This is the users manual for ClipAppend. It contains instructions on how, why, and when to use ClipAppend. See the "Read Me" file for information on system requirements, legal information, version history, my other programs, how to contact me, and other useful information.
Contents
•What is ClipAppend?
•Installing ClipAppend
•How to use ClipAppend
•ClipAppend Options
•Why to use ClipAppend
•When to use ClipAppend
•Compatibility
•Questions and Answers
•Appendix A: What is the clipboard?
•Appendix B: Styled text
What is ClipAppend?
ClipAppend is a simple control panel that extends the normal functionality of cutting and copying text to the Macintosh clipboard. Usually, when you cut or copy something to the clipboard, you replace whatever is stored there. But with ClipAppend installed, you can add text to the clipboard instead of replacing text.
Installing ClipAppend
To install ClipAppend, drag it into the Control Panels folder of your System Folder then restart your computer.
How to use ClipAppend
ClipAppend is very easy to use. Basically, when the caps lock key is down, copy and cut add selected text to the clipboard. When the caps lock key isn't down, copy and cut replace the contents of the clipboard with the selected text (as usual).
Here's an example. Let's say you have the following three lines of text:
This is a line of text.
This is another line of text.
Yet more text.
Let's say you want to copy the first and third lines and paste them somewhere else. With ClipAppend installed, you would simply copy the first line as usual. Then press the caps lock key. Then copy the third line. Since the caps lock key is down, this third line will be added to the clipboard. Now go to where you want to put the text and select paste. Here is the result:
This is a line of text.
Yet more text.
The third line was added to the first. If you kept the caps lock key down and then copied more text, it would also be added to the clipboard. All your copies and cuts would continue to be added together until you turned off the caps lock key.
ClipAppend Options
There are only a few options for ClipAppend. You can set these options in the control panel:
• You can turn ClipAppend on and off. This allows you to disable or enable ClipAppend without having to use the Extensions Manager and without having to restart your computer.
• You can tell ClipAppend whether or not it should display an icon when your computer is starting up. This can be useful since the icon will have a red X through it if something goes wrong while ClipAppend is being initialized.
• You can tell ClipAppend whether or not it should try to append style information along with raw text. For more information, see Appendix B.
• You can tell ClipAppend whether to add text to the end of the clipboard or the beginning of the clipboard.
If you get lost in the control panel for some reason, turn on balloon help. Then point to the item you're having trouble with and the balloon will tell you what it does.
Why to use ClipAppend
As someone who programs and also writes HTML, I find ClipAppend quite useful. I got the idea originally from my frequent frustration at having to copy disjoint information into a single location. In the case of programming, I'd write a few functions and then want to copy the function definitions to the top of the file to use as prototypes. In the case of HTML, I'd make a web page with several sections and then want to copy each section heading into a table of contents at the top of the page.
Without ClipAppend, I'd have to copy and paste each thing individually, going back and forth between the top of the document and the places I was copying from. But with ClipAppend, I only have to copy each thing and do one big paste. It's a simple and small enhancement, but it saves quite a bit on repetitive tasks like that.
So that's why I wrote ClipAppend and how I use it. I would not be at all suprised, however, if there are many other uses for ClipAppend.
I think appending stuff to the clipboard should be part of the Mac system itself. But since it isn't, ClipAppend is the next best thing. It would not be hard for a text application to implement copy-append and cut-append functions. Perhaps in the future, applications will start doing this and there won't be any need for ClipAppend. BBEdit, a wonderful text editor from Bare Bones Software, already does it.
When to use ClipAppend
ClipAppend is designed primarily for text editing. This is different from word processing. Word processors include a lot of format and style information with their text. Text editors, on the other hand, provide only minimal style and format information and are meant for work with raw, unformatted text. People use text editors to write programs, write email, write HTML, process raw data, write scripts, make little notes, and do very simple word processing.
ClipAppend only works with text and rudimentary style information. Because of that, it isn't very useful in a word processing environment. In fact, since many word processors don't even use the standard Mac "desk scrap" when cutting and copying (see Appendix A), ClipAppend won't work with them at all (instead you will just have the same old copying and cutting functionality you had before ClipAppend).
If you try to use ClipAppend with a program that includes complex style and format information, and that program does use the "desk scrap," you may get unexpected results. This is because ClipAppend will leave things that it doesn't understand alone. Format information, for example, will not be appended when text is appended. Therefore, when you paste everything back, you will get all of the copied text but only the last of the copied formats. See Appendix B for more information on styles.
Because of these limitations, I've decided to make ClipAppend free!
Compatibility
ClipAppend has not been tested extensively so, as is explained in more detail in the "Read Me" file, you should use this program at your own risk. ClipAppend may produce unexpected results in some circumstances. However, since it simply ignores things it doesn't understand, it shouldn't crash much. It hasn't crashed yet on my machine and I've been using it for a while. It's been tested on a KanjiTalk PowerMac running System 7.5.5 with multiple extensions, including CopyPaste, and it works fine. But if it does crash, of course, please let me know and I'll try to fix it in future versions.
