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====== AutoBook Clip Manager: User Manual ======

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**[[Start#download|  > Download here < ]]**\\
**100% free. No catch.**
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**Help & Support\\
⯈ [[https://autobook.logitope.com/doku.php?id=autobookfaq|FAQs]]**

**Our community\\
⯈ [[http://forum.logitope.com|AutoBook Forum]]**

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===== - Introduction =====

This user manual describes the Clip Manager module in Auto Book.

The Auto Book Clip Manager interconnects your clipboard with an infinite text repository and a flexible, powerful, extremely fast search function. It not only manages your session clips for later use but also keeps all previously clipped information available at your fingertips – for months, years and your whole life.

Whenever you press the hotkey (default: <q>CTRL</q> + <q>WIN</q> + <q>V</q>), the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] pops into the foreground. Double-click any clip or press <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Number</q> to **paste a clip into the last active application** (see [[#Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts]]).

To search, **simply start typing your terms** after you have pressed the hotkey – the results will show up in real-time.  All available options are detailed in Chapter [[#Searching]].

**[[#Scrolling|Scroll forward/backward]]** in the clip archive or in search results using the mouse wheel or <q>PgDn</q>/<q>PgUp</q> key.

**[[#Pinning Clips|Pin clips]]** to keep them at the top of the table until unpinned – they'll persist across restarts.

**[[#Pin Sets|Save and reload Pin Sets]]** for highly efficient, context-dependent information retrieval and pasting – a primary use case are collections of AI prompts for different applications.

**[[#Clip Searches|Save and rerun Clip Searches]]** for dynamic access to clips matching defined criteria – such as clips from last quarter tagged containing the term "PO" or code snippets tagged #Python.

**[[#Modes|Five switchable modes]]** allow adjusting the Clip Manager's behavior to your exact needs – and changing it conveniently via hotkeys whenever needed.

The Clip Manager offers numerous **[[#Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts]]** for an optimized user-experience. The logical concept makes memorization easy.

**Pasting clips** is as fast as it gets, with the Clip Preview popping to the foreground faster than the brain can process. The pasting operation to a 3rd application leverages the in-built system function and therefore works with the exact same speed as when pressing CTRL+V to paste the clipboard content.

To further streamline pasting, the Clip Preview remembers** two separate screen positions** – on the same or different monitors – and can be [[#Flipping the Gui|flipped between both positions]] by [[#Shortcuts for Gui and Scroll Operations|a hotkey]] to move the window out of the way should the target application happen to be covered by it.

Adjust the size of clip table between 1 and 25 rows by pressing <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>PgDn</q>/<q>PgUp</q> to fit your use case.

In the interest of a low memory footprint and real-time search ability, the Clip Manager only stores plain text without formatting. Images are ignored, but file paths are captured when a file on the local computer is copied.

Duplicates are automatically removed from the clip table before being displayed.

All your clip archive files are linefeed- and tab-separated plain text files. You will find these files in the folder [Auto Book program folder]\SystemData\Clips\, and you can access them with any text editor or spreadsheet application (but see important notes in section [[#Manually Editing Clip Files]]).

The Clip Manager uses a transactional, line-based [[#The Database|database concept]] that **minimizes disk usage**. Clip operations normally happen in-memory, and changes are only dumped to disk at predefined times. 

[{{:Clip-Preview.png?nolink&680|The [[#Scrolling|scrollable]] and [[#Adding and Removing Rows|expandable]] [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], here in the default configuration of 9 rows.}}]

====Use Case Examples===

  * Capture information such as names, email addresses, URLs, bank account numbers, birthdays.
  * Store email fragments or other text snippets for reuse, using the X search for quick retrieval.
  * Include user instructions and knowledge for future reference.
  * Include special symbols such Greek letters, foreign language characters, and emoticons and add keywords for easy access.
  * Use the clip archive as a life-research tool for recalling past events, trips, or research.
  * Store noteworthy chat comments or personal messages.
  * Collect code snippets for efficient insertion into your code when needed.
===== - Starting the Clip Manager =====

1) [[Start|Download]] Auto Book.\\
2) Create a directory for Auto Book wherever you like, and place autobook.zip into that directory.\\
3) Unzip autobook.zip in this folder.\\
4) Double-click autobook.exe.

The Clip Manager is activated by default.

No installation is required. You can run Auto Book from anywhere, including USB drives.

<WRAP Hide>
For a quick start to dive in AutoBook, have a look at our intro videos. Some were made with a previous AutoBook version, but the core functions are the same.
  * Introduction Video
  * Basic Operations
  * Search Functions
  * Advanced Searching
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===== - Basic Configuration=====

The basic settings for the Clip Manager are accessible on Auto Book's <q>Clip</q> tab.

==== - Activating/Deactivating the Clip Manager and Displaying Clips ====

To activate/deactivate the Clip Manager, check/uncheck the <q>Activate Clip Manager</q> checkbox.

To display your clip archive, click the <q>Show Clips</q> button or press the [[#Clip Preview Hotkey]].

==== - Capture Mode Checkbox ====

Toggle the [[#Capture Mode]] by switching the radio button between <q>Capture by Default</q> and <q>Capture only when using Alternative Hotkey</q>.

==== - Hotkeys ====

=== - Clip Preview Hotkey ===

The Clip Preview hotkey opens the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] with a list of previously captured clips. This is the main interface for interacting with the Clip Manager, allowing you to run searches, paste clips, load pin sets, and perform many other functions.

=== - Alternative Hotkey for copying to Clipboard ===

The Alternative Hotkey for copying to Clipboard has a different function depending on the selected Capture Mode. In the <q>Capture by default</q> mode, clips will be captured by default when pressing <q>CTRL</q>+<q>C</q> and will //not// be captured when pressing the Alternative Hotkey. In the Alternative Mode, clips will not be captured by default, but only when the Alternative Hotkey is pressed.

==== - Changing Hotkeys ====

To change any of the hotkeys, click into the field showing the key combination and press the desired new combination.

Hotkeys that already have a system-white function cannot be chosen.

If you want to include the Windows key in your combination, do //not// press it. Instead, check the <q>Win key</q> checkbox next to the hotkey field.

Once you have set your desired combination, click the <q>Save</q> button.

==== - Capture Limits ====

You can set limits for which clips are captured and stored in your clip archive. In the <q>Ignore Clips longer than (kB, 1-999)</q> field, set an upper limit in kB. It is recommended not to set this limit higher than necessary, as a high limit will result in the clip archive quickly growing in size if you're sometimes clipping large amounts of texts. 10kB may be reasonable for most use cases.

The <q>Ignore Clips shorter than (chars, 0-999)</q> field allows you to set a lower limit in number of characters. Keep this at the default setting of 1 if you don't have a reason to exclude short clips.

==== - Save clips to disk Checkbox ====

When the <q>Save clips to disk</q> checkbox is activated, all clips will be stored on your hard disk and remain available after Auto Book or the computer is restarted. If you deactivate this checkbox, all newly captured clips will remain in memory only for as long as Auto Book is running and will be discarded as soon as you shut down the application. To make full use of the Clip Manager's power, keep this checkbox activated.

