[iOS] Shortcut recipe to use clipboard history on iPhone

What you can create

Select the text you want to save and launch "Share" > "Save to Clips".
When pasting, launch "Get Clips" from iPhone's "Back Tap".
The copy history will be displayed, so select the text you want to paste.
It will be saved to the clipboard, so paste it with "Paste".

I tried to minimize the number of steps.

This enables multiple copies, just like on a PC!

If you try it and encounter any problems, please let me know in the comments.

Preparation

① Required Apps

If you've deleted it, please download it.

Shortcuts

AppleFreeposted withAppReach

I assume everyone has this installed.

Notes

AppleFreeposted withAppReach

② Create a Note

Create a note named "Clipboard".

Just type it in the "Title" format on the first line.

PR

③ Shortcut Recipes

There are two: one for "saving" and one for "retrieving".

For those who want to save from iCloud share links, click here.

For iOS 14 or earlier, please enable "Allow Untrusted Shortcuts" from "Settings > Shortcuts" before opening.

For those who couldn't do it with the above or want to duplicate it, click here.

Open recipe details

Save to Clips

Create a shortcut

Set Save to Clips to appear in the share sheet

Receive any input from the share sheet
Get text from shortcut input
Replace "(^.)" in the text with "*_*$1".
Turn on the regular expression switch.
The delimiter will be "*_*". If you frequently use "*_*", change it here.
Find all notes
where name contains "Clipboard"
Add updated text to note

The Clipboard note will be appended as follows:

Clipboard
*_*1番目に保存したテキスト
*_*2番目に保存したテキスト・・・

Get Clips

Find all notes
where name contains Clipboard
Split note by custom "*_*"
Select text from split
It might be good to turn on the "Select Multiple" switch.
Copy selected items to clipboard

This mechanism splits the text saved in the note by "*_*" and retrieves the copy history.

④ Register "Get Clips" to Back Tap

Register "Get Clips" to the Back Tap feature.

From "Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap", register "Get Clips" to either double or triple tap, whichever you prefer.

For iPad users, please set it to launch via Siri or similar.

Preparation is now complete.

How to Use

① Save Text

Select the text you want to save and tap "Share".

Tap "Save to Clips".

Saving is now complete.

② Retrieve Text

Launch Get Clips from Back Tap.

If not yet registered, click here.

Select the text you want to paste and tap "Done".

Then just "Paste" as usual.

Occasionally, you might not be able to paste, in which case, please restart from launching Get Clips again.

When you get "Could not communicate with helper application."

After using it for a while, you might encounter an error like this:

An error occurred while running Save to Clips.

Could not communicate with helper application.

This is likely due to the Notes app's storage size increasing.

Therefore, regularly delete the contents.

Be careful not to delete "Clipboard" itself.

If you try it and encounter any problems, please let me know in the comments.

Comments

2023-01-19
Anonymous

When I select Save to Clips from Share, all my notes appear, and I have to choose "Clipboard" from there. Can this one step be skipped?

If you agree with this comment, please send a message saying "#001 I agree"!
2023-01-20
Owner

Did you download it from the iCloud share link?

Did you duplicate the shortcut yourself?

If the former, please tell me your OS version!

If the latter, please check if there are any discrepancies in the shortcut's content.

I look forward to your reply.
2023-01-20
Anonymous

I downloaded it from the iCloud share link!

My OS is 16.0.2 (20A380).

Will updating the version fix it?

If you agree with this comment, please send a message saying "#003 I agree"!
2023-01-21
Owner

It's not extremely old, so it's still a mystery.

I'm thinking of various other shortcut recipes, but it seems there are also various bugs.

The part about "all notes appearing" is a concern, so what if you try, for example, increasing the search conditions for notes?

If you were able to use it successfully, or if you were not, please report your OS version, even briefly!
2024-05-11
Anonymous

OS is 17.4.1

① For example, after copying the text "あいうえお" (aiueo),
if I double-tap the back (Save to Clips), a checkmark appears from the top,
if I triple-tap the back (Get Clips), "Clipboard", "Done", "Cancel" appear from the top,
and if I tap "Done", a checkmark appears from the top,
and nothing happens.

I opened the Clipboard note, but there is no text in it.

② When I triple-tap the back, "Clipboard", "Done", "Cancel" are displayed. If I tap "Clipboard", a checkmark appears next to it. Even if I tap "Done" after that, the behavior is the same: only a checkmark appears from the top, and nothing happens. Even if I open the Clipboard note, there is no text in it.

If I try to paste, the text "Clipboard" is pasted.

It's not working correctly.
2024-05-26
Owner

Thank you for the report. (Sorry for the late reply)

I will answer by dividing it into the first and second parts.

Regarding ①:

The part "...if I double-tap the back (Save to Clips)" is concerning.

Save to Clips is intended to be executed from "Share" after selecting text. This is this part.

It is likely that it cannot be saved to the notes app unless the shortcut is executed as described in this article.

Regarding ②:

Even if you check an item in the list displayed by Get Clips and tap "Done", nothing happens because the checked item is only saved to the clipboard.

You then need to "Paste". This is this part.

Also, the text "Clipboard" being pasted is likely because you checked "Clipboard".

Please first confirm that it is saved to the notes app by correctly executing ①, then try again.