What are Reddit's favorite Clipboard Manager Apps?
Alfred
Ditto
Wox
CopyQ
ClipMenu
PhraseExpress
ClipX
Maccy
ArsClip
Parcellite
Paste
PureText
Clipdiary
ClipboardFusion
CLCL
Flycut
Clipy
Klipper
FastKeys
Clipjump
Clipto Pro
GPaste
Copied
Jumpcut
ClipMate
TenClips
1clipboard
Windows 10 Clipboard
PhraseExpander
CopyClip
Copy'em Paste
Pastebot
ClipIt
Diodon
3D Clipboard
Glipper
ClipAngel
Clipper
Ethervane Echo
Shapeshifter
Clipboard Help+Spell
Clipman
ClipClip
Scribe
Save.me
CopyPaste Pro
Clipboard Master
xNeat Clipboard Manager
RecentX
Top Reddit reviews mentioning Clipboard Manager Apps:
One that I don't see on here that I literally use every damn day: Ditto
It's a clipboard manager. Copy and paste still work the same, but you can now Ctrl + ` (it's the same key as ~ or "tilde", next to the 1 key) and it brings up a little list of all the things you've copied... ever. It saves through computer restarts and is text searchable. It also allows you to hotkey the most recent 10 items by pressing Ctrl + (number 1-0) after Ctrl + `.
I'm a software dev, I use this all the time, and every time I've ever used it during a screen share the people watching have asked me "what the hell was that? it looks so useful".
Not a chrome extension but a desktop app for Windows that does it called Ditto. The application runs in the system tray and records your history across all apps and has a quick toggle that brings up your history anywhere. You can also sync history across multiple PC's. https://ditto-cp.sourceforge.io/index.php
I share an office with one coworker (my teammate/supervisor). We both prefer lowered lighting and dark OS themes to minimize eyestrain.
My main PC is an HP somethingorother laptop-parts-in-desktop-formfactor provided by helpdesk. with Core i7, SSD and 16GB of RAM. Dual monitors (1 portrait, 1 landscape) with an ergotron mount.
I run CentOS 7, with a Windows 7 VM. (Our department gets to run whatever OS and software we want, but get only best-effort helpdesk for it.)
Major tools:
- i3wm
- Chrome (Including a ton of web tools like Outlook, JIRA, Confluence, etc.)
- urxvt
- vim (heavily customized)
- git
- IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate
- VirtualBox
- Vagrant
Good headphones are essential. My travel pair that I take to the office is a set of Jabra Move wireless headphones. I also like Audio Technica and AKG.
I was provided a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse by helpdesk. I opted to bring in a mechanical keyboard from my collection (using a quieter type of switch such as Cherry Red or Cherry Brown).
I also have a Macbook Air 4GB for on-call and the occasional work-from-home (I haven't met an extremely lightweight, durable laptop that runs Linux well). I run the same tools (most installed via Homebrew), subbing iTerm for urxvt and adding Alfred.
I rock an Osprey Metron backpack, which pulls triple duty as a work laptop bag, a motorcycling backpack and a 24 hour emergency bag. (/r/edc, /r/ultralight). You'll usually find that and my motorcycle helmet on top of one of the guest chairs :)
EDIT: Oh, I forgot that you're never more than 15 feet from a mini-fridge on this floor. My workplace keeps them stocked with energy drinks, soda and flavored water, and I stock mine with sandwich materials as well.
Why use ArsClip over a better alternative like Ditto? (which is FOSS)
I've used Ditto for so many years now. It's fantastic, highly customizable, and still an active project.
Alfred (Mac free with $26 for powerpack). The price may sound high at first but the application is by far my most used program. It is a replacement for spotlight that offers far more functionality. It allow
- use cmd + # to select something that is not the top result
- Workflows (power pack required) plugins to do anything you can imagine. For example
- Type google and then a query to search google
- Type Battery to get battery stats
- Send a tweet from alfred
- There are lots of plugins for alfred available and you can make your own
- Tons of customization
- Do calculations, look up words, shorten links, translate, etc
Spotlight for me: Cmd + space. Or, rather, Alfred, using the same shortcut.
But then I don't really like using the mouse for this stuff - my "dock" is just Finder, Chrome, Photoshop, and Sublime - things I need to drag stuff onto to open.
