Are you tired of emailing yourself notes or files just so you can access them on a different device? Well, Apple’s Universal Clipboard feature might be the answer you’ve been looking for.
Universal Clipboard allows you to copy and paste content not only on your Mac, but also between your Mac and another Mac, iPhone, or iPad. The integration is so deep within macOS and iOS that you might miss it. There’s no switch or button for Universal Clipboard, nor is it in System Preferences or Settings.
So, how do you use Universal Clipboard? All you have to do is copy some content – text, an image, or a video – on one device, switch to the other device, and paste it right into the app that can accept copied content. It’s a great way to move data from one device to another, especially when you’re going from Mac to Mac. You can even copy and paste entire files that way through your Finder.
However, to make this work, you have to make sure you have the right settings enabled on all of your devices. Here are the necessary supporting conditions:
– Every device you’re using must be signed into the same Apple ID in your iCloud settings.
– Each device must have Bluetooth turned on.
– Each device must have Wi-Fi turned on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
– Each device must have Handoff enabled.
– All of your devices must be relatively recent, running at least macOS 10.12 and iOS 10.
If the settings are correct, Universal Clipboard should work almost instantly, transferring data between devices. However, if it’s not working, try restarting all your devices, making sure they’re all connected to Wi-Fi and have internet connectivity.
It’s important to note that Universal Clipboard simply populates each device’s clipboard, just as it would if you copied from that device. As soon as you copy something else on any device, it immediately replaces whatever came into Universal Clipboard. If you copy something on one device but don’t paste it to the other device, the devices may revert back to their own clipboard contents after about two minutes.
Universal Clipboard makes life a lot easier when you’re switching data from a Mac to a Mac, or a Mac to an iPhone or iPad, or even from an iPad to a Mac. It’s amazing and really makes it easy to fluidly continue working from one device to another.
So, what will Apple think of next? Give Universal Clipboard a try and see how it transforms your workflow.