The three different clipboards

When you use Copy (⌘C), the selected content is written to the system clipboard (aka clipboard), replacing what was already there. This is great until you find you really need to carry more bits of data around. Turns out that macOS actually has two additional clipboards:

• Dragging clipboard

• Selection clipboard

Here are scenarios where each of these pasteboards could be very handy.

Dragging Pasteboard

Here’s how you can juggle two items of data using multiple clipboards.

• Invoke Copy (⌘C) something to the pasteboard

• Before pasting, see that you have some content you’d like to copy or move somewhere else in the document

• Select the text and drag or option-drag (for copy) to a new location

• Paste the test from the System Clipboard somewhere else

Drag-and-drop is a great way to accomplish what could also be done with Cut/Copy/Paste without overwriting the system clipboard.

Selection Pasteboard

Here’s a great way to set up a global find and replace in a document.

1. You have a document that has a block of tex…