I think there used to be an Applications folder that was pinned to the dock. That was pretty much the same as Launchpad, but in alphabetical order.
Yeh they more or less left the app store: https://www.alfredapp.com/blog/announcements/gatekeeper-alfred-and-the-future-of-os-x/ - that old version is there for those who want it. Apple shouldn't be promoting apps that aren't being maintained.
Superhuman seems to be targeting a market segment of business people, who make money via email, and where time is money, so the “AI-powered” app is like paying a personal assistant $360/year to manage your email and remove frictions.
If you’re targeting the exact same market segment, more power to you. If not, and you’re targeting the mass market, consider lowering your price to a one time fee, or a small subscription (Eg. $1.99/month).
Alternatively, consider a freemium model like Alfred where a subset of users are happy to pay to extend functionality. I feel like that model should be considered since you’re competing with free web browsers that have amazing extensions. There’s even a few free browsers that mimic your features such as workspaces and split screen. I forget the names, and reverted to Safari with bookmark extensions, and use Rectangle for easy split screen. I’m likely not your target customer if I’m not happy about paying $240/year when I can do it for free.
I've been using CopyQ on sway, in runs natively in Wayland when it comes to handling the clipboard, and also when it comes to its UI (it's built on Qt). It has excellent image handling as well. The only thing I never managed to make it do is auto-typing of the clipboard contents after selection.
If you can't find any .dict files for what you're looking for, I would definitely recommend Alfred. It's Spotlight on steroids which means you can find online terms directly from the spotlight search.
You can highly customize the way Alfred looks and behaves as well. You can tell it to put certain results first, give it "workflows" (requires the premium purchase), and run everything from within the search bar. I'd definitely recommend taking a look at it!
Most keylogger programs will record this. Note : You probably don't want a keylogger on your system, but for educational purposes you can do this.
Refog Keylogger This one is free, and you can uninstall it after you're done. Be smart.
There is also programs to expand your copy paste abilities. I highly recommend ClipX. This is a clipboard history manager. So, imagine you want to copy paste several things, but you don't want to erase over the first thing you copied. This gives you a configurable amount of Copy Paste "slots" (Default of ten) and it will let you copy paste text, URLs, images, spreadsheet data, whatever. Simple to use, and can show a history.
Of note : You'll only see the history after you start using it - you won't recover previously made copy paste stuff.
I don't know how many times that happened to me. But now (in the voice of an overenthusiastic ad person) I use ClipX! It's minimalistic and functional and it remembers fucking everything. It was a crutch; now it's a whole new limb.
It's been a while since it was updated, but the current beta runs perfect on Win7 x64.
System Preferences > Dock > Automatically Hide and Show the Dock
It pops up if I hover over it. Unfortunately, there is no way to hide it permanently, as you probably know.
I use Spotlight to launch everything (some people prefer Alfred). Keyboard > Shortucts > Show Spotlight search sets ⌘ + Space to open it, which I totally love.
Thank you!
Clipx - Multiple copy/paste history. Ctrl-shift-v pulls up a menu of the last 25 things you copied to let you pick what to paste. Handles all kinds of formats (images, files, etc). This sort of functionality should be standard in every OS today, but it's not.
Nobody suggested a clipboard manager. I use Ditto Even though you can see clipboard history now with windows, ditto is still more efficient.
At work I also use Q-Dir as a file manager. It lets you have multiple explorer in one window. And for each one you have tabs. Besides when starting it you don't need to reopen all your explorer.
Apple's trackpads are lightyears ahead of PC trackpads. There are tons of shortcuts, if you go through the trackpad settings and learn them they'll help you tremendously.
Spotlight is your best friend. I don't think there's really an equivalent on Windows, although I haven't used Windows in years so I could be wrong. Command-space for everything and if you want even more power, look at an app like Alfred.
If you're using Alfred, install this iTunes mini player. There's a default hotkey. If not, you can scroll to that connection and change it.
If not, this should work.
tell application "iTunes" activate tell application "System Events" to key code 49 end tell
key code 49 is space and space does play/pause in iTunes.
It doesn't search email by default, you'd have to add the path to your email client's data folder/cache to the areas searched to get it to do that. It generally isn't recommended because it will clutter your results a lot.
I really don't ever use Alfred for that, if I need to search my email I goto my email client.
Alfred is useful for launching apps, searching the web, building workflows (a paid feature), clipboard history, snippets, and a variety of other smaller tasks it can do.
