SuperClip is a SHAREWARE program that expands the capabilities of the clipboard by allowing you to do multiple cuts or copies from any program and save these clips in a file. You can also paste from the file directly into your program in the original order or in any order you choose. SuperClip is like having an unlimited number of clipboards to which you can cut or paste to. The real beauty of SuperClip is that it operates in the background and you never have to leave your application to use it. The program offers full support of all functions using keyboard equivalents. More details of the usefulness of SuperClip are given below.
Please feel free to copy SuperClip and distribute it as you wish. It is SHAREWARE, and if you use the program, please send $19 to me for my efforts. I am just an independent programmer trying to make a living, not a big corporation and would appreciate your support. Please note that I can no longer support problems with SuperClip. Please make sure that the program works well for you before registering.
Please Send a $19(US) check payable to:
Kishore Tipirneni
P.O. Box 12233
Glendale, AZ 85318-2233
USA
NEW FOR VERSION 1.7.0 / 1.7.6:
If you have never used SuperClip before, you can skip this section and go to the next section on uses & features. SuperClip version 1.7.0 offers many upgraded features over previous versions of SuperClip.
• Upgraded file window (now called the SuperClip Viewer) with more information about items.
• Ability to assign a name to each item in a file.
• Ability to copy and view Quicktime™ movies in their entirety.
• Ability to customize functions for each application.
• Upgraded menu with popup menu of recently used files.
• Better customization of keyboard equivalents.
• Ability to control how much memory to allocate for the program.
• More detailed instructions.
SuperClip 1.7.5 offers popup menus for the SC Paste, SC Duplicate, and Open SC Master menu options. These menus allow you to paste or duplicate items from these files instantly. See Popup Menus below for more information. Version 1.7.6 fixes a bug that cause a crash immediately after startup on some computers.
To upgrade to this version of SuperClip from a previous version, just replace your old file in the Extensions folder with the new one and restart. The program will automatically update your files. If you are already a registered user of SuperClip, you should not need to reenter your program number or registration code since they will be updated automatically. If your prefs file becomes damaged or lost, you may enter the old program number and registration code from your registration receipt under the registration section of the program to enable it. Please make sure to read the rest of the instruction here before using the program. You will find that other features of the program have changed.
USES & FEATURES:
1) SuperClip makes data transfer between applications and documents easier. Before SuperClip, if you wanted to transfer multiple data between applications, you first had to cut or copy the item from the first application and then switch to the next application and then paste it. You had to then repeat this process for every item you wanted to transfer. With SuperClip, you can do multiple copies or cuts of the items you want to transfer from your first application and save them automatically into a SuperClip file and when you are ready, switch to the other application and paste them in any order you wish. All of this data transfer is done in the background and there is no need to switch out of your application.
2) Save commonly used items in the SC master file for easy access. SuperClip allows you to save commonly used text, pictures, or anything that can be copied to the clipboard to be instantly at your fingertips. For example, if you use certain addresses commonly while writing a letter, or if you are a graphic designer and use certain graphic symbols commonly, you can save all of these item to the SC master file and paste them into your document without ever leaving it. SuperClip allows you to define a keyboard equivalent for each item in this file that when pressed, the item will automatically be pasted into your document.
3) Convenient method of quickly capturing information for later retrieval. For example, if you are scrolling through a document and find certain phrases you want to save for later, or if you are on a bulletin board service where you get screenfuls of information at a time that you want to save to read later, you can save these item to a SuperClip file with one keypress or mouse selection, and when you are ready, you can paste them into a word processor or any other application to review at a later time.
4) You may find other great uses for SuperClip. Basically, any information that can be copied to the clipboard can be saved in a SuperClip file. It makes the Scrapbook obsolete.
DISCLAIMER:
SuperClip is a very useful and tested program, but I can not take any responsibility for any accidental damage or loss of information caused from using the program. By using this program your agree to release me of any and all liability caused from using the program. Use it at your own risk. Please read all of the following instructions about how to use the program before you try it. I know that the instructions are fairly technical due to the complex nature of the program. I have tried to explain the functions of SuperClip in as much plain English as possible. But the best way to learn how SuperClip works is the same as for any program -- from the use of it. Please experiment with it.
