Edge Drop Quick Start: Open, Paste, Drag and Pin

Edge Drop keeps everything you copy on a shelf at the edge of your screen. Push the pointer against the left edge of your main display, or press Alt+C, to open it. Click a card to paste it into the app you were using, drag an image or file card straight into another app, and pin anything you want to keep. The steps below take about ten minutes and assume Edge Drop is already installed; if it isn't, start with how to install Edge Drop.

1. Open and close the shelf

Edge Drop runs in the system tray, at the right end of the taskbar. There are three ways to open the shelf:

• Hover: move the pointer all the way to the left edge of the main display and hold it there for a moment. The trigger is a strip a few pixels wide.
• Shortcut: press Alt+C. Press it again to close.
• Tray icon: left-click it to toggle the shelf.

To close the shelf, move the pointer away from it or press Esc. If the shelf opens when you don't want it to, turn off Hover Activation in Settings and use the shortcut only; how to turn hover off and use only the hotkey shows how.

2. Copy a few different things

Copy as you normally would, with Ctrl+C or Copy in any app. Try a mix so you can see how each type looks:

New copies go to the top. Copying something that's already on the shelf moves it back to the top instead of adding a duplicate. Copies from password managers that mark their data as private are skipped.

Edge Drop keeps 250 unpinned items by default, and your history is still there after a restart.

3. Paste with a click

1. Click where you want to paste, in a document, chat box or form.
2. Open the shelf.
3. Click the card.

The shelf closes, puts the item on the clipboard and pastes it into the app you were using. The shelf doesn't take focus away from that app, so your cursor stays where it was. If Edge Drop can't find the right window, it shows a message telling you the item is on the clipboard so you can press Ctrl+V yourself.

Each card also has a Copy button, which puts the item on the clipboard without pasting it.

4. Drag an image or file out

Image and file cards can be dragged into any app that accepts dropped files: a File Explorer folder, an email, a chat window or an image editor.

1. Open the shelf.
2. Press and hold on an image or file card.
3. Drag it over the other app's window and release.

Files are dragged as the original files. Images are dropped as PNG files. Text, link and colour cards can't be dragged; click them to paste instead. How to drag an item out of Edge Drop covers apps that behave differently.

5. Pin what you reuse

Select Pin on a card to move it into the PINNED section at the top of the shelf. Pinned items aren't counted toward the history limit and are never removed by the auto-delete timer, Clear all history or Clear unpinned on restart. Select Unpin to return an item to normal history.

Good things to pin are a signature, an address, a logo or a link you paste every day. Don't pin passwords or customer details. How to pin and unpin items in Edge Drop has more.

6. Find an older copy

• Search: type in the Search history... box. It matches text, links and file names. Images are hidden while you search, and long text is matched only on its first 300 characters. Press Esc to clear the search. How to search clipboard history in Edge Drop has tips.
• Filters: use the tabs at the top to show All, Text, Links, Images, Files or Colors. The Emoji tab opens an emoji picker; clicking an emoji pastes it.

7. Stack related images and files

Drag one image or file card onto another to combine them into a stack, then drag the whole stack into an app in one go. A stack holds up to 10 items. Text and link cards can't be stacked. How to merge and split stacks in Edge Drop shows how to add to a stack and take items back out.

8. Preview an item

Select a card's preview button to open the preview flyout. It shows the full image, up to 20,000 characters of text, or the contents of a stack, where you can select several items and copy or paste them together. How to use the preview flyout goes through every button.

9. Pause recording when you need to

Turn on Incognito mode before copying something sensitive. Edge Drop stops recording new copies until you turn it off, and anything copied in the meantime isn't added later. You'll find it on the Behaviour tab of Settings and in the tray menu as Incognito (pause capture). How to use incognito mode in Edge Drop has the details.

FAQ

Can I replay the Edge Drop tutorial?

Edge Drop 0.3.2 has no option in Settings to replay an introduction; the Behaviour, Position and Appearance tabs don't include one. Use this page as a refresher instead.

Why doesn't the shelf open when I move to the edge?

Check that Edge Drop is running in the tray, that you're on the display chosen under Display Screen, and that you're at the edge set under Edge Placement. A fullscreen game or video also pauses hover while Fullscreen Protection is on. Alt+C works either way.

Can I move the shelf to the right or top edge?

Yes. Right-click the tray icon, select Settings, open the Position tab and change Edge Placement to Right Edge or Top Edge.

Does Edge Drop replace Win+V?

It can. Edge Drop keeps more history, survives restarts and keeps files copied in Explorer (as links to the originals), which Win+V doesn't. Running both records every copy twice, so consider turning Windows clipboard history off once you've settled in.

Related reading

• How to Install Edge Drop on Windows 10 and 11
• Edge Drop Settings Explained: Behaviour, Position, Appearance
• How to Filter Edge Drop by Text, Links, Images and Files
• How to Move Edge Drop to the Right or Top Edge

Copy. Stack. Drop.

Transform your clipboard into an interactive edge shelf. Stack, pin, and drag assets into any app with zero friction.

Download for Windows Get from Microsoft Store

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