# clear clipboard



## acidtuch10 (Jun 16, 2005)

Does anyone know how to clear the clipboard in 10.4.1? I have searched numerous forum and am unable to find an answer.

Thanks


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## fryke (Jun 16, 2005)

I don't think it's possible. You can copy a space character from a text somewhere. That's almost emptying the clipboard. But afaik the clipboard simply holds the last thing you copied or cut. Until you logout. Been like that (without the loggin' out part) since 1984, I think.


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## acidtuch10 (Jun 16, 2005)

OK - thanks


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## beausmith (May 27, 2009)

Open terminal and enter: 


```
echo "" | pbcopy
```

Which will paste an empty string into the clipboard (aka pasteboard, therefore "pb")


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## SwordAngel (Sep 29, 2010)

beausmith said:


> Open terminal and enter:
> 
> 
> ```
> ...



This would put an empty _line_ into the pasteboard, so when you try pasting, you get a new line.

However, based on the above hint, I was able to really clear the pasteboard by doing this:

```
pbcopy < /dev/null
```


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## FelixJam (Jan 18, 2012)

Why do we have to use this weird procedure? Sometimes for elementary things Mac os looks like Linux. Mac Os grew in good things but it is childish in others. That is why, for this and other things, Apple products are not taken seriously for real businesses.


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## SGilbert (Jan 18, 2012)

Pretty bold statement for a 1st time poster.  Just what does clearing the clipboard have anything to do with using Macs for business?


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## FelixJam (Jan 18, 2012)

Lack of consistency.


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## DeltaMac (Jan 18, 2012)

What do you think "lack of consistency" means?
That sounds like a philosophical position, and not a technical issue.
That the clipboard has no 'clear' button in the GUI would hardly make it a 'consistency' issue.


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## FelixJam (Jan 18, 2012)

Do you question the reply because you want to learn?


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## DeltaMac (Jan 18, 2012)

No, I do realize that you can say anything that you like (within reason, of course)
I realize that opinions can often be based on incorrect, or inaccurate information - and I was simply wondering how you arrived at that brief statement: "lack of consistency", as you made that statement with no examples to show what that means. So, I can offer as a starting point, that this thread, "clear clipboard", is not particularly relevant to either consistency, or inconsistency of whatever that is you claim is not consistent. The clipboard has no built-in clearing method, other than a logout, or a restart - and never has had that function, probably because Apple has never seen the necessity - and Apple seems to remain consistent (for 27 or 28 years now) with that "lack".
So, I then I would ask you to respond to how that "lack" of clipboard clearing is somehow evidence of a further lack of consistency.


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## FelixJam (Jan 18, 2012)

DeltaMac, lack of consistency does not only apply to that small procedure. The hint is in part of the post, but you did not capture it. I can agree with you that Apple has been consistent, but consistent with the inconsistency. What this commercial Company preaches - because it is more a preaching/advertising than an actual doing - does not justify. Some people take some political ideology or religion creed as the absolut truth. Other people, act in the same way with some Company's doings. "If they did not do that or if they did that, it is because is the right thing".


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jan 18, 2012)

For comparative purposes, here's the procedure for doing the exact, same thing in Windows (which, I think FelixJam would agree, is a very business-centric operating system):

http://www.tomstricks.com/how-to-cr...clear-the-clipboard-in-windows-7-or-in-vista/

Is Microsoft to blame for also being "inconsistent" in their implementation of their clipboard feature, since they also have no "easy" way of clearing the clipboard?

Here's how to do it in XP:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4841971_empty-clipboard-windows-xp.html

Neither are "easy" or "consistent."

I'd like to see an example of an operating system that implements "clearing the clipboard" in a simplistic fashion so that we can compare and contrast Mac OS X's implementation against what you seem to think the experience is supposed to be like.

I agree that Mac OS X has some shortcomings -- but to blanket the entire operating system -- nay -- the entire _company_ as "inconsistent" because of the lack of a one-click "clear the clipboard" function is slightly hyperbolic, no?

Apple's "consistency" stems from the fact that they understand that user interfaces and the way people interact with software changes over time, and therefore, the operating system (and other programs running under the operating system) must change over time as well.  A great example of this is the iTunes/iPhoto file-management paradigm: what was once done manually by the user (organizing files into a hierarchical folder structure) is now handled by the program, and the user's interaction with those "files" has now shifted... from managing folders and files to managing tags and dates.  People railed against it ("How dare you touch my file structure!") but you don't hear much of that anymore, because it truly is, for most people, an arguably "better" way of doing things.

Apple may try and fail in certain cases (the first AppleTV -- sync all my content?  Really?  What's the point of this box, then?) but they usually follow it up with a home run (AppleTV 2 -- nice!).  Sometimes they don't.  But they surely don't fail more than any other company, and they surely hit a lot more home runs than other companies.

If Apple were to have stayed absolutely "consistent" over time, we'd still be using something akin to the GUI in OS 7 and we'd still all be managing our files manually (which is a much different experience and much different scope on a 1.3GB hard drive than it is on a 2TB hard drive).

Not being able to clear the clipboard "easily," while a very valid concern, is not, by any means, the "inconsistent" hurdle that's keeping Apple from breaking into the corporate sector.  It's a minor detail -- one that's overlooked by just about every OS on the market today.


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