Alfred is far more powerful than just being a conduit for searching your computer. Checkout the workflows here for examples of some of the stuff people can do with it: https://www.alfredapp.com/workflows/
Edit: One of my favorite things to do is create my own custom search targets. So I'll need to search the GitHub issues for the projects I work on. triggerword <search string> allows me to do that and it just opens it in a new Safari window. Or I have another where triggerword <bugnumber> takes me to a specific bug report if someone gives me a bug number. I have another Workflow that takes a selected bug number from the onscreen selection and opens the bug report in Safari.
iOS: Using DuckDuckGo as my primary search engine, it's a quick way to get to use bang searches without opening up Safari or Chrome first.
OS X: I use Alfred instead but it's fairly similar. Simple calculator, open an app, quick access to DuckDuckGo without already having a browser up front. Also just noticed it can keep clipboard history as a paid feature too which I really should start using.
I use a separate 'quicknote' file in obsidian. For quick adding I use Wox with Obsidian URI with a shortcut key. In this way I can open a previously created 'quicknote' and jot down ideas instantly, without the need to keep obsidian Open in the background all the time.
The universal copy and paste is amazing, especially when paired with ClipX
ClipX is one of those things I have to install on every computer I have, or I feel like I'm trying to work with missing fingers.
macOS Alfred inkl. Powerpack. Das Tool kann sehr viel. Öffne per Tastenkombination lokale Ordner, Programme und Webseiten. Zeichne die Zwischenablage auf um erneut drauf zugreifen zu können. Kann Textbausteinen für die verschiedensten Situationen abrufen und noch einiges mehr.
EDIT: nvm I'm stupid, missed the Wox part :D Thanks for that though, nice tool indeed
EDIT2: Oh man, I'm in love... Found a clipboard history plugin <3 Alfred for windows, I like it
How to get it more spotlighty? I put it on executables only but it finds like everything (I guess that's why it's called like that).
But it doesn't seem to be a good app launcher so far :( (comparing it to Alfred)
Spotlight is pretty good, but if you want even more power check out Alfred. It's one of the best tools I own for productivity. If you buy the powerpack (well worth it) you can install additional plugins. One of my favs is the DevDocs plugin which gives me devdocs for a bunch of different languages and frameworks at my fingertips.
Mac user since 1985, with many Mac user friends and coworkers. I have never seen a human being use Launchpad in person.
I also almost never use the Dock. In System Preferences I set it to the smallest size and turn on "Automatically hide". I assume it's there still, but I can't confirm.
To switch Applications I use ⌘-Tab. It's way faster than using a mouse.
To launch applications I use Alfred. Everything is done via the keyboard, so it's a massive productivity boost.
If you don't want to install third-party software, you can get much of the productivity boost of Alfred through Spotlight. Just hit ⌘-Space and type what you want to launch. Easy peasy.
There are a lot of things, one thing that stands out in daily use is that the file search is a lot better than MacOS Spotlights search. There also Workflows you can build for repetitive tasks. Just have a look at their website to get an insight in alfreds capabilities: https://www.alfredapp.com
Alfred is still very much in active development, as mentioned by /u/rubys_eleven, and the community is continuing to grow. :)
Workflows are a great way to make your own work day run more smoothly, so they're intrinsically quite personal; I have dozens that wouldn't necessarily be useful for someone else, but make my day vastly more efficient.
You'll find great publicly-shared workflows on GitHub, Alfred Forum and Packal*, but it's also worth taking a look at the built-in examples, as well as creating your own (e.g. file filters, list filters, etc, can be so useful at speeding up repetitive tasks)
[* As mentioned by others, Packal is a user-run website, and this previously very active Alfred user has now moved on to a new job, etc, and no longer maintains Packal. We have plans for the future, but at this time, I'd really recommend joining our friendly community on the forum. If you're still having issues joining, pop us an email by replying to your license email and I'll help you sign up :)]
Beyond workflows, it's also worth taking a look at Clipboard History, Text Expansion, Custom Searches and all other features that make you more productive and save you menial tasks. Alfred's features are growing with every update, and we've got some great stuff planned still for the future!
Cheers, Vero (Alfred co-founder)
Wow Maid looks very good! Thanks dude!
