Initially, the multi-clipboard is empty. To add the selected contents of the currently active editor to the top spot in the clipboard, use 'Alt+C' (assuming standard key-bindings, these are configurable from the preference-page) or the button on the Multi Clipboard view (see below). If you use the keyboard-shortcut, the active editor will remain the active part of the workbench. If you have activated the Multi Clipboard view, the contents show up as an entry with a (possibly abbreviated) one-line version of the selection. To add more contents, use 'Alt+C' again.
Copy using the 'Alt+C'-shortcut works irrespective of whether the Multi Clipboard view is currently showing or not.
'Alt+C' adds the new contents at the top of the list of Multi-Clipboard entries. (Alternatively, you can configure the Multi-Clipboard such that new entries are appended at the end of the list - see Preferences for the Multi Clipboard). When the number of items on the clipboard is limited, items 'drop out' at the end of the list if you use 'Alt+C' (or can not be added when you choose the 'append'-configuration).
As an alternative to populating the clipboard from the top, pushing entries down in the list, (or to appending at the end) you can also use the clipboard in an emacs-named-buffer like manner. Thus, 'Shift+Alt+C n' replaces the n'th entry of the Multi-Clipboard with the current selection (if the n'th entry is currently populated). If the n'th entry does not exist yet, the selection is appended at the end of the list of current entries.
You can configure the Multi Clipboard such that (whenever it is active) it also listens to 'Ctrl+C' such that you not only copy to the usual clipboard but also to the Multi Clipboard. This is achieved by selecting 'Also copy/cut to standard-clipboard' on the preferences page for the Multi Clipboard and changing the Key-binding of the action 'Copy to Multi-Clipboard' from the Category 'Multi Clipboard' to 'Ctrl+C' when Editing Text (see Preferences for the Multi Clipboard for some more details).
Like copying to the multi-clipboard, you can also 'cut' to the multi-clipboard. This works just like the standard cutting using 'Ctrl+X'. Cutting to the multi-clipboard is possible by using 'Alt+X'.
You can configure the Multi Clipboard such that (whenever it is active) it also listens to 'Ctrl+X' such that you not only cut to the usual clipboard but also to the Multi Clipboard. This is achieved by selecting 'Also copy/cut to standard-clipboard' on the preferences page for the Multi Clipboard and changing the Key-binding of the action 'Cut to Multi-Clipboard' from the Category 'Multi Clipboard' to 'Ctrl+X' when Editing Text (see Preferences for the Multi Clipboard for some more details).
There are different ways to paste from the clipboard to the currently active editor:
Paste using the 'Alt+V ...'-shortcuts works irrespective of whether the Multi Clipboard view is currently showing or not.
As with the usual paste, if you have a region of text currently selected, this will get overwritten with the clipboard-content. If there is no selection, the content will simply be inserted starting at the curser-position.
You can also Paste the first element from the multi-clipboard and immediatly remove it from the clipboard after pasting. By default, this works by typing 'Alt+V' followed by 'Ctrl+1'. Like all other key-bindings, this can be changed using the preference-page ('Workbench' -> 'Keys')
By selecting an element of the Mutli Clipboard and using the entries 'Move element up one in clipboard', 'Move element down one in clipboard', 'Move element to top of clipboard' or 'Move element to bottom of clipboard', you can change the order of elements of the clipboard. This is useful if you have often-used contents which you want to access via the key-shortcuts 'Alt+V 1...9'.
The multi-clipboard comes with its own view. Find it under Window > Show View > Other... in the category Multi Clipboard.
The view displays the content of the clipboard where each entry is preceeded with its number in the list. The clipboard co-exists the system-clipboard. The standard copy-paste functionality is still available.
The view offers the following buttons and context-menu entries:
(Remove all contents) - Clears the Multi Clipboard.
(Paste first
element) - Pastes the first (top) element from the Multi Clipboard
to the last active editor, replacing the editor-selection contents
(or inserting at the cursor-position).
(Copy current
selection) - Copies the selection from the last active editor to
the Multi Clipboard, placing it in the first slot.
The context menu:
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In case you do not want to use the view or it is currently hidden, there is a dialog as an alternative. If you press 'Crtl+Shift+V', the dialog displayed below will open, displaying the current MC-contents in short and long form (the long form is displayed for the currently selected entry).
You can select the entries by using the 'up' and 'down' or 'page up' and 'page down' keys as usually. When closing the dialog with 'OK', the selected element is pasted at the current curser-position in the current editor (replacing the selection if any). Closing the dialog with 'Cancel' aborts the pasting.
