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Clipboard History does not recognize the Delete key on Windows 11

Copper Contributor

I recently moved to Windows 11 (installed from scratch), and as soon as it was ready I activated the Clipboard History with the Win+V shortcut, since I really liked this feature on Windows 10.

But after a short while I noticed the Windows 11 Clipboard History does not recognize the Delete key anymore. 

On Windows 10 this works:

- Invoke the Clipboard History with Win+V 

- Scroll to the entry you want to delete with your arrow keys

- Hit Delete on your keyboard and that entry will be removed from the history. Clipboard History remains open so you can repeat this for as many entries as you like.

 

On Windows 11:

- Invoke the Clipboard History with Win+V 

- Scroll to the entry you want to delete with your arrow keys

- Hit Delete on your keyboard, then the Clipboard History closes with no error or message. If you invoke the Clipboard History again, the entry is still there. 

 

So apparently there are only two options on Windows 11 now, use the "Clear all" button to remove all the entries from the history. Or click the 3 dots next to each entry you want to remove and then click Delete, which is... annoying if compared to Windows 10.

 

Is there a way to make the Delete key work again?

20 Replies

@wwddss Yeah, I also experience this and it is very annoying. This is the main reason I have not yet upgraded my main PC to Windows 11. Still on Windows 10. Hope they fix it soon.

Please post here if you or anyone else have any workarounds.

This is driving me crazy! I really don't understand why MS keeps eliminating options that many people find useful. I use Explorer Patcher to have non-combining, labeled buttons on my taskbar (the most egregious change made in Windows 11, IMHO) but have yet to find a fix for this clipboard issue.
Yes, the absence of a dedicated keyboard shortcut for deleting Clipboard History items in Windows 11 is really disappointing. Especially considering the fact that it is present in Windows 10 (the "Delete" button).

At the moment we can only hope that eventually Microsoft will bring this option to Windows 11 as well.
Same issue and still not fixed. It was a very nice feature on Win 10 and it's an annoying thing in Win 11 now. Clipboard manager(a thing that is managed from keyboard) can't be manager from keyboard(basic actions: add, modify, delete). Shame for developers...
I join to confirm that, as july 2023, still the DELETE key closes the popup instead of deleting the single clipboard item.
I agree. I really miss the delete-button-funcion!
I experience the same thing. I never understood the logic behind REMOVING perfectly working features that don't bother anyone else.
I also miss the feature in win 11 to delete an entry in the clipboard history by the delete button.
This was very handy to copy several values from one place to another place.
Now you need a lot more buttons pressed and mouse interaction for the same task.

@wwddss 

A few days ago I got a new computer with Windows 10 and upgraded to 11. I use the clipboard a lot and just found that I cannot delete entries. Very annoying, but actually it's not that the delete key is not working - the delete key actually deletes from your text! Maybe you haven't noticed, because the cursor is at the end of the text, but if you move at the middle, bring the clipboard, hit delete and one character of the text is gone and the clipboard closes. I'm thinking of downgrading back to W10. Not only because of the clipboard, but for just a few days of using it, I feel it's not that stable as W10.

Yes, sometimes I have the feeling that there are some saboteurs working at Microsoft, trying to spoil the products in order to reduce the company's market success. 🙂
What is the Windows 11 version? It is working fine on 23H2.

@Nobel_BaynesI have Windows 11 Pro version 23H2 and it's still not working. Are you using the exact steps @wwddss described to reproduce the issue?

I have W11 since 10 weeks.
Until today, the delete button for deleting a single entry worked.
As of today, it no longer works.
Something like this is completely incomprehensible.
Bringing a perfectly functioning tool back to the Stone Age.
What kind of person would do something like that?
Is Microsoft losing touch with the basics?

Test if the Delete key is functioning properly in other applications, such as Notepad or File Explorer. If the Delete key doesn't work elsewhere, there might be an issue with your keyboard.

@HairoldThe Delete key itself is functioning properly, deleting the item with it in the clipboard history does not. I tried it once again today - it works on Windows 10, it does not work on Windows 11 (currently version 23H2).

This is the one thing preventing me from upgrading to Windows 11 on remaining Win10 PCs. @wwddss has this pretty clearly explained, but I'd add a few additional notes:
- pressing 'delete' after opening the clipboard history on Win11 actually sends 'delete' to the text box you have selected (behind the Clipboard History UI), potentially deleting a character (if you're in the middle of a line)
- manually removing entries on Win11 with the 3dots/trash takes *significantly* longer, as you have to wait between clicks for it to register, otherwise the UI gets confused. So it's 'click... wait... click... wait...' This means trying to remove 20 individual entries used to take ~5s and now takes ~40+s - again, sounds super minor, but when I'm in the flow of doing things, waiting so much longer for a UI that used to work great is super painful.
It's unbelievable what kind of banana software comes out here. Well, let's hope that it's not one of those green bananas that's still woody inside and then goes straight into an overripe, rotten state.
Every day that it takes to fix such a small thing, it gets even more pathetic.
But it's probably that the same key randomly broke on everyone's keyboard and noone noticed before 🙄🤣

@Hairold 
I have tested it at home and in the office.

The behaviour is the same.
It doesn´t work with W11.
In W10 it worked good.

Without this option the normally very usefull "mobile clipboard" (Windows+V) is no more a big help as it was with W10.

It´s annoying.

! HELP please ! 🙂

My Version is
Microsoft Windows 11 Enterprise 23H2  //  10.0.22631.4037