Configuring QuickPaste Formatting Strings

Options and Configuration > Options Dialog > QuickPaste > Configuring QuickPaste Formatting Strings

Here is where you can configure the QuickPaste Formatting Strings, which are used to determine what keystrokes are sent to the target application during the QuickPaste operation. This section will show you how configure each component of the formatting string. There is another topic under the "Using QuickPaste Format Strings" section that talks about how to USE this feature.

The formatting strings are used to send special, or additional keys to the target application during QuickPaste. Most applications are happy pasting with the standard Ctrl+V key. But some applications, particularly older ones, prefer Shift+Insert, or will only behave properly if the pasting is done via the Edit | Paste menu. So some special handling is needed in some cases. Since we had to build that mechanism, we decided to allow for just about anything to be keyed into the application, either before or after the paste takes place. This may seem rather odd, but we've had quite a few requests for some very odd things to be added to ClipMate, and this will take care of many of them rather nicely.

In the graphic above, you see the various components of the QuickPaste Format String. Here are the components and their purposes:

Title

Just a title, to show the meaning of the special formatting instructions.

Preamble

Text to be inserted before the clip is pasted. ex:

•	Here is a nice clip: {TAB}

•	Paste Keystrokes

•	Keys used for pasting into the target app.

•	Typical Keys:

•	Ctrl+V: ^V

•	Shift+Insert: ~{INSERT}

•	Edit + Paste Menu: @e#PAUSE#p

Postamble

Text to be inserted after the clip has been pasted.

Title Trigger

This can be used to invoke a particular format to be used with a particular application.

Use application names or other strings that appear in the title of the target application, to trigger the use of a specific format.

For example, if you always use a specific format with "Notepad", then you can put Notepad in this field.

Meta Characters and Macros

There are many special keys and expandable macros used by the "sendkeys" processor.

^	Ctrl (control) key. As in ^c for Ctrl+C
~	Shift key. As in ~{INSERT} for Shift+INSERT
@	Alt key. As in @e for Alt+E (often invokes Edit menu)
{TAB}	Tab key. Just as if you typed the TAB key on the keyboard.
{ENTER}	Enter key.
#DATE#	Date of clip capture.
#TIME#	Time of clip capture.
#CURRENTDATE#	The current date.
#CURRENTTIME#	The current time.
#URL#	The Source URL of the clip.
#CREATOR#	The application that created the clip.
#TITLE#	Clip Title.
#PAUSE#	10ms pause.
#SEQUENCE#	A numeric sequence.
Any Literal a..z, A..Z, 0..9, space.	Any other text that you need.

Examples

•	To place the title of a clip on a line before the clip itself, enter a preamble of: #TITLE#{ENTER}

•	To cause the pasting to be done with the Edit \| Paste menu, use a Paste Keystrokes of: @e p. Optionally, use a #PAUSE# to slow it down, as in @e#PAUSE#p.

•	To display the source URL after a clip is pasted, use a postamble such as: Found on the WWW at: #URL#{ENTER}.