About:
Better touch tool: well is not about trackpad, you can benefit from BTT even with a simple mice. For example i have 2 additional buttons on mine, and i can use them to do a lot of things according to the active app. The behaviour will be different and will follow your settings! That's what im searching :)
Xmonad, just tried and it's not what i was thinking: far better! Thank you again!
Unfortunately Rofi isn't a real match for Alfred, please take a look at this.
You can configure things like in a visual programming language - for me it was very useful, 'cause otherwise i have to edit (and usually add) a lot of files.
Cheers!
If you only need it for retrieving old text and images in your clipboard, I really like ClipMenu. Very customisable and lightweight and also provides some advanced functionality for scripting.
ClipX clipboard manager. Can be customized and has good plugin support, but just the ability to have access to what I copied 3-4 items previous to what's currently on my clipboard is amazing. Especially useful if you do any kind of repetitive data entry.
Loved maid when I had a Mac! Talking of which, a beefed-up uLauncher-like app such that it can match Alfred would be fricken awesome.
(No, Albert does not quite cut it. Sorry.)
I actually left Alfred for Raycast for a while and then came back.
The new theming options look much nicer and the simple workflows that you can do are just great. Raycast has added parameters to commands but I don't like their solution to it (basically adding an input inside an input).
Alfred workflows are additions created for the Alfred app available for Mac and iOS (remote app). https://www.alfredapp.com by Running with Crayons Ltd.
Alfred is a fantastic app that puts all others to shame when it comes to...well...just about anything.
Caveat - Siri and Finder have definitely improved search integration on iOS and Mac, and Launchbar and Keyboard Maestro are contenders as well, but when it comes to quickly doing everything, Alfred is unstoppable!
It’s been around for a few years now and just keeps getting better (and no, I don’t work for Running Woth Crayons and am not gaining anything by sharing this info).
Here's how you can change the default fallback searches, if you're a Powerpack user: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/features/default-results/fallback-searches/
Otherwise as suggested by others, you can type "duck" to use the built-in web search. :)
I use smcfancontrol as well, my custom setting is at 3500 rpm. Out of topic but, I'd recommend using (https://www.alfredapp.com/) I replaced my dock & spotlight with Alfred. What Monitors do you use?
Why don't you use the built-in hotkey to pop directly the clipboard history list? I think by default its: CMD+ALT+C
You can have a look here to have a better view of the feature and how to assign your hotkey https://www.alfredapp.com/help/features/clipboard/
Hi buddy, thanks for your help but unfortunately i've already checked up Albert, and it's not even close to Alfred's real power :(
If interested, you can check out the huge difference here.
Alfred:
It's one of the first things I install on a new computer. It's useless without the power pack though.
It can automate anything through the workflows, here are some examples:
https://github.com/zenorocha/alfred-workflows And the clipboard manager is great.
A lot of people get started writing their own plugins for applications like Alfred or Übersicht.
Just start looking for things you do with your computer that you could automate with a bit of scripting. When you run into a problem that's in or not too far outside your skillset, have a crack at solving it yourself.
Of course, you need to be learning a useful language. Python or Ruby are good first choices, as they're relatively easy and flexible enough to use for almost anything.
You can also use Alfred to launch multiple apps/files via a shortcut although you do need Powerpack for that:
> Click the little “+” icon in the Extensions section and add a “File or Group” folder. Enter in your information to create the folder and set your shortcut and add your apps/files. Once you set a group of apps for when you’re working, you just have to type something like “wwork” into Alfred to launch all associated apps and files simultaneously.
http://www.cultofmac.com/132934/5-awesome-things-you-can-do-with-alfred-on-your-mac/
A clipboard manager (I use Clipmenu on OS X), which is especially handy if you do a lot of copying and pasting.
Basically, it keeps a history of text or other items copied to the clipboard, so you can copy multiple things in one go—e.g. a quote, a citation/link, and additional text—and paste them individually. You can also set up "snippet" folders of commonly-pasted text for handy access. I use this feature at work for various common strings I have to type, and at home I have a folder of bicycle-safety links and info that comes in handy in my advocacy work.
Something free: A <strong>clipboard manager</strong> for my computer. I wish I had used one in college when I was writing papers or having to copy/paste a lot of varying info.
I now have mine set up with a folder of cycling safety links, as well as a 30-item history. This is extremely helpful when I have to copy quoted sections from an article as well as the URL, so I don't have to go back and forth copying and pasting each item separately. I couldn't operate effectively without a clipboard manager any more.