==== - Rotational 2-path backup of all clips ====

When you activate the <q>Rotational 2-path backup of all clips</q> option, it means your critical clip files will be backed up regularly, based on the number of days you set.

⯈ How the backups work: Every time a backup is made, it’s saved in one of two paths (or locations).

⯈ Alternating between paths: After each backup, it switches between the two paths. So, for example, if the first backup is saved in Path 1, the second will go to Path 2, the third back to Path 1, and so on.

⯈ Old backups are preserved: After two backups (one in Path 1 and one in Path 2), the backup in Path 1 is overwritten. This means that for every two backup intervals, the system makes sure there is always a backup that is older than the set interval (the number of days you defined). This helps you "roll back" or recover from a backup that’s at least the chosen interval old, even if the most recent backup was just created.

In short: The system keeps two paths of backups, and after each two intervals, it replaces the older one, making sure you always have a backup that’s at least the interval length old.

==== - Operational Buttons ====

**Compact Clips:** This feature reduces the size of clips by removing unnecessary data, optimizing storage space. Compacting is automatically performed when a certain amount of overhead is detected, so you typically don't need to worry about it. However, //if you plan to manually edit the files in your clip archive folder// — for example, by deleting unwanted clips from the underlying text files — it is **absolutely mandatory** to compact the clips first. Then, shut down the Clip Manager (or Auto Book) while making edits and restart it only after you're done. Failure to do so may result in unintended loss of clips and other issues.

**Open Clip Folder:** Opens the folder where your clips are stored for manual access. Before editing any of the files, you must compact the clip archive (see note for [[#Compact Clips|compacting clips]].

**Delete All Clips:** Moves all clip files to the Recycle Bin. To permanently delete the clip files instead without using the Recycle bin, open the clip folder and delete the contained files manually.

**Restore Defaults:** Resets all settings to their original default values.
===== - The Clip Preview =====

The Clip Preview is the main interface for interacting with the Clip Manager, allowing you to run searches, paste clips, load pin sets, and perform many other functions.

It central feature is a table showing recent clips, with the most recent being topmost. Recent in this context means the clips what were last added, [[#Editing Clips|edited]], or [[#Bumping Clips|bumped]]. Bumping is performed by default after pasting, but can be toggled via the [[#Bump Mode]] setting.

Note that clips with manually assigned keywords are given priority over clips without keywords – when you start the Clip Manager, all your clips with keywords will be listed first. During the session, these will move further down in the table as you clips are added or bumped.

{{:image_2024-09-18_140707861-white.png?direct|}}
==== - Five Columns of the Clip Preview ====

=== - No. Column ===

Each clip in the table has a row number, shown in the first column, **No**. This row number can be used to paste clips by a keyboard shortcut – that is, by pressing CTRL + this number or only this number (see [[#Selection Mode]]).

The **checkbox** shown in this column is for [[#pinning clips]]. When you check it, a clip is pinned to the top of the table; when you uncheck is, the clip is unpinned.

Clicking on the header of this columns pins all clips, if no clips are currently pinned. This effectively freezes the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]]. If some clips are pinned already, clicking on the header unpins all clips. If you click the header while holding Shift, the same logic is applied to only the currently //selected// clips. That is, all selected clips will be either pinned or unpinned.

=== - Date Added Column ===

The second column, **Date Added**, shows the time at which the clip was originally added to the database. You can click on the header of this column to switch to Date Used, which is the time of last usage. When running a [[#Date Search]], matching is performed against whatever is currently shown in this column, either date added or date used.

=== - Keywords Column ===

The third column, **Keywords**, shows the keywords assigned to each clip. You can add and edit these keywords by holding control and then double-clicking onto the keyword field. Clicking on the header of this column cycles the Keyword filter (Only Clips with Keywords -> Only Clips without Keywords -> All Clips).

=== - Clip Column ===

The fourth column, **Clip**, shows the actual clip content. The clip content can also be edited in the same way as keywords – by holding control and then double-clicking onto the clip field –, as long as the clip is shorter than 260 chararacters. For longer clips, click the Expand button to display the [[#Full Clip View]] which allows you to edit clips with convenience. Clicking on the header of this column cycles the Clip filter (Only Clips used before -> Only Clips never used before -> All Clips).

=== - Length Column ===

The fifth and last column, **Length**, indicates the number of characters in each clip.

=== - Searching in Columns ===

In [[#Searching|Searches]], each column can be referenced by its initial letter, ie. <q>d</q>, <q>k</q>, <q>c</q>, and <q>l</q>, so that <q>k Logitope</q> would a search for <q>Logitope</q> in the Keywords column. For details, see [[#Search Modifiers]].

==== - Controls at the Bottom ====

Several input fields and buttons are arranged along the bottom of the window:

[{{:controls-at-the-bottom.png?nolink}}]

**Clip Search Box:** The wide input field on the left is the Clip Search Box. To search for clips, enter your search pattern here – see section [[#Searching Clips]].

**Find in Clip Box and Find button:** To the right of the Clip Search Box is the Find in Clip Box with a Find button. Use these control to find a term within a longer clip – see section [[#Finding Terms within Clips]].

**Delete button:** [[#Selecting Clips|Select]] one or more clips and press this Button to delete them. See [[#Deleting Clips]].

**Expand**: Press this button to open the [[#Full Clip View]].

**⏹️/⏫**: Press this button to toggle the [[#Bump mode]].

▲/▼: This button enables you to [[#Toggling Always-on-Top mode|toggle the always-on-top mode]].

==== - Status Bar ====

The grey status bar at the very bottom of the window normally shows the available [[#Search Modifiers]] and the number of total clips in your archive. If changes to display relevant information after certain user operations, for example number of deleted clips after deleting or the number of matches when [[#Searching]].

In this example, the standard text is shown:

{{:info-bar.png?nolink}}
==== - Full Clip View ====

The Full Clip View is a larger panel for displaying and [[#editing clips]] with convenience. Click the **Expand** button to open it. When you do, the Expand button changes into a **Collapse** button, which allows you to close the Full Clip View again.

The Full Clip View automatically takes all the remaining space from the bottom of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] down to the bottom of the screen.

Any changes you make to a clip in the Full Clip View are automatically saved.

==== - Menu Bar ====

The menu bar of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] provides access to various functions and settings.

=== - File Menu ===

The File menu is used for saving and managing Pin Sets and Clip Searches, and also provides an option to shutdown the Clip Manager.

**Save Pin Set:** This option saves the currently pinned clips as a Pin Set. You'll be prompted for the Pin Set name.

**Add to Pin Set:** This option adds the currently pinned clips to a Pin Set. You'll be prompted to select the Pin Set.

**Save Clip Search:** This option saves the current search string shown in the search field as a Clip Search. You'll be prompted for the Search name (which can be identical to the search string).

**Manage Pin Sets:** Shows a dialog that allows you to delete, load, and rename Pin Sets.

**Manage Clip Searches:** Shows a dialog that allows you to delete, load, and rename Clip Searches.

**Shutdown:** Shuts down the Clip Manager. This is the same as unchecking the **Activate Clip Manager** checkbox on the **Clip** tab (see [[#Basic Configuration]]). When shut down, the Clip Manager will not capture any clips and the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] cannot be displayed until you reactivate it again.