INSTALLING SuperClip:
To install SuperClip, all you have to do is drag the program into the System Folder on your startup disk. It will be placed into the Extensions folder by the Finder. The program requires System 7.0 or later. Once placed in the Extensions Folder, restart your computer and you will see the SuperClip startup icon when the program is loaded. The first time you run the program you will see a window informing you of possible warning from any virus protection program you may be running. SuperClip uses the font Times for its windows. Make sure you have this font installed when using the program or windows will not appear correctly.
THE SuperClip FOLDER:
When you run SuperClip for the first time, a new folder named "SuperClip Folder" is placed in the first level of your System Folder. This folder contains all of the necessary files to use the program. Do not move this folder to another location, or the program will not run properly. Inside this folder are other files which should not be moved as well.
• SC default - this file is always the active file after startup.
• SC master - this file is where you can paste commonly used items that you can
define a keyboard equivalents for (more about the master file later).
• SuperClip prefs - the preferences file.
• SuperClip movie data folder - this folder contains the information for any
Quicktime moves you may have pasted (more about this under "Movies").
• SuperClip instructions - this instructions file.
If you are upgrading from a previous version of SuperClip, your old files will automatically be moved into this folder.
USING SuperClip:
The SuperClip menu appears as a scissors icon at the right side of the menu bar.
As a general description, SuperClip takes what is in the clipboard and places it into the currently open SuperClip file. This file is always “SC default” immediately after startup, but you can use another SuperClip file or create a new one using New SC file or Open SC file from the menu. If SuperClip can’t find the SC default file, it will make a new empty file named SC default in the SuperClip Folder. You may lock a SuperClip data file, but obviously you will not be able to save to it. Also, the program can’t be run from a write-protected disk.
THE SuperClip MENU:
SC Cut:
This menu choice causes your application to cut whatever the selected item is and place it on the clipboard and then SuperClip copies it from there into the currently open SuperClip file. Note that SuperClip doesn’t actually check whether you have anything highlighted in your application. If you choose SC Cut or SC Copy with no item highlighted, the current contents of the clipboard will be placed into the SuperClip data file. This later method is useful for those programs that don’t convert all their scrap information unless they are quit. In such applications you may see a notice that says “Save large clipboard.” If you choose yes, you can use this method to transfer the clipboard to the SuperClip file. When an item is successfully being transferred to the data file, you will see the menu icon perform a cutting action and hear the scissors sound.
SC Copy:
This is the same as SC Cut except the selected item is copied rather than cut.
SC Paste:
This menu choice causes SuperClip to REMOVE the next item from the SuperClip file and place it into the clipboard and then paste it from there into your application’s document. When something is being successfully transferred to the clipboard, you will see the menu icon change to the “clipboard” icon.
SC Duplicate:
This is the same as SC Paste except that the item is not removed from the SC file.
New SC file:
This allows you to create a new empty SuperClip file.
Open SC file:
This allows you to open an existing SuperClip file and make it the file for subsequent cutting and pasting. The pop-up menu displayed will show all of the SuperClip files that you have open since startup (up to 10). You may choose one of these or may choose "other..." to open a different file.
Open SC Master file:
This item allows instant access to the SC master file.
(Current SC file):
This menu selection displays the name of the current SuperClip file. If it is selected, it will open the SuperClip Viewer application that allows you to view SuperClip files (explained below). If the SuperClip Viewer is currently showing, this item will have a checkmark next to it. If this item is selected while the Viewer is open, it will bring the Viewer window to the front.
(Application)... menu item:
This menu item will display the currently running application. Selecting this item will display the customization dialog box for that application that allows you to customize SuperClip for that application. Customizing for each application is explained below.
Settings...:
This menu selection brings up the SuperClip settings window. Explanations for each item are given below.
