Are you a Windows power user searching for tools to improve your workflow? If so, you’ve probably come across dozens of productivity tools. ClipClip and RecentX are among the finest time-savers on the market, designed to cut the time required to perform nearly all everyday computer tasks.
ClipClip in a Nutshell
ClipClip is a clipboard manager equipped with state-of-the-art features and technologies. By leveraging them, power users have an opportunity to streamline the majority of tasks, such as extracting text from pictures, watermarking files, translating text, calculating mathematical expressions, and much more.
Numerous programmers, content writers, and editors have switched to ClipClip because of its unparalleled versatility.
Although it is primarily an advanced clipboard manager that allows users to keep a thoroughly organized database of clips, its primary benefit is that it’s an all-encompassing platform that features built-in OCR, contour detection, watermarking tools, and video capture features, and an array of other premium-quality tools.
Another reason why ClipClip soared in popularity over the past years is that it is a free program. All its features are fully unlocked to all users, and no subscription is required to utilize its tools.
Main Features
ClipClip is a unique productivity tool designed to capture, locate, edit, share, and keep data on a single platform.
ClipClip software is equipped with bleeding-edge features and technologies designed to manage clips more efficiently; capture photos, videos, or GIFs on the user’s screen; translate, replace, remove, or capitalize text; flip, resize, rotate, or make color adjustments to image clips; add watermarks, and much more.
Despite being outfitted with various features, ClipClip is still remarkably intuitive software with a distinctly shallow learning curve. Its features can be accessed from the app’s control panel and are grouped into logical categories for easier access and navigation.
Drag and Drop Interface
One of the critical elements of ClipClip’s UI being highly intuitive is its drag & drop design. Users can seamlessly control, add, remove, or relocate clips by dragging and dropping them into desired folders.
This feature is an invaluable help to content writers and programmers that create hundreds of clips daily. Clips can be saved or pinned, and a detailed search history allows users to instantly locate any clip, regardless of its type (code snippets included).
Cloud Drive Clip Sharing
Aside from being one of the most advanced clipboard management tools, ClipClip is also a competitive file-sharing program.
Cloud drive synchronization is one of the fundamental features of ClipClip, allowing users to share clips and files with collaborators or colleagues instantly.
Furthermore, ClipClip supports several particular actions on text clips that enable users to send clips to Pastebin, Twitter, or email with a click of a button.
Integrated Editors
ClipClip is outfitted with two built-in editors. The WYSIWYG editor provides text reformatting and editing tools, while the image editor offers extensive picture editing capabilities. Lines, shapes, and annotations can be added to all image clips, allowing users to highlight important points.
Screen Capture Tool
Not only is ClipClip one of the best clipboard managers on the market, but it’s also a full-fledged screen capture tool.
Text, images, video clips, and GIFs can be captured using ClipClip. Still, these clips can also be edited with a range of supported actions, with some of the most notable being the ability to send clips to Imgur, adding watermarks to clips, open files in other applications, and more.
ClipClip is outfitted with a sophisticated Contour Detection algorithm, which augments the precision of the screen capture tool by automatically detecting shapes in images.
Optical Character Recognition
ClipClip features built-in OCR technology. This productivity tool can save hours that would otherwise be spent on manual data input by enabling users to extract text from PDF files and images.
Robust Clip-Editing Features
Unlike most clip organizer programs, ClipClip allows users to edit nearly all aspects of their text, image, and video-based clips. These “actions” are divided into text and image-based clip-altering features and eliminate the need to outsource other content editing software.
In terms of text clip actions, users can sort clips alphabetically, shuffle, or reverse them; send text clips to Pastebin, Email, or Twitter; replace hyphens, single & double quotes, or underscores; remove underscores or white spaces; capitalize, replace, or translate text, and more.
Additionally, powerful encoding features are included, enabling HTML and URL encoding and decoding.
As far as image clip actions are concerned, ClipClip features color and hue-adjustment tools; images can be flipped, rotated, or resized; margins and watermarks can be added to virtually any clip taken with this software. The OCR tool is also included in this category.
ClipClip Pros
- The best clipboard management software in the current market
- Highly intuitive drag & drop user interface
- Comprehensive clip capturing and editing tools
- Seamless file-sharing capabilities
- Free to use and download
- Built-in optical character recognition and watermarking tools
ClipClip Cons
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It comes equipped with an array of highly advanced features that some users may need some time to get accustomed to
Read our full ClipClip review for an in-depth guide to this powerful clipboard manager for Windows or download ClipClip and give it a try yourself.
RecentX in a Nutshell
RecentX is a versatile productivity tool designed to help users instantly access clipboard history and computer files. This program is equipped with powerful indexing features and automated file tracking tools. It also integrates with Windows Clipboard and expands its functionalities.
Main Features
The primary purpose of RecentX is similar to ClipClip - simplifying some of the most common computer tasks. However, the features of these two programs are vastly different. RecentX adds new shortcuts and provides quicker access to nearly all apps.
Sidebar Access
Once installed, RecentX can be accessed from a desktop sidebar. This section will automatically be minimized when not in use, freeing up desktop space. The sidebar can be dragged anywhere on the desktop.