[{{:clip-preview-with-file-menu.png?nolink&800|Clip Preview with File menu opened}}]

=== - Pin Set Menu ===

The Pin Set menu shows a list of all your saved Pin Sets. It is automatically updated whenever you create or delete a Pin Set. It is designed to allow you loading Pin Sets in the quickest possible manner:

You can load a Pin Set simply by clicking on its name in the menu.

=== - Clip Searches Menu ===

The Clip Searches menu shows a list of all your saved Clip Searches. It is automatically updated whenever you create or delete a Clip Search. It is designed to allow you loading Clip Searches in the quickest possible manner:

You can load a Clip Search by simply by clicking on its name in the menu. The search string is immediately shown in the search field, and the search is automatically executed and the clips table updated as matches are found.

=== - Extra Menu ===

The Extra menu provides access to various useful functions.

**Copy Selected Clips (CTRL+C):** Click this option to copy all [[#Selecting Clips|selected clips]] into the Windows Clipboard. Multiple clips will be separated by linefeeds.

**Bump Selected Clips (CTRL+B):** Click this option to bump all [[#Selecting Clips|selected clips]], that is move them to the top of the clip table.

**Delete Selected Clips (CTRL+D):** Click this option to delete all [[#Selecting Clips|selected clips]].

**Reset Column Settings (CTRL+R):** Click this option to reset the column settings for column 2 (date), 3 (keywords), and 4 (clip) to their defaults. Specifically, this means that the date column is reset to show the Date Added, if it's currently set to Date Used, the keywords column is reset to show all clips, whether they have keywords or not, and the clip column is also reset to show all clips, whether they have been used before or not. (See [[#Five Columns of the Clip Preview]] for more information).

**Reset Gui Position:** This option resets the screen position of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] to the default position. Both alternate positions are reset, the "flip" position as well as the "flop" position. (See [[#Flipping the Gui]].) Specifically, the normal (flip) position is reset to the top-left corner of the primary monitor, and the flop position the top-right corner.

**Delete Session Clips:** Click this option to delete all clips newly captured since Auto Book was started last time both from memory and from the hard disk, in case they already have been dumped to disk.

**Important note:** To protect the user from deleting clips that were meant to be kept, clips with manually assigned keywords are not eliminated with this function. You can delete such clips manually using the [[#Keyword filter]] or typing <q>rk .</q> into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]]. Then, select and delete the clips you want to remove. Privacy note: This method of deleting clips doesn't purge the hard-disk as does the Delete Session Clips function for clips without keywords. To purge the hard-disk, you need to [[#Compact Clips|compact your clip archive]].

**Keywords:**

The Keywords sub-menu provides access to four options:

  * Copy Selected Keywords (CTRL+SHIFT+C): Copies the keywords of currently selected clips. If multiple clips are selected, they will be copied as separate lines (that is, separated by linefeeds).
  * Append Clipboard Content (CTRL+V): Appends the current clipboard content to the keywords of the currently selected clips.
  * Replace with Clipboard Content (CTRL+SHIFT+V): Replaces the keywords of the currently selected clips with the current clipboard content, or adds the clipboard content if there are no keywords yet
  * Remove: Removes all keywords of the currently selected clips.

**Add rows (CTRL+PgUp/F11):** This option adds three additional rows to the clip table. The GUI is also expanded to make room for the larger table.

**Remove rows (CTRL+PgDn/F12):** This option removes three rows from clip table, and the GUI is also suitably shrunk.

[{{:clip-preview-with-extra-menu.png?nolink&800|Clip Preview with File menu opened}}]

=== - Modes Menu ===

The Modes menu allows you to switch the Clip Manager's modes – [[#Afterpaste Mode]], [[#Bump Mode]], [[#Capture Mode]], [[#Restoration Mode]] and [[#Selection Mode]]. See [[#Modes]] for details.

===== - Modes =====

Five modes allow you to adjust the Clip Manager's behavior according to your use case and preferences.

Switching the modes is easy via the menu or a keyboard shortcut. You can even change the setting without interrupting the [[#Input state]] – that is, you can change the mode without the target application losing keyboard focus.

For all modes except Capture mode, the hotkey is <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+[first letter of the mode's name], that is <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>A</q> for Afterpaste mode, <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>B</q> for Bump mode, <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>R</q> for Restoration mode and <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>S</q> for Selection mode. The Capture mode doesn't use the same pattern because it's taken for [[#copying keywords]]; instead, the Capture mode is switched by <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>Q</q>.

==== - Capture Mode ====

In the default mode, all clips you make on your computer by pressing CTRL+C are automatically added to the text repository, provided they don't exceed a user-defined size limit. By pressing an alternative hotkey (CTRL+WIN+C by default; user-definable), capturing of clips can be suppressed for sensitive data.

In the alternative mode, clips are stored only when the alternative hotkey is pressed and are not captured when CTRL+C is pressed normally. To activate the alternative mode, click the **Capture only when using Alternative Hotkey** radio button on Auto Book's clip tab or select **Modes** – **Capture Mode** – ** Capture with Alternative Hotkey** from the [[#Menu Bar|Clip Preview menu]].

The Capture mode can be switched via the [[#Extra menu]] of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], the radio buttons on Auto Book's Clip tab, or the shortcut <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>Q</q>, which does not interrupt the [[#Input State]].

==== - Afterpaste Mode ====

The Afterpaste mode determines the behaviour of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] after you have pasted the clip by double clicking it or pressing a hotkey.

You may choose between <q>Sent to Background</q>, <q>Stay in Place</q>, and <q>Repeat</q>.

**Sent to Background:** In this mode, the window is sent into the background after your clip has been pasted. It's best if you are focused on your target application and want to restore the same window arrangement you had before you opened the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]]. This mode is most suitable for most use cases.

**Stay in Place:** In this mode, as in the <q>Sent to Background</q> mode, the focus is returned to the last used application after pasting a clip. However, the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] it is not explicitly sent to the background, that is, it will stay above any other windows that may be on your screen. Choose this mode if you don't like the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] disappearing after pasting a clip.

**Repeat:** This mode is designed for rapid pasting of multiple clips. After you have pasted a clip, the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] automatically re-enters [[#Input State]], allowing you to paste the next clip by double-clicking it in the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] or by pressing its shortcut. Optionally, additional symbols are inserted between consecutive clips, namely either Tab, Enter, Space, Comma, or Comma and Space. This is useful for example for filling an Excel table or web forms.

The Afterpaste mode can be switched via the [[#Extra menu]] of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], or the shortcut <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>A</q>, which does not interrupt the [[#Input State]]. That means you can decide how the window should respond in the very moment before pasting a clip, without the target application even losing keyboard focus.

==== - Bump Mode ====

The Bump Mode decides whether clips are "bumped", that is moved, to the top of the clip archive after having been pasted.

**Bump Pasted Clips to Top:** In this mode, any clip that is pasted is bumped to the top of your clip archive.

**Keep Pasted Clips in Queue:** In this mode, clips stay where they are.

Note that clips that do not have manually assigned keywords appear only after all clips that do have keywords, even after having been bumped. 

The Bump mode is switched by clicking the ⏹️/⏫ button near the bottom right corner of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]].