 
Last in first out & First in first out:
These menu selections determine in which order items from a SuperClip file are pasted. In last in first out order (LIFO) the last item cut will be the first to be pasted such as in a “stack.” This means that if the SuperClip Viewer is not open, the last item in the file will be pasted. If the Viewer is open, the currently showing item will be pasted and the pointer will be moved toward the beginning of the file. In first in first out order, the first item in the file will be pasted if the Viewer is not open or the current item will be pasted if the Viewer is open then the pointer will be moved toward the end of the file. To paste items in any order you wish, keep the SuperClip Viewer open. The currently showing item in the SuperClip Viewer will always be the next one to be pasted.
Sounds:
There are four sounds in SuperClip, the cut sound, paste sound, the keyboard accepted sound, and the keyboard rejected sound. The cut sound is played when ever something has been successfully placed into the SuperClip data file. The paste sound is played whenever the current contents of the clipboard are replaced by something from the data file. The keyboard accepted sound is played when a keyboard equivalent is entered, and the keyboard rejected sound is played when a keyboard extension is not entered correctly (more about keyboard equivalents and extensions later) or when attempting to paste from an empty file.
Clear SC default file on startup:
With this option enabled, the “SC default” file will be erased each time you restart so that you may have an empty file. WARNING: this option erases all previous information in this file.
Allow multiple copies of same item:
This option allows you to copy the same item from the clipboard multiple times to your SuperClip file. If this option is off, SuperClip will first see if the item in the clipboard is the same as the one previously copied, and if it is, it will not be copied. This is useful to make sure that you don’t inadvertently get multiple copies of the same item.
Copy All Movie data:
If this item is selected, when copying QuickTime‚Ñ¢ movies, all move data will be copied into the SuperClip file. More about this later under "Movies".
Memory:
The minimum amount of memory that SuperClip can run with is 256K. If you are getting frequent memory errors while using SuperClip functions, you may elect to increase this amount up to a max of 8 Megs. Any changes you make will not take effect until you restart the computer.
Keyboard . . .:
This button allows you to change the keyboard equivalents for the SuperClip menu items. SuperClip keyboard equivalents are explained below.
Registration:
This item in the About SuperClip window allows you to enter a registration number or print a registration form for SuperClip.
POPUP MENUS:
Popup menus are new with version 1.7.5 of SuperClip. They allow you instant access to the items in the currently active SuperClip file and the SC master file. There are four popup menus under the main SuperClip menu which are for the SC Paste, SC Duplicate, Open SC file, and Open SC Master file items. The menus for the SC Paste and SC Duplicate items list the first 256 names of the clips in the currently active SuperClip file (you can change the name of a clip item from the SuperClip Viewer by clicking on the information area). By choosing one of these items, you can instantly paste or duplicate any item in the file. The popup menu for the Open SC Master file lists the clips that are contained in the SC Master file. Choosing one of these items will duplicate that particular file item. The popup menu for the Open SC file item lists the last 10 recently opened SuperClip files to open. Note that in SuperClip you can also choose the menu items that have a popup menu attached. For example, choosing Open SC file will allow you to open a SuperClip file that is not listed in the popupmenu.
THE SuperClip VIEWER:
 
The SuperClip Viewer is a way to see what information is actually contained in a SuperClip file. It is similar to the scrapbook window and gives you a horizontal scroll bar to move through the different items that are in the file. The Viewer has a display section on top, an information section on the bottom, and a buttons section in the middle. There are four buttons at the left of the buttons sections. These are the clear button, the keyboard button, the insert before button, and the insert after button. The clear button deletes the currently displayed item from the SuperClip file. The "KBD" or keyboard button is only active when the SC master file is open. Selecting this button allows you to define a keyboard equivalent for the currently displayed item. If the SuperClip Viewer is open, SuperClip will only paste to or cut from the current location showing in the window. The insert before and after buttons determine whether to put the next copied item in the SuperClip file before or after the currently displayed item. With the insert before button selected the next item will be placed immediately before the currently pictured item. With the insert after button selected (as shown above) the next item will be placed immediately after the currently pictured item. If the Viewer is not open, the next item will be placed at the end of the file. With the Viewer open, the next paste command will remove and paste the currently showing item. This feature is useful if you want to cut to or paste from the middle of a SuperClip file. You can leave the Viewer open but in the background to see what the next pasted item will be or to see what was just cut or copied.