Yeah, holding shift. But I have this extension I can't live without and it's not compatible. Yeah, maybe I can change the shortcut and maybe I can disable the "smart" quotes altogether, but maybe, MacOS should stop trying to embellish my writing by default.
I'm still using ClipX!
The latest release is 9 years old today, but it still works like a charm (save for randomly closing every now and then). Might give Ditto another chance, though.
I tested a few. I like Phrase Expander's ability to let you choose an entry from a popup menu. It also comes with template support, dynamic content insertion and macros that handle complex scenarios. Their page shows lots of corporate customers. Here you can review different pricing models and download a trial version you can use to test the program.
https://www.phraseexpress.com/docs14/09/shop.php
I use AutoHotkey which is free. It requires creating scripts so it's not that user friendly. But, it can often perform tasks you can do using your mouse and keyboard, such as opening Notepad, typing some text and saving the document. It's a macro program that happens to let you expand text by pressing hotkeys or by typing special symbols. Here's one example ..
5/17/19 7:43:51
I typed trtr and Autohotkey inserted the current date and time. That's an example of typing a "hotstring" vs pressing a hotkey. But for your purposes, I'd go with something like Phrase Express since it has features you might need in your business -- particularly template support.
Doesn't do exactly what you want, but a clipboard manager like Ditto lets you copy (CTRL + C) multiple things, then paste (using a special shortcut, like CTRL + SHIFT + V) all those things at once.
Windows 10 has a simple clipboard manager built-in. But I believe it doesn't support pasting multiple things at once. You'd need a more advanced clipboard manager for that.
Use both simultaneously. Split your workflow into 2 and use the laptop for lighter tasks. Use a virtual kvm to share the keyboard and mouse and a clipboard that syncs between 2 systems to share text and files between both.
xclip -- simple interface to x clipboard. Makes it easy to pipe data into clipboard, get current clipboard text, filter it...
If you want to automate this kind of thing, it's pretty handy. Those who prefer GUIs might like something more like CopyQ (which also has good CLI support but is definitely more oriented to GUI users)
From Alfred’s website:
- Use the "open" keyword to open a file (or press the spacebar as a shortcut!)
- Use the "find" keyword to reveal the file in Finder
- Use the "in" keyword to search inside your files' content
As always with Alfred, you can customize these keywords in the settings.
Source: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/features/file-search/
My friend and I are working on a Windows alternative to the Alfred application with WPF and .NET Core. We are of course far from feature complete with them, but we have actually reached a point where I've started using it in my day-to-day workflow. We've got a repository here: https://github.com/dkgv/pinpoint
It is a productivity app that amongst other things, allows you to search your Mac and the web, launch apps and so much more. I’ve been using it for quite some time but barely scratched the surface of what it can do. You can extend its functionality with the powerpack which I believe is a paid add on. However the core app is free to use. Have a look here for more info: https://www.Alfredapp.com
Edit: correct url.
If you guys like this app and are Alfred users, then I suggest you install the IINA Workflow to gain faster access to IINA controls no matter what app you're in.
I would also recommend Alfred. Great for launching apps, websites, and performing custom web search shortcuts. It’s a better version of spotlight and the free version is very good, but if you like building workflows the pro version is even better!
It depends on what you want to do. Your best bet is read the documentation of the new workflow objects and the updated workflow objects.
I don't see any big breakthrough in workflow development. My preferred new object is the [Split Utility](https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/utilities/split-arg/).
Imho, the best improvements in workflow development lie in the debugger.
It does so much. Search for files quickly, clipboard history, launch apps, workflows, make your own keyboard shortcuts and much more. There is a free version where you can try some core features and see what the paid "Powerpack" has to offer.
For anyone in the comments hoping to find a brief idea of what powerpack is:
> The Powerpack is a set of incredibly powerful features, built on top of the robust core Alfred application. Deeply flexible and integrated with OS X, use it to customise your Mac and make you more productive than ever!
“For your security, Alfred doesn't listen for characters typed when you are in a secure text field, such as a password field, so he won't expand a text snippet in a secure field.”
And there're more features with version 3 coming anytime soon, such as snippets expansion a la TextExpander.
I loved Spotlight so much was a bit reluctant to change in the beginning, but after a few weeks using Alfred I can only praise it.