Button shows ⏫: Bump mode is currently set to **Bump Pasted Clips to Top**.\\
Button shows ⏹️: Bump mode is currently set to **Keep Pasted Clips in Queue:**.

Alternatively, like the others modes, the Bump mode can be switched via the [[#Extra menu]] of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], or the shortcut <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>B</q>, which does not interrupt the [[#Input State]].

==== - Restoration Mode ====

The Restoration Mode determines the behaviour of the clipboard after pasting a clip.

**Restore Clipboard after Pasting:** In this mode, the clipboard will be restored to whatever content it had before the pasting operation.

**Keep Pasted Content in Clipboard:** In this mode, after pasting a clip, the clip will remain in the clipboard. This mode is useful if you want to paste a clip multiple times, as you won't have to open the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] four consecutive times – pressing <q>CTRL+V</q> is enough.

The Restoration mode can be switched via the [[#Extra menu]] of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], or the shortcut <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>R</q>, which does not interrupt the [[#Input State]].

==== - Selection Mode ====

The Selection Mode is for toggling the keyboard shortcut combinations for pasting clips after the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] has been opened, as an alternative to double-clicking the desired clip.

**Easy: Select by Number:** In this mode, the pasting operation is triggered by pressing simply the clip's row number (without control), //if//: The [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] is in [[#Input Mode]], or the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] is in active state and the [[#Search field]] is blank.

This mode is useful if you want to paste clips using the keyboard and your hand is not big enough to hold control and at the same time reach their numbers further away on the keyboard like 8, 9, or 0, or you simply like the added convenience.

The downside of this mode is that you might accidentally trigger a pasting operation if you want to search for a string starting with a digit. Although you can bypass the pasting operation by first typing a single space into the search field and then the desired digit, it's easy to forget in everyday usage.

**Normal: Select by CTRL+Number:** In this mode, the pasting operation is triggered by holding control and then pressing the clip's row number. This mode avoids accidental triggering of pasting operations by pressing simple numbers, but you'll need big hands to reach the further-away positioned numbers if you want to operate single-handedly.

The Selection mode can be switched via the [[#Extra menu]] of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], or the shortcut <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>S</q>, which does not interrupt the [[#Input State]].

===== - Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts =====

==== - Main Shortcuts ====

  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Win</q> + <q>V</q>: Open [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] [default – user-adjustable]
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Win</q> + <q>C</q>: Alternate Hotkey for copying to Clipboard [default – user-adjustable]

==== - Shortcuts for Pasting Clips ====

=== - When in Normal Selection Mode ===
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Number</q>: Paste clip with that number in the list into the target (previously active) application.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>Number</q>: Paste clip with that number + 10 in the list into the target (previously active) application. Does not work with numbers on the keyboard's numeric keypad.

=== - When in Easy Selection Mode ===
  * <q>Number</q>: Paste clip with that number in the list into the target (previously active) application.
  * <q>Shift</q> + <q>Number</q>: Paste clip with that number + 10 in the list into the target (previously active) application. Does not work with numbers on the keyboard's numeric keypad.

==== - Shortcuts for Mode Selection ====
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>A</q>: Afterpaste Mode – Switch between //Send to Background//, //Stay in Place//, or //Repeat//.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>B</q>: Bump Mode – Switch between //Bump Pasted Clips to Top// and //Keep Pasted Clips in Queue//.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>Q</q>: Capture Mode – Switch between //Capture by Default// and //Capture with Alternative Hotkey//.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>R</q>: Restoration Mode – Switch between //Restore Clipboard after Pasting// and //Keep Pasted Content in Clipboard//.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>S</q>: Selection Mode – Switch between //Easy: Select by Number// and //Normal: Select by Ctrl+Number//.

==== - Shortcuts for Clip Operations ====

  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>D</q>: Delete selected clips.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>B</q>: Bump selected clips to top.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>C</q>: Copy selected clips, separated by tabs for columns and newlines for each clip.  
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>C</q>: Copy selected keywords.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>V</q>: Append current clipboard content to keywords of selected clips.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>V</q>: Replace keywords of selected clips with current clipboard content.

==== - Shortcuts for Gui and Scroll Operations ====

  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Tab</q>: Flip [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] to alternate position.
  * <q>PgDn</q>: Scroll down (also with mouse wheel)
  * <q>PgUp</q>: Scroll up (also with mouse wheel)
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>PgUp</q>: Shrink [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] (remove one row from the list)
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>PgDn</q>: Enlarge [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] (add one row to the list)
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Home</q>: Jump to beginning of list (when scrolled down)
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>End</q>: Jump to previous maximum scroll position for the current search/filter state.

==== - Shortcuts for Search, Filters and Pins ====

  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>E</q>: Clear the [[#Controls at the bottom|Clip Search Box]] to reset the search.
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>R</q>: Reset column settings ([[#Filtering|filters]]).
  * <q>CTRL</q> + <q>Shift</q> + <q>E</q>: Clear the [[#Controls at the bottom|Clip Search Box]] and reset column settings ([[#Filtering|filters]]).
  * <q>F1</q>: [[#Pinning/Unpinning all Clips|Pin/unpin all clips]] – same as clicking on header of the [[#No. column]].
  * <q>F2</q>: Switch between Date Added and Date Used – same as clicking on header of the [[#Date Added column]].
  * <q>F3</q>: Switch [[#Keywords Filter]] – same as clicking on header of the [[#Keywords column]].
  * <q>F4</q>: Switch [[#Clip Filter]] – same as clicking on header of the [[#Clip column]].
===== - Basic Clip Operations =====

==== - Selecting Clips ====

You can select one or more clips in order to copy, delete, or bump them, for example.

To select a clip, simply click on it. The clip has been selected when it is highlighted with a blue background.

To select multiple clips, hold control and click them. To select a range, click the first clip of the desired range, then hold shift and click the last clip of the range.

==== - Copying Clips =====

Select the clips to copy, then press <q>Ctrl</q> + <q>C</q>. Multiple clips will be separated by linefeeds. You can then manually paste the copied data wherever you like.

==== - Deleting Clips ====

Select the clips to delete, then press <q>Ctrl</q> + <q>D</q>, or click the **Delete** button.

==== - Bumping Clips ====

Bumping a clip means moving it to the top of the clip archive so that it is shown before all other clips in the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]].

Select the clips to bump, then press <q>Ctrl</q> + <q>B</q>. Alternatively, select the option **Bump Selected Clips** from the [[#Extra menu]].

==== - Editing Clips ====

<WRAP column right 40%> {{:image_2024-09-18_141434394-white.png?direct|}} </WRAP>

There are two ways to edit clips. To edit short clips, that is clips shorter than 260 characters, you can hold your keyboard's Control key and double-click onto the clip. A small edit box will appear where you can make adjustments.

**Important note:**

When you open the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] by the [[#Clip Preview hotkey]], it is initially in [[#Input State]], indicated by the blinking of the status bar. In the state, the window waits for the user to trigger a pasting operation, and the very first mouse-click you make onto the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] will not count towards the double-click you need to make for opening the keywords editing box.

Therefore, when in [[#Input State]], first click once onto the window to enter the regular [[#Active State]], in which the status bar doesn't link any more. Then proceed to hold control and double-click to open the edit box.

