it somewhere in your
smartphone already sounds magical. We can expect Microsoft to
announce this feature officially at Build 2018.