If you want more clipboard functionality than ClipAppend provides, you should try the wonderful extension CopyPaste by Peter Hoerster.
ClipAppend and CopyPaste don't conflict with one another and are semi-compatible. That is, you can install both of them just fine. As long as the caps lock key isn't pressed, CopyPaste will function normally. If the caps lock key is pressed, then as long as you append text to only one clipboard at a time, everything should work as expected. However, you may run into problems if you try to append to several different clipboards all in a row. In that case, ClipAppend has a hard time figuring out which clipboard you're appending text to.
ClipAppend produces some interesting results when you use CopyPaste utilities. Basically, if the caps lock key is down and you choose a utility that alters the clipboard, the alteration will be appended to the clipboard, retaining the original. Kind of cool!
Questions and Answers
I'm using XYZ program and I can't append text. What's wrong?
Many programs don't use the standard "desk scrap" for cutting, copying, and pasting. ClipAppend won't work with these programs. See Appendix A for more information.
I appended some bold face text and when I pasted it back, the bold face was gone. What's the matter?
ClipAppend only appends standard Macintosh style information and only then if the "Append Style Info" box is checked in the control panel. Many programs use their own style formats which ClipAppend doesn't understand. See the section "When to use ClipAppend" for information about ClipAppend's intended uses. See Appendix B for more information about styles.
I tried to use ClipAppend but my computer crashed. What's the problem?
You probably found a bug. I'd appreciate hearing about it so that I can try to fix it in future versions. See the "Read Me" file for information on how to contact me.
Why can't I make ClipAppend use other keys besides the caps lock key?
I restricted use to the caps lock key for two main reasons. First, many programs use the other modifier keys (option, command, control, and shift) when making menu choices so holding down one of those while pressing command-C to copy would confuse them. Second, some programs screen out those keys when menu selections are made even if they don't actually use them. A less important reason is that it makes sense to use a "locking" key for ClipAppend since if you're appending multiple items from different places you don't have to keep pressing the key. There are two drawbacks to the caps lock key: First, sometimes it's easy to forget to unpress it when you're done appending. So remember to unpress it when you're done appending! Second, in some versions of WorldScript, e.g. with KanjiTalk, the caps lock key can (optionally) be used to switch script systems. If you are using multiple script systems, try using a different method to switch between them. Or don't use ClipAppend. I'll try to figure out a better solution for multi-script systems in the future.
Appendix A: What is the clipboard?
The clipboard is where things that you cut and copy are stored. When you paste something into a document, you are inserting what's in the clipboard. Any kind of data can be stored in the clipboard, including text, pictures, movies, formulas, sounds, and anything else.
The Macintosh has a system-wide clipboard, technically called the "desk scrap." This is an area of memory, either on disk or in RAM, where the contents of the clipboard are stored.
In addition, some applications use their own internal "scrap" for copying and pasting. This internal scrap is privately stored in a place specified by the application. When you switch into or out of such an application by choosing another application from the "application menu" or selecting another application's window, the original application puts a copy of its internal scrap into the system-wide desk scrap for other applications to use. Then, when you switch back, it copies the desk scrap back into its own internal scrap.
Many applications, including most text editors, write directly to and from the desk scrap and don't use internal scraps.
ClipAppend only works with the desk scrap, not with internal scraps. That's why, with some applications, text will not be appended, no matter how hard you push on the caps lock key.
Appendix B: Styled text
Text in the clipboard is stored separately from the text's "style" information. The text itself is just raw letters and numbers. Style information includes such things as whether or not the text is italicized, what size it is, what font is used, etc.
There are various ways to store style information. The standard way is to use the Macintosh's own standard style format, called 'styl.' The 'styl' information says what font, point size, typeface, color, and spacing applies to each letter of the raw text. The 'styl' format, however, is fairly limited, so many applications choose to store style information in their own way.
ClipAppend appends any raw text. In addition, if "Append Style Info" is on in the control panel, ClipAppend will append the standard 'styl' information. ClipAppend will not append other kinds of style information, simply because other formats are usually proprietary, or trade secrets, or simply not made available to the public.
Because of that, and because style information is stored seprately from text, there may be times when ClipAppend will append text but not be able to append style information. In those cases, when you paste the clipboard back into your work, it will use all the copied and appended text but only the last copied style. This can produce unexpected results since the style information might not line up correctly with the raw text. For example, the wrong words could be in boldface.
In general, it's best to use ClipAppend with text editing applications that don't use styles or only use minimal, standard, style information. SimpleText, for example, uses standard style information in the 'styl' format and ClipAppend works fine with SimpleText. Most email programs and all text editors use only minimal style information, if they use any at all, so ClipAppend should work fine with them.
"Apple," "Finder," "SimpleText," and "Macintosh" are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Other brand names and software titles mentioned in this file are trademarks of their respective owners.