=== - Editing in the Full Clip View ===

To edit larger clips, open the [[#Full Clip View]] by clicking the **Expand** button at the bottom of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]].

When you select the clip in the clip table, its content is automatically shown in the [[#Full Clip View]]. Make adjustments as you please.

{{:clip-preview-with-full-view-s.png?direct|The Full Clip View has been expanded. It will be filled with data when a clip is selected.}}
==== - Editing Keywords ====

To edit keywords, hold your keyboard's Control key and double-click on to the clip's keywords column. A small edit box will appear where you can make adjustments.

Keywords cannot be displayed or edited in the [[#Full Clip View]].

The maximum length for keywords is 259 characters.

**Important note:**

When you open the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] by the [[#Clip Preview hotkey]], it is initially in [[#Input State]], indicated by the blinking of the status bar. In the state, the window waits for the user to trigger a pasting operation, and the very first mouse-click you make onto the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] will not count towards the double-click you need to make for opening the keywords editing box.

Therefore, when in [[#Input State]], first click once onto the window to enter the regular [[#Active State]], in which the status bar doesn't link any more. Then proceed to hold control and double-click to open the edit box.

==== - Running Searches ====

You can search clips by typing into the bottom left input box – the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]] –, and search within a clip by typing into the slightly smaller input box (//Find in Clip//) to the right of it and clicking the Find button.

You can clear either field simply by double-clicking into it.

The [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]] can also be cleared using the shortcut <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>E</q>, which does not interrupt the [[#Input State]] – that is, you can clear the search without the target application losing keyboard focus.

For details on search options and patterns, see chapter [[#Searching]].

==== - Filtering ====

You can filter the clips displayed in the clip table by clicking the column header of the Keywords or Clip column.

The filters can be combined with each other and any search patterns. That is, any search run while a filter is active will only search through the filtered list of clips.

=== - Keywords Filter ===

The Keywords filter filters clips based on whether keywords have been assigned or not. By default, all clips are shown. Click on the column to header or press <q>F3</q> to cycle the filter to **Only Clips with Keywords** → **Only Clips without Keywords** → **All Clips**. The icon in the header reflects the change.

Pressing <q>F3</q>  does not interrupt the [[#Input State]], meaning you can switch the Keywords filter without the target application losing keyboard focus.

=== - Clip Filter ===

The Clip filter filters clips based on whether they have been used before or not, where "used" refers to operations such as pasting and bumping. This filter is useful, for example, when older clips with keywords are shown on top, but you want to focus on recently added clips that have not been used yet. Click on the Clip column header or press <q>F4</q> to cycle the filter to **Only Clips used before** → **Only Clips never used before** → **All Clips**. The icon in the header reflects the change.

Pressing <q>F4</q>  does not interrupt the [[#Input State]], meaning you can switch the Clip filter without the target application losing keyboard focus.

=== - Resetting the Filters ===

There are three methods to reset the filters:

  * Continue clicking on the column header until the filter setting has been cycled back to **All Clips**.
  * In the [[#Menu Bar|Clip Preview menu]], select **Extra** -> **Reset Column Settings**.
  * Press <q>CTRL</q>+<q>SHIFT</q>+<q>E</q>. This option also clears the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]], ie resets the search.

==== - Scrolling ====

At any time, the clip table can be scrolled down to show additional "downstream" clips, that is clips further down in the clip archive (see [[#The Clip Preview]] for details on how clips are ordered).

You will notice there is no traditional scroll bar. Instead, the rows of the clip table are updated to show the further downstream clips as you scroll down, and the row numbers in the [[#No. column]] are increased correspondingly, allowing you to keep track of the scrolling position.

Scrolling is possible with or without active search pattern in the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]] and with or without active [[#Filtering|filters]].

You can scroll until the end of the clip archive or until no more matches are found.

Any [[#Pinning clips|pinned clips]] will stay at the top of the clip table while you scroll. Only the rows below them are updated with the data of the downstream clips. Therefore, you can't scroll if //all rows// of the clip table are pinned.

**To scroll forward (showing older clips):** Scroll down using the mouse wheel or press <q>PgDn</q>.

**To scroll backward (showing newer clips):** Scroll up using the mouse wheel or press <q>PgUp</q>.

**To jump to the top of the list:** Press <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Home</q>.

**To jump to the maximum scroll position:** Press <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>End</q>. The clip table will jump back to the maximum position to which you have previously scrolled in forward (or downward) direction. Note that this maximum position is reset when new clips are added to the archive and after some other clip operations.

[{{:clip-preview-scrolled.png?nolink&800|The clip table has been scrolled downwards, now showing the row numbers 10 to 18}}]
==== - Pinning Clips ====

Pin clips to the top of the clip table by clicking the checkbox in the leftmost column (**No.**). A pin symbol – <span>{{:pin.png?20&nolink|}}</span> – will appear next to the checkbox for visual emphasis.

Unpin a clip by clicking the checkbox again.

Pinned clips will remain visible in the clip table until unpinned. Newly captured clips or search matches will always appear below them. Use this function to keep clips that you plan to use again in the near future immediately available.

Pinned clips will be retained across Auto Book restarts. In addition, you can save [[#Pin Sets|sets of pins]] for future use.

Newly pinned clips will initially stay in place. However, if you press the [[#Clip Preview hotkey]] again or if the clip table changes, e.g. because you run a search or change filters, they will be move up to the top of the table and stay there until unpinned.

Newly unpinned clips will behave similarly, but their position will also be updated immediately in case a search pattern is active, so that the clip table continues to reflect the correct search results. That is, if the clip was only shown because it was pinned, but didn't match the search pattern, it will be eliminated from the view as soon as it is unpinned.

[{{:clip-preview-with-pinned-clips.png?nolink&800|Clip Preview with several pinned clips, indicated by the pin icon}}]

=== - Pinning/Unpinning all Clips ===

Clicking on the header of the [[#No. Column]] **pins all clips**, if no clips are currently pinned. This effectively freezes the clip table. If some clips are pinned already, clicking on the header **unpins all clips**.

If you click the header **while holding Shift**, the same logic is applied to only the **currently selected clips**. That is, all selected clips will be either pinned or unpinned.

Therefore, to pin multiple clips, [[#Selecting Clips|select them]] by holding Ctrl or Shift while clicking, and then hold Shift and click the [[#No. Column]] header.
===== - Gui Operations =====

==== - Flipping the Gui ====

The [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] remembers two positions, a first position and a second position, herein referred to as "flip" position and "flop" position.

You can switch between the flip and the flop positions by pressing <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Tab</q>. This function is meant to allow you to quickly move the window out of the way when you're trying to paste the clip into an application and the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] appears right on top of it. The <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Tab</q> hotkey does not interrupt the [[#Input State]], which means that you can flip the Gui position without the target application losing keyboard focus.

By default, the flip position is in the left top corner of the screen, while the flop position is in the right top corner of the screen. You can adjust either position simply by dragging the window to the desired position in the usual way. That is, when you're in the flip position, drag the window to the desired new flip position. The flop position will not change. Vice versa, adjust the flop position by dragging the window when you're in the flop position.

Both the flip and the flop position will be remembered by Auto Book across restarts.

You can also set either or both positions on secondary monitors. That is, it is possible to flip the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] to another monitor by pressing <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Tab</q>, effectively moving it out of the way.

