John GruberIf I could pick just one feature for Apple to add in iOS 17, it would be a system-wide clipboard history. (Or APIs that would allow third-party apps to implement a system-wide clipboard history, but I think sandboxing would make that impossible. Probably has to be an OS feature.)
Andrew Wade@gruber 100% It’s the one thing that’s still a wtf especially on iPad compared to Mac. Apparently the iPad is a work device, but has the memory of a distracted squirrel on acid. I find myself copying multiple things then saying “ah, right” when I try paste. So annoying.
Charles Johnson@gruber Great idea! On the Mac I use Keyboard Maestro’s clipboard history, and it’s absolutely indispensable. Who can we call to make it happen?
Brian Wolven@Green_Footballs @gruber I also use the Keyboard Maestro (and/or Raycast) clipboard history on macOS. Started using Drafts for cases where I want to copy multiple snippets of text to or from iPad or iPhone. It’d be nice to have that process more streamlined though.
Ammar@gruber for now I just want copy paste to work reliably across Apple devices.
DHa@gruber My top request is for macOS to remember how many desktops were set up and which monitor they were assigned to when a MacBook is removed from multiple monitors. I spend a good 5 minutes setting everything back up when I take my MacBook somewhere and connect it back to the hub
James Atkinson@crichton007 @gruber this would be great. Window snapping too. I don’t use it personally, but it’s such a widely requested feature, it’s crazy to ignore it for so long. Also a volume mixer. Basically I’d love an os release where they fix these little annoyances.
@jimmyjamesuk @crichton007 You can get these features with third party utilities on the Mac though. Check out SoundSource:
@gruber @crichton007 I love Rogue Amoeba stuff and own it. I gotta say, as great and polished as it is, it’s galling to new users that they have to pay for stuff that’s table stakes on all other os now. It’s time Apple includes it.
@jimmyjamesuk @gruber While I would agree this would be a nice addition Macs are very good at audio. I enjoy the struggles people still have with audio in online meetings when they’re using Windows
@crichton007 @gruber oh I agree. Windows is a steaming pile of ****. That’s why these little omissions are frustrating. So close to greatness and yet they never seem to get fixed.
@jimmyjamesuk @gruber I’m a huge fan of the Magnet app available in the MAS for snapping. It would be nice to have built in but at this point I really like Magnet
Kit Bashir@crichton007 @gruber buy the “moom” app it is indispensable for this and other reasons. Had it for many years.
Timothy King@crichton007 @gruber I remember the good old days when Finder windows would actually remember their state (view settings, what windows are open, etc). I had to write an AppleScript just to reopen the windows/tabs in their correct position after a reboot. And I shouldn’t have to constantly tell the Applications folder to show the version numbers
macsimcon@gruber If I could add just one feature to iOS 17, it would be to easily allow me to move app icons around. Why can't I just tell Siri, “put this app icon into this folder on screen two?”
Katzentratschen@gruber (On iOS I'd pick muting camera shutter sound without muting ring tone and iMessage.)
Agreed!
More nuanced volume control throughout would be my request. Why is there no way to set one volume level for Maps and another level for my music or audiobook?
Matt ⎊ 
@gruber that would be nice! 🙏
St. Chris@gruber Since I use Pastebot on my Mac, everything I copy on my iPhone gets mirrored to the Mac via Universal Clipboard and then automatically pulled into Pastebot.
…But only when the Mac is awake and nearby. And the return trip from Pastebot to the phone takes extra steps. What I want is Universal Pastebot.
@gruber Before I started using Pastebot (I’m a relatively recent convert), Universal Clipboard sometimes messed up my work threads, because I’d copy something on the Mac, get distracted by the phone and copy/paste something there, and then return focus to the Mac and inadvertently paste the thing from the phone. Now I regularly pop Pastebot open just to make sure I’m actually grabbing what I think I’m grabbing.
@tapbots I’d be sore if Pastebot got Sherlocked, but I’m also baffled that Apple still hasn’t done it.
DNS@gruber related: I would love them to find space for a dedicated paste button on the GUI. It’s such a welcome luxury on the iPad.
Rishi Ó@gruber Your talking about the Magic Cap Tote Bag. I’ve wanted it in the dock for years.