There's a free version, but you should pay for the Powerpack to get all the juice. Really worth it after you spend some time exploring its numerous possibilities.
These are a couple things I'd recommend. Mostly shortcuts and convenience apps. I also strongly recommend an external HDD for Time Machine backups. Hope that helps.
Better Snap Tool ($2, App Store) is a customizable window snapping tool (like introduced in Windows 7).
Alfred 2 (free, w/ restrictions, but the free version does most of what you need https://www.alfredapp.com) is a keyboard shortcut app that is quicker and IMO better than Spotlight (native Mac search bar) because it can easily do a google search straight from the app.
Caffeine (free, App Store) lets you keep your computer awake when you don't want it to power down/sleep.
The Fray Fix ($15 http://www.thefrayfix.com ) is a rubber thing you put on your charger to prevent it from fraying (which is a terrible design flaw in the Macbook chargers). Worth the cost to prevent having to buy another charger (~$60-80).
Alfred. Personally I don't even use the dock. Takes too long to fiddle around with the mouse just to launch an app.
You can of course use Spotlight instead but personally I enjoy the additional power of Alfred.
Cannot tout Alfred enough. It's far faster and more powerful than Spotlight, and as someone working in IT who has Caffeine enabled, I love being able to sleep from Alfred as I'm walking away for security. It will change how you use your Mac.
My suggestion would be to use Everything together with Wox and use that instead of the Windows Search all together. Makes searches and launches work exactly as you'd expect it to.
Install two utilities.
- Everything: This one indexes everything and makes search super fast and reliable.
- Wox: This uses 'Everything' and lets you search apps/softwares as well.
Everything + Wox means you can search anything from apps/softwares to files by just pressing 'alt + space'.
ArsClip
http://www.joejoesoft.com/vcms/97/
> ArsClip is a freeware "clipboard manager" utility. ArsClip monitors the clipboard and keeps track of the entries. Pasting is done by using a triggered popup window. This window can be triggered by a hotkey, holding right-click, a special trigger window, and other methods.
See screenshots here:
http://www.joejoesoft.com/vcms/160/
Search for the “Trigger Window” is the options. It’s one of the best features.
It looks interesting. I use a free product called ARS clip which from quickly reviewing looks similar to yours maybe?
http://www.joejoesoft.com/vcms/97/
I can claim absolutely no connection with it, but I have given the creator some feedback that I have seen him implement.
I'd be open to doing what I can to help out. I'll make a note to download the trial and give it a spin.
You might also try a clipboard manager that has a persistent history. I use ClipX with the Stickies plugin for Windows and Parcellite for Linux (both freeware) for example, but there are loads of alternatives. Some even have network sync.
ClipX Stores multiple clipboard items and allows you to make hotkeys to automatically paste last, second last, etc. Used every day, and every minute when I'm programming.
Use ctrl+c as usual but then when you want to paste you would use whatever command you setup to bring up a popup box. It's pretty customizable. You can click with the mouse what you want to paste from the box or you can select which option you want to pick with its associated number.
I have my popup box set to alt+q since it is close to alt+tab to change windows.
Hope that helps.
I've never heard of anything that lets you use two separate machines and allows for drag-and-drop of files or windows. Seems like you get one or the other, but not both.
Synergy supports a shared clipboard, so you could probably get halfway there via keyboard shortcuts. For example, I use the program Clip-X as a clipboard manager, and it has a built-in feature to launch a web browser or web search from whatever is at the top of the clipboard stack.
Another option, similar to Synergy, is Input Director. I prefer it to Synergy, but only when both sides are running a Windows variant, as it is not cross-platform. I doubt it has the kind of features you want, but it's worth a look.
Hello .. I've played with it for a while. If you read the help, you may have seen this in the help under Autocomplete ..
>
"PhraseExpress detects repetitive text input automatically and - after a short training period - starts suggesting to auto-complete such recurring phrase for you."
The help doesn't tell us what that training period is. My assumption is that after you type a specific text pattern x number of times, the program would automatically add the pattern to your list of phrases.
I don't repeat too many long phrases but I tried doing that for a while. Help says
>"The feature is disabled by default and must be enabled at Settings » Autocomplete."
You may have done that under Settings > Autocomplete. There is no "on/off" switch. Instead there are three checkboxes named "Learn Individual Spelling" - "Suggest Entered Sentences" and "Suggest Entered Words."