==== - Adding and Removing Rows ====

By default, the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] shows 9 rows of clips in the clip table. You can adjust the size of the clip table between 1 and 25 rows.

**To add rows to the clip table:** Press <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>PgDn</q> or select **Add rows** from the **Extra** menu.

**To remove rows from the clip table:** Press <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>PgUp</q> or select **Remove rows** from the **Extra** menu.


[{{clip-preview-large.png?nolink&800|Clip Preview with 25 rows displayed}}]

==== - Toggling Always-on-Top mode ====

To set the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] to stay on top of all other windows, press the ▼ button at the bottom right corner of [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]]. The button display then changes into ▲ . Click the ▲ button to undo the always-on-top setting.

This function is useful to keep the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] in view for repeated pasting or search operations while you work with other applications.

===== - Pasting Clips =====

1. Open [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] by clicking <q>Show Clips</q> or using the [[#Clip Preview hotkey]] (default: <q>CTRL</q> + <q>⊞ Win</q> + <q>V</q>. – See [[#Basic Configuration]].)

When the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] is opened via its hotkey, it enters the so-called **Input State**.

====Input State====

The Input State is visually indicated by the status bar blinking yellow. As long as it is blinking, you're in Input State. When it stops blinking, the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] has either switched to [[#Active State]] or has become deactivated.

The Input State can be understood as a "limbus" between inactive and active state:

In Input State, the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] window isn't actually active yet – instead, the previously used window retains cursor focus. Nevertheless, the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] is able to receive user input. It registers mouse-clicks, and if you start typing letters on the keyboard, they are automatically sent to the search field. That is, after pressing the [[#Clip Preview hotkey]], there is no need to click into the search field in order to run a search. You can start typing immediately.

The Input State is cancelled by a single mouse click anywhere, either within or outside the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]]. Pressing non-letter keys such as the arrow keys or control without any other letter also cancels the Input State.

However, pressing the shortcut for pasting a clip, or switching any of the Clip Manager's modes, or clearing or resetting the search (<q>CTRL</q>+<q>E</q>, <q>CTRL</q>+<q>SHIFT</q>+<q>E</q>), or changing any of the column settings (<q>F1</q>-<q>F5</q>) does not cancel the Input State so that these operations can be performed without the target application losing keyboard focus.

====Active State====

If you single-click anywhere onto the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]], it is activated – just like any other window in Microsoft Windows – and the target application loses keyboard focus. In active state, you can generally //still// paste clips in the same manner as described below. //However//, in order to do that, the target application needs to be refocused – in most cases, this happens within a fraction of a second and you won't necessarily notice the slight delay. But there are some special cases – for example when the file name change field of File Explorer has keyboard focus – where refocusing and thus the pasting operation will fail when triggered from Active State. To paste into such special fields, you need to stay in [[#Input State]], that is, open the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] via hotkey and then paste directly, without first clicking onto the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] or running a search.

==== - Pasting Clips using the Mouse ====

Double-click the desired clip. Your clip will be pasted at the current cursor position of the target window.

Note:

⯈ Holding <q>CTRL</q> while double-clicking will allow you to edit the clip content or keywords, respectively.

⯈ Holding <q>CTRL</q>+<q>SHIFT</q> while double-clicking will not paste the clip, but open any folder path or URL if  the clip is a valid file/folder path or URL. If the clip contains a list of file paths, the folder of the first path is opened. Folders will be opened in Windows File Explorer, while URLs will be opened in your default browser.

[{{ :{{:screenshot_2024-07-12_104555.png?direct&400|Press the number corresponding to the clip's position}}]

==== - Pasting using the Keyboard ====

Depending on the [[#Selection Mode]] setting, press either <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Num</q> or only <q>Num</q>, where Num is the row number of the clip in column 1 of the clip table.

Note:

  * 0 means 10.
  * You can increase the number by 10 by holding Shift in either Selection Mode.

These rules define the pasting shortcuts detailed below.

=== - Pasting in Normal Selection Mode ===

In Normal Mode, hold <q>CTRL</q> and then press the desired number.

  * To paste row number 1 to 9, press <q>CTRL</q> + (<q>1</q> - <q>9</q>)\\
  * To paste row number 11 to 19, press <q>CTRL</q> + <q>SHIFT</q> + (<q>1</q> - <q>9</q>)\\
  * To paste row number 10, press <q>CTRL</q> + <q>0</q>\\
  * To paste row number 20, press <q>CTRL</q> + <q>SHIFT</q> + <q>0</q>\\

=== - Pasting in Easy Selection Mode ===

In Easy Mode, you don't need to hold <q>CTRL</q> – simply press the desired number.

  * To paste row number 1 to 9, press (<q>1</q> - <q>9</q>)\\
  * To paste row number 11 to 19, press  <q>SHIFT</q> + (<q>1</q> - <q>9</q>)\\
  * To paste row number 10, press <q>0</q>\\
  * To paste row number 20, press <q>SHIFT</q> + <q>0</q>\\

===== - Searching =====

The Auto Book Clip Manager offers an ultra-flexible search function for finding clips in your clip archive. To use the clip search, type your terms into the leftmost (larger) input field at the bottom of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]].

In addition, it is possible to find terms //within// clips using the Find in Clip field to the right of the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]].

==== - Searching Clips ====

=== - Search Concept ===

The Clip Manager's search syntax is designed to combine versatile search options with ease of entry for the user. All search options can be activated via simple and intuitive search patterns – you do not need to click any checkboxes or look through menus.

Searches are triggered automatically when you start typing into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]]. There is a intentional in-built delay of 300ms, barely noticeable, to allow you to type words without the table updating with every keystroke.

When a new search is started, only [[#Pinning clips|pinned clips]] stay in place, no matter if they contain a match or not. The other rows of the clip table are filled as soon as matches are found.

After completion of a search, the [[#Status Bar]] shows "Search completed" and some meta info such as the search time.

In the following, you'll find a comprehensive documentation of the search syntax. Although it's not hard and intuitive, writing it out in full length takes some space. If you prefer to just look at examples and absorb the syntax using your superior abstraction abilities, you may jump to the [[#Search Examples]] section.

[{{:clip-preview-with-active-search.png?nolink&800|Clip Preview with an active search for "Logitope"}}]

=== - Aborting and Resuming Searches ===

Although searches are normally real-time, it's possible, given enough determination and sophistication, to design more intricate search patterns that run longer.

If a search doesn't seem to end, as indicated by the [[#Status Bar]] showing "Searching...", you can abort it by pressing the shortcut <q>CTRL</q>+<q>SHIFT</q>+<q>Spacebar</q>. Press the same combination to resume the search from the last position, if desired.

=== - Searching for a Single Term ===

Just type your term into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]].

By default, the 4 columns Date, Keywords, Clip, and Length are searched.

If a match is found in any of the columns, the clip is considered a match.

⯈ Keep in mind that when searching for numbers, the date and length columns are also searched. To search for numbers only in the Keywords and/or Clip column, use [[#Search Modifiers]].

⯈ The Date column shows either the Date Added or Date Used (see [[#Five Columns of the Clip Preview]]). The search refers to whatever date is currently shown.

