How to Export Ditto History and Switch Clipboard Managers
To export Ditto history, right-click the Ditto tray icon and choose Backup Database for a full copy, or select clips in the Ditto window and use the right-click Import/Export menu to save them as a .dto file, a text file or an image file. Those exports are for Ditto itself, though. CopyQ and Edge Drop don't import them, so switching managers means backing up Ditto, then moving the clips you still need by hand.
Step 1: Back up the whole database
Ditto keeps its history in a SQLite database. Make a full backup before changing anything, so you can go back if the new tool doesn't work out.
- Right-click the Ditto icon in the system tray.
- Choose Backup Database and save the file somewhere outside Ditto's folder.
- To check where the live database is, open Options > General and look at Database Path.
Restore Database in the same tray menu loads a backup into Ditto again.
Step 2: Export the clips you want to keep
In the Ditto window, select one or more clips, right-click, and open Import/Export:
| Option | What you get | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Export Clip(s) | A .dto file ("Exported Ditto Clips") | Moving clips to another copy of Ditto with Import Clip(s) |
| Export Clip(s) to Text File | Plain text | Keeping text clips readable in any editor |
| Export Clip(s) to Image File | An image file | Saving image clips as files |
The text and image files are the useful ones when you're leaving Ditto, because any app can open them.
Step 3: Decide what's worth moving
Most of a long Ditto history is old links, one-off messages and screenshots you'll never need again. Move only:
- Sticky clips and clips with Never Auto Delete set: you marked these as important.
- Clips in groups: Ditto keeps grouped clips out of auto delete, so they're often reference material.
- Clips with their own hotkeys. Edge Drop has no per-item hotkeys, so note what each one was for and check how your new tool handles it.
- Anything from the last few weeks you know you'll reuse.
Leave the rest in the backup.
Step 4: Move clips into the new manager
Neither CopyQ nor Edge Drop reads Ditto's database or .dto files, so each clip has to pass through the clipboard once:
- Install the new manager and check it's recording copies.
- Open a scratch document: Notepad for text, Word for formatted text, Paint for images.
- In Ditto, select a clip and press Enter to paste it into the scratch document. The new manager may already record it as it lands on the clipboard; if not, select it and press Ctrl+C.
- Pin it in the new manager. In CopyQ, select it and choose Pin. In Edge Drop, select Pin on the card. See how to pin and unpin items in Edge Drop.
- For copied files, don't go through Ditto. Copy the files again in File Explorer; Edge Drop stores Explorer copies as references to the original files.
Keep the overlap short. While Ditto and the new manager both run, every copy is recorded twice and Ditto's pastes appear as new copies in the other tool. Running two clipboard managers at once explains why one history is the long-term setup.
Step 5: Retire Ditto
- In Options > General, untick Start Ditto on System Startup.
- Right-click the tray icon and choose Exit.
- Optionally uninstall it from Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
- Keep the database backup and exports in case you want them later.
What to uninstall before you try a new manager covers other clipboard tools that might still be running.
What doesn't transfer
| Ditto feature | In CopyQ | In Edge Drop |
|---|---|---|
| Groups | Tabs, set up by hand | No named groups; filters by type, and stacks of up to 10 images or files |
| On-copy and on-paste scripts | Commands and scripting (rewrite them) | No scripting |
| Sending clips to other PCs (Friends) | No built-in device sync | No sync |
| Plain-text paste (Shift+Enter) | Add a "Paste as Plain Text" command | Not available |
If you rely on sync between PCs, scripts or many groups, think twice before leaving. Ditto may still be the better fit, with a second tool alongside for a specific job. The best Ditto alternatives compares other options.
Edge Drop is worth moving to if your main reason for leaving is images and files: it keeps them as cards on a screen-edge shelf, and you drag them straight into other apps. Text and link cards are click-to-paste. It has no import, so the steps above apply.
FAQ
Where is Ditto's database stored?
Ditto shows the current location under Options > General > Database Path, and you can change it there.
Can I import Ditto history into CopyQ?
Not directly. CopyQ's import reads its own export files. Move the clips you need through the clipboard, or export text clips to a text file for reference.
Can I go back to Ditto later?
Yes. Reinstall it and use Restore Database from the tray menu, or Import Clip(s) for a .dto export.
Related reading
- Best Ditto Alternatives for Windows: 8 Clipboard Managers
- Edge Drop vs Ditto: Visual Shelf or Searchable History?
- Can You Export Win+V Pins? How to Move to a New Manager
- Ditto Clipboard Manager Review: When It's the Right Pick
Sources
- Ditto (GitHub) — source code and English language file for the Backup Database, Restore Database, Import/Export and Options labels, and the
.dtoexport format. - Ditto project page (SourceForge) — SQLite database.
- Ditto wiki — groups and default shortcuts.
- Ditto wiki: Auto Delete — clips protected from auto delete.
- Backup (CopyQ docs) — CopyQ export and import.
- Pin items (CopyQ docs) — pinning in CopyQ.
Deepender Yadav created Edge Drop and builds and tests it, from the edge-hover shelf to each release. A B.Tech Computer Science Engineering student, Deepender writes the Edge Drop guides, comparisons and developer posts, and checks product details against the app's source code.
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