I made sure that the last two checkboxes were checked. But so far, I don't see evidence of it auto-suggesting recurring phrases. I'll try a couple of other things such as pressing a different delimiter after I type a phrase. The help does say
"You need to type an entire sentence including a punctuation mark and either a space or carriage return."
I may not have included punctuation marks when testing. It does some interesting things besides letting you work with templates and forms. For instance, you can add a phrase that lets you type characters that open a program. I also need to see what it means by "Security issues may affect performance." I saw something like that one time.
Note: You should be able to type characters and the program inputs the text associated with those characters. You said you "use the hotkey." That's an option too but I normally type abbreviations that get expanded into longer text.
I use PhraseExpress. It takes some set-up time, but you can add literally anything to it. It works via multi-key combos that you are free to set as whatever. I also use it for diacritics.
I'm a systems administrator (mostly UNIX & Linux), so I usually get a lot of freedom, but I have also worked for places that processed medical payments and collected treatment records in the past, so I feel your pain. There is at least one Windows application I cannot live without (AutoHotkey) and a few other small, almost insignificant applications that do small but immensely helpful tasks. Too many companies totally ignore small utilities that help automate desktop tasks. I'm sure that the time savings would be in the billions if companies with implement some of these tools and train people on their use.
Two weeks ago I introduced someone on our staff to Ditto and about once a day she instant messages me about how it's saved her so much time and how such a small tool can be so helpful.
On a loosely-related note, if your work involves computers, allow me to recommend this awesome free clipboard program.
It turns your Windows clipboard into a history. Ctrl+v still pastes the last thing, but when you hit the hotkey to trigger Ditto, (I bound it it Ctrl+`) then you can paste any of the PREVIOUS things you had.
It's great. Doesn't take anything away, and adds a great little power.
Ditto. It creates a history of your clipboard so if you need to copy multiple things just copy them once and go through the history when you need it. It's that thing I never though I needed until I started using it, I can't live without it now.
I use CopyQ: https://hluk.github.io/CopyQ/ on linux but it looks like you can use it on Mac as well as there's a dmg file. You can also set it copy to the clipboard when you make a text selection. What I mean is, you can select a piece of text with the cursor without pressing CTRL + C and it will still do it.
I use PhraseExpress. You make an entry, then can execute it with a key combo or some characters. May not be exactly what you want, as it won't copy what you want to paste - you have to do that manually. But good for having to enter the same text repeatedly.
I've used Phrase Express for macro recording. As far as I can recall, it doesn't require admin rights provided the window it's manipulating isn't running in admin mode.
There's another far more robust program called Macro Toolworks which is all about automation. It supports scripting language as well. I've also used that a couple of times but don't recall if it needs admin privileges.
I've been using Ditto for clipboard management on Windows for a couple years. It has all the features I want*, and then some extra. This built-in Windows feature seems pretty good, but if you're looking for something a little extra, I'd recommend Ditto.
* The most common one being "I swear I copy-pasted something containing xyz a few months back", and being able to immediately search it.
https://hluk.github.io/CopyQ/ C-S v works extremely well for me.
Just checked my history and there an still an image there at item #163 that I copy/pasted some time yesterday. The thing is so damned useful I copy things I don't need to cause it effectively acts as a note buffer.... it allows searching, tagging etc. All with shortcuts.
I don't know if there are any addons for that, but I've been using Phrase Express. What's nice is that it a) works well, and b) is also usable in browsers, word processors, etc.
Well, I would suggest Ditto
I have added some sticky items on it and assigned hotkeys to it. Since I have to use my work email, id and other things very frequently every day, this is really a life saver.
Since this is a clipboard manager, it has many other features as well.
I just want to add Ditto, it's a very easy clipboard manager with tons of options, super useful if you don't need a macro/template but still need to copy&paste some answers. Also helpful if you need to copy&paste several things at once.
+1 I came here to say Surfingkeys. So much time is spent in the browser, having vim for it is priceless.
I also like the vim key setup for CopyQ, which is cross platform with linux as well.
Being forced to use Mac since 2010, I've respected it's stability, but the lack of keyboard shortcuts is ridiculous, and Surfingkeys gives me a tiny bit of sanity.