=== - And Search ===

By default, and And search is executed when you enter multiple search terms.

Search terms are separated by spaces.

Example – to search for <q>Auto</q> AND <q>Book</q> AND <q>Logitope</q>, enter:

  Auto Book Logitope
  
=== - String Search ===

To execute a string search, use quotation marks.

Example – to search for the string <q>Auto Book</q>, including the space, enter:

  "Auto Book" 

Adding quotation marks to a single term not including a space has no effect – these search patterns are the same:

  Logitope

  "Logitope"

By default, the all [[#five columns of the Clip Preview]] are searched. To restrict the search to one or more of the columns, use the related //search modifiers//.

=== - Not Search ===

To run a not search, type an <q>!</q> (exclamation mark) immediately in front of the search term.

For example, to search for clips that do not contain <q>Logitope</q>, enter:

  !Logitope
  
In the same way, you can also negate a string search – to find clips that do not contain "Auto Book" as a string, enter:

  !"Auto Book"

You can freely mix And, Not and String logic. Thus, the following patterns finds clips that contain <q>Auto</q> //and not// the string <q>Auto Book</q>, that is, clips with <q>Auto</q>, but without <q>Auto Book</q>:

  Auto !"Auto Book"

=== - Search Modifiers ===

You can modify your search by typing search modifiers. Each search modifier is a simple letter which you type immediately in front of the search terms to which it should apply, separated from the terms by only a space.

Activate several options by typing all necessary letters consecutively without any separator. All modifiers can be mixed freely. All Modifiers must be **lowercase** letters and contain **no duplicate letters**. If these conditions are not met, the sequence will be treated as a search term instead.

The order of the modifiers does not matter – <q>kir</q> is the same as <q>ikr</q>.

A valid sequence of Search Modifiers is called a **Modifier Set**.

== - Modifier Overview Table ==

| Modifier      | Effect      |
| d | Date search |
| k  | Search in keywords  |
| c  | Search in clip content |
| l  | Length search |
| s  | Case-sensitive search  |
| i  | Case-insensitive search  |
| r  | Regular expressions search |
| x  | X search |

A Modifier Set of or more Modifiers applies to all terms in the search pattern until a new valid Modifier Set is encountered.

For example, the following patterns applies the Keywords search option <q>k</q> to <q>Logitope</q> and the length search option <q>l</q> to <q><100</q>:

  k Logitope l <100
  
Type terms to which no modifiers should be applied at the very beginning of the search pattern. (Alternatively, typing <q>dkcl</q> – for selecting all columns – has the effect of "resetting" the modifications for the following terms.)

If a valid Modifier Set follows another valid Modifier Set, the second one will be treated as a Search term instead. That is, the following pattern is a case-sensitive search in the Clip column for the term "rick", although "rick" is a valid Modifier Set itself:

  sc rick

== - Searching in Specific Columns ==

By default, all columns are searched. You can focus the search on selected columns of the clip table using the first 4 Modifiers in the table above. Type the initial letter of a column name (but lowercase) to search only in that column, that is, <q>d</q> for Date, <q>k</q> for Keywords, <q>c</q> for Clip, and <q>l</q> for Length.

To search for <q>Logitope</q> in the keywords column, enter:

  k Logitope

To search for <q>Auto</q> in the Clip or Keywords column, <q>Logitope</q> in the Clip Column, and <q>2025</q> anywhere, type:

  2025 ck Auto c Logitope

== - Case-sensitivity ==

By default, searches are case-insensitive, as long as your pattern contains //no// uppercase letters.

If you type at least one uppercase letter, the search will be turned into a case-sensitive search.

In either case, you can override the default case-sensitivity assumption by typing the related modifier letter, that is either <q>i</q> or <q>s</q>.

Thus, the following will be the case-sensitive searches:

  Logitope

  s logitope
  
While these are case-insensitive searches:

  i Logitope

  logitope

== - Regular Expressions Search ==

Use the <q>r</q> modifier to run a Regular Expressions ("Regex") search.

If you don't know regular expressions, you'll find many tutorials online (e.g.: https://www.regular-expressions.info/).

For example, to search for Auto as a separate word in any column, enter the following pattern, where <q>\b</q> stands for a word boundary. This will be case-sensitive because an upper-case letter is included:

  r \bAuto\b

The same logic for case-sensitivity applies as for normal searches, that is, the following patterns are both case-insensitive:

  ri \bAuto\b

  r \bauto\b

Combine Regex searches freely with other Modifiers. That is, to run a case-sensitive regular expressions search on only the keywords and clip columns for "\d\d" (two digits in regular expressions), enter:

  srkc \d\d

That's exactly the same as:

  kcrs \d\d

=== - X Search ===

"X Search" is just a name I made up for want of a better name.

The Clip Manager's X Search allows you to type only the initial letters of consecutive words that you want to find. 

This enables you to quickly find sentences you have copied before by typing only a few letters and without needing to remember any configured search keywords, as long as you remember a few consecutive words. For example, the following pattern would find the sentence "Please find attached the invoice number xxx…":

  x pfati

The same case-sensitivity logic applies as for other searches, and <q>s</q> and <q>i</q> override the default assumptions in the same manner. <q>x</q> can also be combined with the Modifiers <q>k</q> and <q>c</q> to match only against keywords or clip content. Combining <q>x</q> with <q>d</q> or <q>l</q> wouldn't be meaningful, however, and therefore doesn't work.

== - Ambiguity ==

You may have noticed that this syntax entails a degree of ambiguity as to what is a search term and what is a set of modifiers.

This design choice was made to enable entry of search patterns as quickly as possible, without having to type any special characters. In practical usage, search terms don't often consist of only the 8 available modifier characters so that misinterpretation is rare.

Here's an example, however, that's ambiguous:

  rick morty
  
The Clip Manager will interpret this pattern as a case-insensitive (i) regular expressions %%(r)%% search in the clip %%(c)%% and keywords (k) columns for the search term "morty".

To run an AND search for rick and morty instead, enter:

  "rick" morty

In other words, modifier letters can be turned into regular search terms by surrounding them with quotation marks.
  
In this case, you could also simply turn the terms around – because nothing then follows after "rick", this sequence also will be treated as a term, not a Modifier set:

  morty rick

=== - Date Search ===

You can run a date search by typing the search modifier <q>d</q> and then the date search pattern.

The date search functionality is highly flexible and allows you to search for individual days, months, years, hours and minutes as well as ranges of dates. The input syntax is very tolerant, meaning you don't really need to remember the precise syntax, as almost anything will work.

