Where's the Clipboard Viewer?
by Andy Rathbone, author of Windows XP For Dummies
When you highlight something in Windows and choose Copy, nothing happens. Sure, you've copied something to the Windows Clipboard, ready to be pasted into another program. But how do you know? How can you tell exactly what you've copied?
In earlier versions of Windows, you could simply call up the Clipboard Viewer. That handy little program promptly showed you the Clipboard's contents, providing visual assurance that you've copied the correct item. In fact, by leaving the Clipboard Viewer open on your desktop, you could easily watch the Viewer refresh its display to reflect your newly copied material.
But for some reason, Windows XP messed up the Clipboard Viewer, a Windows staple for more than a decade. The Viewer is barely mentioned on XP's Help menus, and although it's supposedly installed automatically when you upgrade to Windows XP, it doesn't appear on any menu.
 | And that's a shame, because the Viewer is a handy way to keep track of exactly what's on your clipboard during an action-packed cut/paste session. Here's what happened. |
First, Windows XP's Clipboard Viewer is now called the Clipbook Viewer. And although XP places the program on your hard drive, here's how to place the Clipbook Viewer's icon onto your Start menu:
1. Click the Start menu button and open My Computer.
2. Open your C drive. (It's listed in the Hard Disk Drives section.)
3. Double-click on the Windows folder. (You might have to tell it to let you see what's inside.)
4. Double-click on the System32 folder. (Again, you might have to tell it to let you see what's inside.)
5. Scroll down the page until you locate a file named Clipbrd.
6. Drag and drop the Clipbrd file onto your Start button.
Just let go of your mouse button when it's pointing at the Start button; that drops a shortcut to the Clipbook Viewer onto your Start menu. When you open your Start menu, the Clipbrd program's icon will appear near the top. (Feel free to right-click the clipbrd's icon, choose Rename, and type in Clipbook Viewer. If you're angry at XP, rename it Clipboard Viewer, just out of spite.)
Whenever you want to see exactly what's being stored on your Clipboard, double-click that icon. The Clipbook Viewer appears, letting you see exactly what's been cut or copied to your Clipboard.
A previous column contained instructions for placing the Sound icon back next to the clock, so you can quickly change your computer's volume.
Next time: Restoring the Quick Launch Toolbar
Andy Rathbone can be reached at his Web site, www.andyrathbone.com.
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