Clippit
 | |
| Name | Clippit |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Microsoft Corporation |
| Initial release | June 7th, 1999  November 19th, 1996  |
| Description | Though nothing more than a thin metal wire, Clippit will help find what you need and keep it all together. |
| Extra data | Hey, there. What's the word?~~How's life? All work and no play?~~Hey, there. Want quick answers to your questions about Office? Just click me.^^Here's your reminder.~~Don't forget this.~~Consider yourself reminded. |
| Animations | 43 / Unknown |
| TTS voice | None |
| Download | https://tmafe.com/classic-ms-agents/CLIPPIT.ACS https://tmafe.com/classic-ms-actors/clippit.act |
Clippit (or Clippy) is a Microsoft Agent and Microsoft Actor character developed by Microsoft Corporation. Clippit came with Microsoft Office 97 as a Microsoft Actor and in Microsoft Office 2000, XP, and 2003 as a Microsoft Agent.[1] He was part of the Office Assistant feature of Microsoft Office, which allowed for an animated character to assist the user or answer questions. Since Clippit is the default assistant, he has become one of the most well-known Microsoft Agent characters. His appearance is a metal paperclip, thus influencing his name "Clippit".
Use in Microsoft Office
- See also: Office Assistant
Clippit was introduced in Microsoft Office 97 as the default Office Assistant. As a result, he is the most well-known assistant, with him also being the default in Microsoft Office 2000, XP, and 2003. He appeared when ever the program determined the user could be assisted. For example, typing an address followed by "Dear" would cause the Assistant to appear with the message, "It looks like you're writing a letter. Would you like help?". One factor for Clippit becoming the most well known is the setup CD being required to install more assistants.
In media
As a result of the character's popularity and infamy, multiple parodies and forms of media were made about Clippit. These ranged from online videos, websites, skits, and other forms of media. Microsoft Corporation itself also got involved, making an advertising campaign for Microsoft Office XP that showed that this version of Microsoft Office could have Clippit disabled.[2]
Character data
| Character data for Clippit
| |
|---|---|
| File name: | CLIPPIT.ACS |
| Description: | Though nothing more than a thin metal wire, Clippit will help find what you need and keep it all together. |
| Extra data: | Hey, there. What's the word?~~How's life? All work and no play?~~Hey, there. Want quick answers to your questions about Office? Just click me.^^Here's your reminder.~~Don't forget this.~~Consider yourself reminded. |
| File size: | 2.76 MB |
| Animations: | 43 |
| TTS voice: | <Speech Output Disabled/No TTS Engine Found> |
| GUID: | {BFC9DE40-EBDE-11D1-BC17-00A076803C83} |
| TTSMode ID: | <Speech Output Disabled/No TTS Engine Found> |
| TTS speed: | 170 |
| TTS pitch: | 0 |
| Width: | 124px |
| Length: | 93px |
| Character data for Clippit
| |
|---|---|
| File name: | clippit.act |
| Description: | Though nothing more than a thin metal wire, Clippit will help find what you need and keep it all together. |
| Extra data: | Hey, there. What's the word?~~How's life? All work and no play?~~Hey, there. Want quick answers to your questions about Office? Just click me. |
| File size: | 457 KB |
| Animations: | |
| TTS voice: | |
| GUID: | |
| TTSMode ID: | |
| TTS speed: | |
| TTS pitch: | |
| Width: | |
| Length: | |
Gallery
-
The default animation frame of Clippit. -
The default animation frame of Clippit in Office 97. -
Clippit inside of the Office 97 character gallery. -
Clippit inside of the Office 2001 for Mac character gallery. -
Clippit inside of the Character Gallery of Microsoft Office 2003. -
Clippit in Microsoft Office 97 asking if the user would like help writing a letter. -
Ditto, but in Microsoft Office 2003. -
Clippit as he appears in the promotional flash series for Office XP. -
The paperclip emoji in the Windows 11 operating system takes inspiration from Clippit's design. -
Clippit as seen in the announcement for Copilot's personalization. -
All frames inside Clippit.act.
Trivia
- As with most classical Microsoft Agent Office Assistants, Clippit does not have his own color table. Instead, he uses the Microsoft Office color table.
- Despite "Clippy" being a common name for Clippit, it is never officially used in any of the Microsoft Office versions.
- Clippit is one of the most popular Microsoft Agent characters.
- He was introduced as a part of Office 97 as a Microsoft Actor before being made into a Microsoft Agent for Office 2000.
- It is possible that Clippit was a major factor in the discontinuing of Microsoft Agent.
- In Microsoft Office 2000 build 1819, the "clippit.acs" file has had all its contents replaced with a message saying "This page intentionally left blank ;-)". suggesting that the Microsoft Office development team was not fond of the character.
- In August 8th, 2025, people started to change their profile pictures to Clippit as a protest against the concept of artificial intelligence using people's personal information and history to train itself, which was widely regarded as an invasive idea.
- The protest against big corporations using Clippit was started by a content creator Louis Rossman on YouTube.[3]
- It was not until 2024 that Microsoft had trademarked the names "Clippy" and "Clippit".
References
| Assistants |
|  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|