The buttons on the right side of the window show what type of data is contained in the current item. For example, the item shown above contains a "moov" (A QuickTime‚Ñ¢ movie) and a "PICT" (a picture). SuperClip has the ability to display four types of data: "TEXT" (text data), "PICT" (a picture), "moov" (a QuickTime‚Ñ¢ movie), or "snd " a sound. Other information that is contained in the item will also be listed in the buttons, but the buttons will be disabled. Anytime something is pasted though, SuperClip will transfer all the types of information in the item regardless of what is actually displayed in the window.
The information area of the window displays the name of the item, from which application the data was copied, the total length of the data in bytes, and the date an time the information was copied. It also contains other information depending on what item is being displayed in the display window. If the SC master file is open and a keyboard equivalent has been defined for the currently displayed item, the equivalent is also displayed here.
Clicking on the information area will bring up a dialog box that allows you to name the currently displayed item.
NOTE: The SuperClip Viewer will not be available when the Finder is not running. For example, if you use the program At Ease‚Ñ¢, that loads instead of the Finder at startup, the Viewer will not be available until you ask At Ease‚Ñ¢ to switch you to the Finder. This also holds true for this Instructions file.
THE SC MASTER FILE:
The SC master file may be used just like any other SuperClip file, but has some added features. It is created automatically by SuperClip and is located in the SuperClip Folder. Each item that is stored in this file can have its own keyboard equivalent. For example, if you store your address as the first item in this file and give this item the keyboard equivalent of command-M, then every time you press command-M, your address will be pasted automatically into the currently open document. This file need not be the currently active SuperClip file for this to occur. You can change the contents of this file by opening it and then cutting or pasting to it. To assign a keyboard equivalent for any item click on the "KBD" button at the bottom of the screen. The maximum number of items in the master file is 100. There is no maximum number for other SuperClip files.
KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS AND EXTENSIONS:
SuperClip allows you to assign keyboard equivalents for all menu functions and SC master file items. A keyboard equivalent is a keypress that consists of pressing the command (open-apple) key while pressing a letter key. You can also define keyboard equivalents using other keys. For example, the default keyboard equivalent for SC Copy is command-shift-C. This means that if you hold down the command and shift keys and then press the letter C, SuperClip will perform the SC Copy function. You can define any combination of command,shift, and control keys for any keyboard equivalent. The option key can not be used in defining equivalents because it is used for other purposes. Warning: any keyboard equivalent that you define for SuperClip will not be available for other applications. Keyboard equivalent extensions are just that, up to four character extensions for each keyboard equivalent. For example, if you define you keyboard equivalent for item number two in the SC master file to be command-option-M extension 2, then if you press the M key while holding down the command and option keys, SuperClip will then display a dialog box asking you for the extension. If you the enter 2, SuperClip will automatically paste item number 2 from the SC master file. The usefulness of extensions is with the SC master file. You could for example define all the items in this file to have the same keyboard equivalent with different numbered extensions depending on the item number. In this way, you don’t have to remember a 100 keyboard equivalents. When you incorrectly enter an extension, SuperClip will play the keyboard rejected sound.
HOW CLIPBOARD DATA WORKS:
There are two general classes of clipboard data or “scrap” data which is how it is referred to by programmers. The two classes are called local scrap and global scrap. The global scrap is the only kind that can be transferred between applications and subsequently, between your application and SuperClip. There are some programs that use only global scrap and therefore, anything and everything that is cut or copied is available to SuperClip. One such program is the Finder. Most programs use local scrap which means that if they want to share this information with other programs, they must convert this local scrap to global scrap. This in fact is what is done when, for example, you cut something from an application that uses local scrap and paste it into the scrapbook. At the moment you switch from the application to the scrapbook by making it active by clicking on it, the Finder sends a message to the application that it must convert its local scrap to global scrap. There are two ways it can do this. The first is called process switching where the Finder deactivates the application and send it to the background which causes it to convert its local scrap to global scrap. This is effective, but it is a nuisance since it takes a lot of time and causes the windows of the application to go into the background. The second method is by sending the application a suspend message. Only newer applications can respond to a suspend message. This message also causes the local scrap to be converted to global scrap, but takes much less time and is more convenient. SuperClip can employ any of these methods for obtaining scrap information and you can change the way SuperClip obtains this information for any particular application. Also, SuperClip remembers how you want this done for each application and will use this method the next time you use your computer.
