ChromeOS multi-paste is about to change for the better

If you are a regular keyboard shortcut user (I know I am), you likely use one of the absolute most common shortcuts available: CTRL+V to paste copied content. Along with CTRL+C (copy) and CTRL+X (cut), CTRL+V to paste likely rates in the top 5 most-used keyboard shortcuts out there (if there is such a list, anyway).

And it wasn’t that long ago that Google added a much-needed, frequently-used (again, by me at least) multi-paste function to ChromeOS, allowing users to hit the SEARCH+V key combo to bring up a list of the last 5 items that were either copied or cut. It has become my go-to way to paste after copying, and I love being able to copy or cut a few things at once and paste them in the order I choose afterwards.

A new way to multi-paste is coming

However, I totally understand the fact that most people have deeply ingrained habits that are tough to break. I still end up hitting CTRL+V a lot even though I’m trying to retrain my brain on this, and I’d wager many of you do the same. And it is precisely because of this very human trait that Google is prepping a change to the useful multi-paste shortcut.

Thanks to a find by Kevin Tofel over at About Chromebooks, it looks like a change to the multi-paste shortcut is in order that will not only be a more intuitive take on this particular shortcut, but will also mark the first time that a long-press on the keyboard is used to initiate a function that I am aware of.

The change is simple enough, moving the multi-paste shortcut to the same combo used for an individual paste – with the addition of a long press. Once this new combo is in place, users will be able simply use the same CTRL+V they’ve trained their fingers to over the years and just hold it down for a bit longer to access the multi-paste options. Brilliant!

As this looks to be an experimental change, i don’t think we’ll see it soon. These things move at different paces, though, so there’s a chance it hits the Stable Channel way before we expect. And once it does, I feel like many more users will actually leverage the awesome multi-paste ChromeOS feature than before, and that’s a good thing. As ChromeOS continues to mature, the small details matter more and more. Here’s hoping this new update rolls out to your Chromebook before long.