Automatic File Indexing
This program will automatically index all internet bookmarks, files, programs, and entire folders. Additionally, the app will always show the most recently launched/used files first, serving as a quick launcher for boosted productivity.
Additionally, RecentX can be used to create lists and utilize tags to keep files logically grouped, again improving productivity and workflow.
Smart Tags
Similar to ClipClip’s saved and pinned clips, RecentX allows users to label files with tags. These tags can be assigned different icons and colors and serve the purpose of differentiating between files instantly.
Additionally, tags can be applied from a browser. The tagging function is added to the default right-click menu and can be used anywhere at any point.
Files and apps can be tagged, as well as entire folders and websites. When paired with other RecentX features, smart tags can save hours for content writers, journalists, programmers, and editors.
Windows Clipboard Integration
The feature that resembles ClipClip’s clipboard management tool is RecentX’s clipboard history. It pulls data from Windows Clipboard and keeps it organized on a dedicated clipboard.
RecentX’s clipboard shows tags, file names, and the date when the files were added. The “Find” search bar can quickly locate specific files.
Windows File Dialog Integration
Aside from integrating with Windows Clipboard, RecentX also integrates with Windows File Dialog, allowing users to launch, edit, or move files from its clipboard in the same manner these files would be traditionally used in the file dialog.
Drag & Drop UI
Another similarity shared between ClipClip and RecentX is the drag & drop interface. Files can be added, removed, renamed, or sorted in the clipboard by holding the mouse button and simply dropping them in the desired places.
The drag & drop function also works with emails. Users can attach files from RecentX to their emails without opening a browser (or emailing software).
Program-based File Searching
The slowness and inaccuracy of the default Windows search function were some of the main reasons why RecentX wanted to develop a better time-saving solution for file searching.
The program-based search mechanism of this program searches within programs and apps (as opposed to names and keywords) and can deliver far more accurate results in record time.
Built-in Browser History
By default, users would need to open the desired browser to access its history, and then navigate through the selection until the desired file is located.
RecentX allows users to access any major browser’s history through its app, create bookmarks, and launch website searches by clicking on selected pages.
RecentX Pros
- Innovative clipboard manager tools
- Compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11
- Drag & drop interface
- Smart tags allow users to quickly and conveniently organize files and clips.
- Automatic file indexing
- Program-based file searching
RecentX Cons
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Although it’s affordable, RecentX will not be free to use after the free trial expires.
Download RecentX and give it a try yourself!
ClipClip vs RecentX
After establishing what ClipClip and RecentX can do for power users, it is time to pit these programs against each other. This section is dedicated to explaining the differences between the two apps by comparing their performance in different fields:
Round 1: Performance
The performance of productivity tools is difficult to gauge, as the demands of different users are subjective. However, due to the outstanding versatility of both ClipClip and RecentX, it is safe to say that any computer task can be made quicker or more straightforward.
The performance of RecentX lies in its ability to provide quick access to clips, folders, and bookmarks and in the fact that many usual Windows functions can be used from RecentX’s dashboard.
The performance of ClipClip is gauged differently. It’s an OCR and watermarking tool, a screenshot & video capture tool; it’s equipped with an array of editing features. It can be used to capture, edit, and organize practically any file.
Round 2: Workflow Adoption
In other words, how easy it is to integrate any of the two programs into the user’s workflow. Both programs have a shallow learning curve and are suited for beginner programmers, content writers, teachers, journalists, and nearly all Windows power users.
RecentX has a slight edge over ClipClip in this round, as it is not equipped with as many features. However, the key feature of both apps is their dashboard, which can be used to access each function.
The majority of Windows users can learn how to use ClipClip and RecentX within hours proficiently.
Round 3: User Interface
ClipClip works in the background and was designed to streamline the majority of everyday computer tasks; RecentX features a movable slide bar that does not overlap the user’s desktop. Both are supplied with a drag & drop-type design.
Although both programs feature designated hotkeys, the customizability of ClipClip’s key combinations is superior to RecentX.
Round 4: Unique Features
Industry-leading programs dominate the market because they offer unique solutions to common problems.
RecentX essentially doubles as a simpler, more efficient Windows file dialog while offering a streamlined clipboard and access to file and browser history tabs.
ClipClip is not just a clipboard management tool. This program is an all-encompassing platform that can tackle screenshot capturing, clip management, OCR, watermarking, and file-sharing tasks. Its uniqueness resides in the fact that users do not need to use any other tools to complete an array of different computer tasks.
Round 5: Price
ClipClip is a free-to-use program, while RecentX is premium software. Although the latter is decently affordable and offers a free trial version, ClipClip being free means that it won this round.
Final Verdict
RecentX is a highly versatile app that streamlines otherwise tedious Windows tasks and brings convenience to the table. ClipClip is an all-in-one platform that most Windows power users rely on to capture, edit, and share files from a single source.
One of the main reasons why ClipClip is objectively a better-performing program than RecentX is because it addresses a broader range of problems Windows power users face each day.
Even if both programs were freeware, ClipClip’s superior versatility and more sophisticated features would have been enough to declare it the winner of today’s versus match.