CUSTOMIZING SuperClip FOR EACH APPLICATION:
Customizing SuperClip for applications is a fairly technical process and should not be done unless you know what you are doing or absolutely have to. Most applications will not need to be customized. Selecting the (application)... menu item from the SuperClip menu brings up the customization dialog.
 
Changing the scrap conversion method:
As explained before, SuperClip can use three different methods for getting a program to convert its local scrap to global scrap. None means that SuperClip will not do any scrap conversion. This is the most desirable, but it won’t work with programs that use local scrap. Suspend means suspend conversion where SuperClip will send the application a suspend message to convert scrap. Not all programs can accept suspend messages, but SuperClip can tell which ones can. For those programs that can accept suspend messages and use local scrap, Suspend is the most desirable method. Process means process conversion where SuperClip will shift the application into the background to cause it to convert its scrap. This is the least desirable, but you will only need to use it on older programs that both don’t accept suspend messages and use local scrap. As a general rule for each application, try using None first, if that doesn’t seem to work, try Suspend if its available. Use Process only as a last resort.
Defining Custom Operations:
When SuperClip is copying from an application or pasting to an application, SuperClip issues a copy or paste command to that application and then waits a certain amount of time (cycles) for the application to finish that command before issuing the next command. If you notice that for any particular application that copying or pasting functions are not being performed correctly it may be because SuperClip is not giving the application enough time to copy the item to the clipboard. You can increase the time that SuperClip gives for each specific application for either copying or pasting function by increasing the number of cycles to wait. You can increase this number to up to 8 cycles. Some programs require a very large amount of time to copy an item into the clipboard. These programs typically put up a window to show the progress of a copy command. If the check for window change box is checked, SuperClip will check to see if the window that was the frontmost when a SC Copy (or Cut) command was issued is still the same one that is the frontmost when SuperClip is ready to copy the contents of the clipboard to the SuperClip file. If it is not, SuperClip assumes that the program is still in the process of copying the selection and will wait for the application to remove the new window before transferring the contents of the clipboard. During this period of time, the SuperClip menu icon will change to the SuperClip wait icon (scissors with a watch on top). If for some reason, this icon stays as the menu icon even when SuperClip shouldn't be in the process of copying, click on the SuperClip menu and the last copy function will be cleared.
When SuperClip asks an application to copy or paste something it does this by using keyboard equivalents. For example, a command-C keyboard equivalent is sent to the application when SuperClip asks the program to copy the currently selected item. You can change the way that SuperClip sends these methods by defining a custom method for either copying or pasting. Clicking on the Define Custom button brings up the following dialog box.
 
Lets say for example that you are using the Microsoft Word® and you want SuperClip to perform a "Paste Special" function instead of a regular "Paste" function. You can accomplish this one of two ways. First you and define a keyboard equivalent for the "Paste Special" function in your Word application itself and then tell SuperClip to use the keyboard command you just defined when pasting to this application. The second method is by clicking on the "Use menu selection" item and then clicking in the menu definition box. Clicking in this box will bring up all of the available menu item in the currently running application. In the Microsoft Word example, you can choose "Paste Special" from the "Edit" menu. NOTE: To use a custom definition you must have the option key pressed while issuing the SuperClip command. For example, if you wanted to paste to Microsoft Word by using the custom definition we defined above you can either press command-shift-option-V or hold down the option key while choosing SC Paste from the SuperClip menu. Custom definitions are only available while holding down the option key.