The software "PhraseExpress" has text prediction/autocompletion for a decade: https://www.phraseexpress.com/features/autocomplete/
It can also import and learn from your Word documents or emails sent with Outlook. PhraseExpress can scan these sources for repetitive text and suggest them when you start to type the beginning of a text.
Alfred does a lot more than just launching apps though. It's really worth it, especially if you get the Power Pack
Like u/banelicious, I keep my dock empty except for open apps and Alfred really boosts my productivity.
Before you go learning the keyboard shortcuts, I highly recommend you look into these apps and fit your own keyboard combos into the learning curve:
I switched to a Mac specifically just for these two apps, they’re that good. Biggest thing I can recommend with BTT is to set a 3 finger click for the middle mouse button, and a 4 finger click to close a window, and a 4 finger force click to quit an application.
Didn't work for me but this worked:
What u/anthoj said (on another thread) is the solution: go download Alfred, pay for the power pack, and install this workflow: https://www.alfredapp.com/blog/guides-and-tutorials/google-drive-workflow/
Works perfectly for me. Obviously sucks to have to use a third party app but I'm just sooo happy that I can find my stuff again!!!
Same problem, what u/anthoj said is the solution: go download Alfred, pay for the power pack, and install this workflow: https://www.alfredapp.com/blog/guides-and-tutorials/google-drive-workflow/
Works perfectly for me. Obviously sucks to have to use a third party app but I'm just sooo happy that I can find my stuff again!!!
Look into Ditto It's clipboard manger where you can save clips and by double clicking on them it will paste them into what ever field has focus. For example, I have clips of my name, address, phone number etc, and when filling out an online job application I click on the field and then double click the appropriate clip and it pastes it for me.
Maybe not exactly what you have in mind, but try a clipboard manager, like Ditto
A clipboard manager basically remembers everything you've copied into your clipboard. Instead of pasting what is currently in your clipboard, you just hit a special key combo and select from a menu, which item you want to paste instead.
Windows 10 has such a clipboard history built in (activated with Win + V), but I recommend Ditto, because:
- You can make your clips sticky, so that Ditto never forgets them
- You can organize clips into groups/folders (basically your "phrase bank")
- When the selection menu is open, just start typing to search for specific clips
- Can assign keyboard shortcuts to individual clips (useful for pasting most used clips directly, without going into the menu)
There might be other solutions, but I recently had the same question and because I use Alfred I was looking for a potential solution that would allow me to call shortcuts via Alfred. I found this ( lukdiekm/alfred-shortcuts) Alfred workflow and had success with it.
If you use Alfred (would recommend, it's Spotlight but supercharged), there's a Google Drive workaround that maintains it's own index and gives you similar behaviour and functionality: https://www.alfredapp.com/blog/guides-and-tutorials/google-drive-workflow/
tmux, vim, learning shortcuts, Alfred & Dash (Mac OSX)
For web development, I spend a lot of time running different servers and processes in the terminal. Really amped up my efficiency when I started using tmux to keep them all in different panes and windows and learned the shortcuts to navigate between them.
Then I added vim so that my code was right alongside it all and wow. Vim folks tend to be a bit fanatical about it, but freeing myself from the mouse was the best thing I ever did for efficiency.
Followed it up with Alfred so that now I just open everything with keywords.
Now I only use the mouse when I'm in the web browser.
That sounds like an interesting workflow.
Alfred includes support for clipboard merging. On the plus side, this functionality is shrink-wrapped and ready to go. Having to use a different keyboard shortcut may become frustrating, however. (I could see myself reverting to old habits.)
If you know a little SQL you can dig out (and dump) the contents of the regular Alfred clipboard history. (The clipboard history is stored in an sqlite database.) This approach would not require the use of a different keyboard shortcut. I use Alfred workflows to manipulate its own clipboard history this way.
You're looking for the built-in Amazon Suggest and Google Suggest workflows. Here's how you can install them (they require a Powerpack license) :)
Alfred "plugins" are called "workflows". Docs are here: https://www.alfredapp.com/help/workflows/
But I never needed to read them because the wysiwyg system is so intuitive that you just know what to do (maybe once for a complex workflow I had to check the script's output format & json schema).
Do yourself a favour and get Alfred. It's got a clipboard and snippet history feature, among lots of other things. It's one of the few apps I pay for, one of the first I install. It seriously makes you more productive. https://www.alfredapp.com/