Edge Drop vs Clipboard Master: Drag-Out or Multi-Clipboard?

Clipboard Master is a keyboard-driven suite: a multi-clipboard of up to 10,000 entries, text templates, more than 80 hotkey functions, a macro recorder, a screenshot tool and a password safe. Edge Drop is a single-purpose shelf that keeps recent copies as cards at the screen edge, which you click to paste or drag into other apps. If your work is filling forms and typing the same text, Clipboard Master fits. If it's moving screenshots and files between apps, Edge Drop does.

Edge Drop vs Clipboard Master at a glance

What Clipboard Master does well

Clipboard Master is made by Jumping Bytes. Its features page describes it as a free program and lists:

• A multi-clipboard storing up to 10,000 entries of text, pictures, files and folders.
• Collections for grouping entries.
• Text templates for greetings, salutations, special characters and HTML, which can insert the current date or a name.
• Flexikeys, which complete folder names and text templates when you press Tab and can convert numbers to hexadecimal as you type.
• A macro recorder for keystroke sequences, which the vendor says is still in beta.
• A screenshot tool that saves captures to the clipboard or opens them in an image editor.
• An integrated password safe for website and Windows login forms.
• More than 80 functions that can be assigned to hotkeys.

The strength is speed for repetitive keyboard work. Templates and hotkeys turn routine text into a couple of keystrokes.

The cost is setup. Each hotkey you assign can clash with shortcuts in the apps you use, so map only what you'll use and keep a note of it. Don't rely on the beta macro recorder for anything you can't redo by hand.

What Edge Drop does well

Edge Drop does far less, on purpose: it keeps what you've copied where you can see it.

• Drag-out. Drag an image or file out of Edge Drop into Explorer, Slack, Word, Photoshop or a browser upload box. Files are dragged as the original files; images are handed over as PNG files.
• Explorer files stay available as cards after you copy other things.
• Stacks. Group up to 10 images or files and drag them together.
• Click to paste into the app you were using, without the shelf taking focus.
• Opens without a hotkey. Move the cursor to the left, right or top edge, or press Alt+C.

It has no templates, macros, screenshot tool, password safe or network clipboard. Text and link cards are click-to-paste only.

Worked example: an invoice form vs an asset drop

The invoice form. You fill four fields many times a day: company name, address, PO number and a thank-you line.

• Clipboard Master: keep the four as a collection or templates and paste each with a click or hotkey.
• A text expander such as PhraseExpress or Espanso: type an abbreviation and the text appears, or fill a short form.
• Edge Drop: four pinned cards, clicked one at a time. It works, but it's slower than either option above.

The asset drop. Five PNG files and a PDF from Explorer need to go into a Slack message, and you've copied other things since.

• Windows' Win+V: the files never appeared in clipboard history, so you go back to Explorer.
• Clipboard Master: the files may still be in its history; you open it and paste.
• Edge Drop: hover the edge, then drag the file cards (or a stack of them) into Slack.

If your week contains both jobs, you can use a template tool for the form and a shelf for the files. Let only one app record clipboard history, or every copy will appear twice. Running two clipboard tools at once explains why.

A note on password safes

Clipboard Master's password safe is convenient, but it puts your passwords in the same app that records everything you copy. A dedicated password manager is the safer home for credentials, and it should autofill rather than copy where possible. Is copying a password ever a good idea? covers the risks.

Edge Drop has no password storage. It skips copies that apps mark as excluded from clipboard history and known password-manager formats, and Incognito mode pauses capture while you handle something sensitive.

Which should you pick?

If the only Clipboard Master feature you end up using is "longer history", a simpler manager does that with less setup.

FAQ

Is Clipboard Master free?

The vendor describes it as a free program. Its site also has Buy and Donate pages, so check the current terms if you use it at work.

Can Edge Drop paste a sequence of items?

No. Each card is pasted with its own click. For sequences and templates, use Clipboard Master or a text expander.

Can Edge Drop take screenshots like Clipboard Master?

No. Take the screenshot with Win+Shift+S or another tool, and Edge Drop keeps it as an image card you can drag out.

Related reading

• Clipboard Master vs Ditto: Macros vs Everyday History
• Do You Need a Text Expander? Signs and Windows Options
• Clipboard Managers With Drag and Drop on Windows
• Is It Safe to Copy and Paste Passwords?

Sources

• Clipboard Master — vendor, supported Windows versions, main features.
• Clipboard Master features — 10,000 entries, collections, templates, Flexikeys, macro recorder (beta), screenshot tool, password safe, 80+ hotkey functions.
• Edge Drop (GitHub) — source code and licence.

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How to Install Guide · First 10 Minutes Guide · Drag & Drop Guide · Edge Drop vs Win+V · Support