MOVIES:
SuperClip now allows you to copy, paste, and view QuickTime‚Ñ¢ movies. Obviously, QuickTime‚Ñ¢ must be loaded at startup to use these functions. The resource type for a movie is "moov"; if you see this displayed as one of the button for an item in the SuperClip Viewer, that item contains a movie. Normally when movies are copied onto the clipboard on the Macintosh, only the references to the movie are copied. The actual data for the movie remains in your hard drive. This is done because movies are generally extremely large files, and this is an attempt to transfer only what data is essential. Because of this, if you copy a movie to a SuperClip file and move this file to another machine that does not contain the data to which the movie refers to, you will not be able to display the movie. SuperClip allows you to copy all movie data (including that on the disk) into the SuperClip file so that there are no outside references. In this way, any file that is copied into SuperClip is self-contained. To enable this option, check the "Copy all movie data" box under the settings section of SuperClip. Warning: this type of data transfer requires a large amount of memory and hard drive space. SuperClip keeps all this data in the SuperClip file under the Resource type "SCdt"'; if you see this displayed as one of the button for an item in the SuperClip Viewer, that item contains a movie with all of its data. When pasting a self-contained movie, SuperClip needs to save the movie data into a movie file on the hard drive. It places this file in the SuperClip Movies folder in the SuperClip Folder. The file is named according to the name of the current item and the time at which it was pasted. These files typically take up large amounts of hard disk space and you should periodically remove files which you don't need.
When copying or pasting movies, two other icons may be displayed instead of the normal scissors icon for the SuperClip menu. The get movie icon (down arrow with a movie underneath) is displayed when a movie is currently being copied to a SuperClip file. The release movie icon (up arrow with a movie underneath) is displayed when a movie is being pasted from a SuperClip to the clipboard, or when you are in the SuperClip Viewer and wish to view a movie.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
If you have trouble pasting to or copying from any particular application you may try increasing the wait time for that application or change the scrap conversion method (see Customizing SuperClip for applications above).
The three most common general reasons for problems while using SuperClip are either a lack of memory, incompatibility with other extensions or control panels, or damage to either the data file or SuperClip prefs file. Try quitting an application if you are getting frequent memory errors. You may want to use an extension manager if other extensions or control panels seem to be conflicting with SuperClip.
If these methods don’t work and you are still experiencing problems even after restarting, move the SuperClip Folder out of the System Folder and restart. SuperClip will create a new SuperClip Folder with all new files. Then try replacing these new files with your old files. If you replace your Prefs file in this fashion, you will have to restart again to be able to open the SuperClip Viewer. If you do replace your prefs file remember that your old preferences will be erased.
•If you are getting frequent memory errors, try increasing the amount of memory available for SuperClip from the Settings window. If you get memory errors while using the SuperClip Viewer, increase its memory size by using the Get Info option from the Finder.
•If SuperClip gets stuck while trying to cut or copy something in any particular application with the menu icon as the "clock" icon, uncheck the "check for window change" box in the preferences for that application.
•If your computer locks while trying to copy something, try turning the sounds off under the Settings.
SPECIAL OFFER:
Please try my other shareware program Just a Reminder. It is a control panel that allows you to save messages for yourself and displays them when the time arrives. It is very useful for remembering birthdays or other special occations or events. You can even have the messages repeat from any interval from minutes to years. You can register for both SuperClip and Just a Reminder for $20(US). Just send one registration form and indicate that you are registering for both. Previous registrants of SuperClip can use Just a Reminder for free. Enter your SuperClip program number and registration code under the registration section for Just a Reminder and your program will be registered.
ON THE HORIZON:
Future versions of SuperClip will have the ability to view multiple items at once and also the ability to search through SuperClip files using multiple criteria. Any SuperClip user may upgrade to any version 1.x.x of SuperClip for free.
Version 1.7.6 is a fully enabled version that you may try free for 30 days. After that time, you should register your copy in order to keep the program from being deactivated.
That’s it! I hope you enjoy SuperClip and find it useful. Thanks to all the people on the MDV bulletin board on AOL for their help.
Special thanks to my wife Hiral for all of her support and understanding through long hours of programming time.
 
“Life is non-random complexity . . .
and living is the expression of life . . .” - KT
