Using QuickPaste Format Strings

When QuickPaste sends data into the target application, it does so by placing data onto the system clipboard, and then sending some keystrokes to the application. Usually, Ctrl+V does just fine. But sometimes you find an application that works better if you use its own Edit menu, or you may find an older application that uses Shift+Insert instead of Ctrl+V. So we added this capability to let you can control what keys are sent during pasting.

While we were at it, we added the capability to insert other items into the keystrokes. The ENTER and TAB keys, were natural additions. Looking over our past suggestions from users, we found that people sometimes need the date/time, source URL, and clip title as well.

So this feature was designed to let you configure QuickPaste to handle just about any pasting task. Do you need to key in some static text like "user name:" before every clip? How about pasting the Source URL after the clip? Or the title? Maybe some TABs and ENTER keys need to be pressed? Don't worry, the QuickPaste Format Strings can handle all of that.

Here is a look at the formatting strings that are typically available by default. You have a drop-down list attached to the QuickPaste Toolbar, and the titles of the formatting strings are visible. Select one, and it'll be used on the subsequent paste operation. The default entry, simply sends Ctrl+V to the application. Then you have Shift+Insert and the Edit Menu paste (sends Alt+E, then P) for applications that prefer those methods of invoking their paste function.

Then you have the fancy ones. Paste with an Enter, Paste with a Tab, and Paste with a timestamp. If you go to User Preferences | Pasting, you'll see that the Timestamp paste actually sends the regular Ctrl+V, then the ENTER key, then"Captured At:" and then the date/time of the original capture.

Then there is the capability to automatically select a particular format string based on the title of the application that you are pasting into. The "Excel Paste" is like that. Excel hates it when ClipMate sends Ctrl+V, but doesn't mind if you paste from the Edit | Paste menu. So the Excel Paste is set to look for "Excel" in the title of the "target application", and will be selected automatically if you paste into Excel.

You can add your own paste strings to handle just about any situation that you may have. See: QuickPaste Settings in the User Preferences section for information on how to configure the strings.

You can have "sequences" in the format string, to type numbers such as 1,2,3, into the target application. If you have selected a format string with the word "Sequence" in the description, then you can reset the sequence by right-clicking on the format list.

With version 7, you may wish to use Templates instead. They are simpler to use, but cannot perform any navigation inside the target application.