Jeff Atwood@gruber yes, I have been saying this since 2008.. https://blog.codinghorror.com/reinventing-the-clipboard/
Reinventing the Clipboard
Over time, I've become something of a desktop mimimalist. Sure, I'll change a few settings to my liking, but I no longer spend a lot of time customizing my desktop configuration. I've learned that if the defaults aren't reasonably close to correct out of the box, then the software is
Chris R. Donnelly@codinghorror @gruber it would also make the tendency to accidentally wipe your clipboard by copying empty text far less of a pain
Daniel Fox@codinghorror @gruber it kind of blows my mind that Windows, of all OSes, is the only one to exclude a global clipboard history feature.
@danudey @gruber it has it, finally: https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-clipboard-history-windows-11
@codinghorror sorry, I meant “includes”. It’s the only one that ships with the feature (as far as I’m aware), even though it’s disabled.
G R E G@codinghorror @gruber A history would solve this, but I’ve always wanted a ‘swap’ function where I can swap whatever I have selected with whatever is in my copy buffer. Useful when moving things around a list.
Ken Kinder 
Jann@gruber MyKeyboard contains a clipboard history right now 😊 It records while the keyboard is open, but that should be most of the relevant time. https://apps.apple.com/de/app/mykeyboard-custom-keyboard/id1455404109
MyKeyboard Anpassbare Tastatur
Passe praktisch alles an deiner Tastatur mit simplem drag and drop an! Füge Tasten oder Reihen hinzu oder entferne sie, passe ihr Aussehen und Verhalten an, ändere die Zeitspanne bis die Subtasten (die Tasten, die aufpoppen, wenn du eine Taste hältst) aufpoppen, füge diese Subtasten hinzu oder entfe…
Rik @ bikescape.org@gruber I’d also like a global notification history. Some seem to disappear while other hang around. And I can never go back and find ones that I inadvertently dismissed.
djb_rh@gruber I would add a “Mute until…” feature to iMessage conversations.
Eric Böhnisch-Volkmann@gruber 100% agree. I am sometimes using Yoink or Tot to keep things that I know I need more than once, but it’s still a nuisance.
Matt Simerson@gruber this! Even a history stack two deep would be useful several times a day!
Brennan Stehling@gruber Apps like FB have snooped on the contents of the clipboard which has required protections from that abuse.
I would like to have at least the option to name copies and persist them for a limited amount of time. I could long press the paste button to bring up the names. Same for copy to name them.
@brennansv but that’s already protected against in iOS now. Apps have to get permission to snoop on the clipboard.
@gruber That’s what I mean. That permission is a fairly recent addition. It’s risky to put more into the clipboard because of known snooping. Perhaps clipboard permissions could work like Location Services where access expires after a short time unless I choose to allow access until I take it away.
@brennansv @gruber I know it’s a minority opinion but my solution to that isn’t more sandboxing, it’s more curation. Like, delete Facebook?
Jarrod Blundy@gruber Seems like we’d see this built-into macOS by now if they were interested. But I’m with you, I’d love to see it!
@jarrod There’s a huge difference. On MacOS third-party clipboard managers are better than a built-in feature would be. There’s no reason for the system to do it. On iOS it would have to come from Apple.
@gruber On iOS the capability would for sure have to come from Apple. But I’d find it odd for them to introduce a power-user system feature like that on iOS and not macOS. I’ve always felt that a clipboard manager was just beyond the comfort zone of a typical user. Have you? And don’t you think that existing advanced 3rd-party functionality hasn’t usually stopped them? It’s more up their alley to swoop in with a basic-needs-met product but leave advanced features to 3rd-parties.
Alex White@gruber I would like a reliable way of debugging shortcuts
Jon Henshaw@gruber solid PWA support that works as well as it does on Chrome on macOS.
@jon That’d be a regression, not a feature.
zıəs uɐɟəʇs ✪@gruber I’d say Apple could also help us fill the clipboard in the first place. IMHO, copy and paste (text selection) on iOS is still a huge pain point and feels like a hit or miss game.
Rick Williams@gruber this would be incredible. I want 2-3 items on my clipboard all the time.
Mike Nichols@gruber this and more reliable and customizable auto fill!
tambourineman@gruber we barely have system wide undo after 15 years. Baby steps.
Ryan Jones@gruber I’d pick group message typing bubbles.
You think the clipboard history would be in the dark drop-down thingy, or like a new keyboard when invoked?
Robin Baral
Bryan Irace