The following examples should sufficiently illustrate how it works:

| Search String | Meaning |
| d 2024  | Search clips of 2024  |
| d 2024-10  | Search clips of October 2024  |
| d 2024-10-11  | Search clips of October 11, 2024  |
| d 2024-Oct  | Search clips of October 2024  |
| d 2024-October  | Search clips of October 2024  |
| d October  | Search clips of last October |
| d Oct | Search clips of last October |
| d Monday | Search clips of last Monday |
| d Mon | Search clips of last Monday |
| d today | Search clips of today |
| d yesterday | Search clips of yesterday |
| d today-366 | Search clips of today a year ago |
| d yesterday+1 | Search clips of today |
| d Tue-7 | Search clips of last last Tuesday |
| d Tue-14 | Search clips of last last last Tuesday |
| d Mon - Wed | Search clips from last Monday to last Tuesday (note: the spaces around " - " are mandatory)|
| d from 2024-10 to 2024-11 | Search clips from October to November 2024 |
| d 2024-10–2024-11 | Search clips from October to November 2024 (note: spaces around "–" [N dash] are optional) |
| d 2024-10 - 2024-11 | Search clips from October to November 2024 |
| d 2024-10 to 2024-11 | Search clips from October to November 2024 |
| d 2024-10 till 2024-11 | Search clips from October to November 2024 |
| d 2024-10 until 2024-11 | Search clips from October to November 2024 |
| d before 2025-02 | Search clips of before February 2025 |
| d older than 2025-02 | Search clips of before February 2025 |
| d after 2025-02 | Search clips of March 2025 |
| d newer than 2025-02 | Search clips of March 2025 or later |
| d after 2025-02-05 | Search clips of February 06, 2025 or later |
| d from 2025-02-05 | Search clips of February 05, 2025 or later |
| d from 10 to 11 | Search clips of from 10th to 11th of this month |
| d after 15 | Search clips of the 16th of this month or later |
| d from 15:00 to 16:00 | Search clips of today with time from 15:00 to 16:00  |
| d 2024-10-01 15:00 to 2024-10-01 16:00 | Search clips of October 1, 2024 with time from 15:00 to 16:00  |
| d today-6 to today | Search clips of the 7 days up to today |
| d from Monday | Search this week's clips |
| d from Mon-7 to Mon-1 | Search last week's clips |
| d from mon-7 before mon | Search last week's clips |
| d sun-6 to sun | Search last week's clips |

In other words:

⯈ <q>–</q> (M dash), <q> - </q> (hyphen with spaces around), <q>to</q>, <q>till</q>, and <q>until</q> are equivalent.

⯈ Weekday names and their 3-letter abbreviations are equivalent: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun.

⯈ Month names and their 3-letter abbreviations are equivalent: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

⯈ <q>from</q> and <q>to</q> and its variations are inclusive, while <q>after</q>, <q>before</q>, <q>newer than</q>, and <q>older than</q> are exclusive.

⯈ Weekdays are interpreted as the most recent day of that name that occurred. If today is Tuesday and you enter <q>Mon</q>, it will be interpreted as yesterday. If you enter <q>Wed</q>, it will be interpreted as last week's Wednesday.

⯈ Month names are interpreted as the most recent month of that name that occurred, including the current month. If now is March and you enter <q>Mar</q>, it will be interpreted as this month. If you enter <q>Jan</q>, it will be interpreted as January of this year. If you enter <q>Dec</q>, it will be interpreted as December of last year.

⯈ You can add or substract days to any day by typing +/- any integer number immediately after a valid day pattern, without space.

⯈ You can enter incomplete dates, in which case the Clip Manager will guess what you mean.

Although a niche application, for the record, it's also possible to run [[#Regular Expressions Search|regular expression searches]] for the date column. For example, the following will find clips from July or September 2024:

  dr 2024-0[79]

=== - Length Search ===

You can run a date search by typing the search modifier <q>l</q> and then the length search pattern.

The length search is pretty simple and a few examples will hopefully suffice:

| Search String | Meaning |
| l 1-100 | Search clips with length between 1 and 100 |
| l >1 | Search clips with length greater than 1 |
| l >= 100| Search clips with length greater or equal 100 |
| l %%<=%% 100| Search clips with length smaller or equal 100 |
| l 100-| Search clips with length greater or equal 100 |
| l -100| Search clips with length smaller or equal 100 |
| l < 100| Search clips with length smaller 100 |
| l > 100| Search clips with length greater 100 |
| l !100-200 | Search clips with length smaller 100 or greater 200 |
| l >10 l <100 | Search clips with length between 11 and 99 |

=== - Advanced Combinations ===

Any and all options above can be mixed and combined.

In particular, the [[#Not Search]] can be combined with a [[#String Search]], a [[#Regular Expressions Search]] or an [[#X Search]]. The case-sensitivity options <q>s</q> and <q>i</q> are compatible with all of these as well.

The following examples illustrates this flexibility:

  d 2024 ki Logitope cr \d !\d\d c !"Auto Book" l 1-100

This pattern will search for clips from the year 2024 with keyword <q>Logitope</q>, but case-insensitive, and a single digit (regex <q>\d</q>) in the Clip column, but //not more// than one consecutive digit (<q>!\d\d\</q>) and //not// the string <q>Auto Book</q>, and in addition requires a length between 1 and 100.

=== - Search Examples ===

**Simple Examples**

| Search String | Meaning | Why? |
| auto | Search for clips containing <q>auto</q> anywhere (case-insensitive) | If there's no uppercase letter, searches are case-insensitive by default |
| Auto | Search for clips containing <q>Auto</q> anywhere (case-sensitive) | If there is at least one uppercase letter, searches are case-sensitive by default |
| Auto Book | Search for clips containing <q>Auto</q> AND <q>Book</q> anywhere | Multiple terms separated by space are interpreted as And-Search |
| "Auto Book" | Search for clips containing the string <q>Auto Book</q>  anywhere | Terms in quotation marks are searched as strings |
| c Auto | Search for clips containing <q>Auto</q> in the Clip column | The <q>c</q> is a valid Search Modifier and restricts the search to the Clip column |
| "c" Auto | Search for clips containing <q>c</q> and <q>Book</q> anywhere | Anything in quotation marks, here the letter <q>c</q> which would normally be a Modifier, is treated as a literal search term. |
| "" | Search for clips containing a single literal quotation mark anywhere | Double-quotation marks are treated as single literal quotation marks |
| c Auto Book | Search for clips containing <q>Auto</q> AND <q>Book</q> in the Clip column | The <q>c</q> is a Modifier affecting all remaining terms since there is no other valid Modifier Set |
| c "Auto Book" | Search for clips containing the string <q>Auto Book</q> in the Clip column | The Modifier <q>c</q> restricts the string search to the Clip column |
| c !"Auto Book" | Search for clips not containing the string <q>Auto Book</q> in the Clip column | The <q>!</q> negates the string search |
| i Auto | Search for clips containing <q>Auto</q> anywhere (case-insensitive) | The <q>i</q> Modifier overrides case-sensitivity by default (due to uppercase letter)|
| s auto | Search for clips containing <q>auto</q> anywhere (case-sensitive) | The <q>s</q> Modifier overrides case-insensitivity by default (due to no uppercase letter)|
| l >1 | Search clips with length greater than 1 | Modifier <q>l</q> indicates a Length search |
| l !>1 | Search clips with length 1 | The <q>!</q> negates the Length search, so it's clips with a length not greater than 1. As a length of 0 is impossible, this equates to length 1. (Of course, <q>l 1</q> achieves the same result more directly.) |
| l !100-200 | Search clips with length smaller 100 or greater 200 | The <q>!</q> negates the Length range of 100 to 200, so all clips outside this range match. |
| l >10 l <100 | Search clips with length between 11 and 99 | All conditions must be fulfilled. Same as <q>l 11-99</q> |
| d 2024-10 to 2024-11 | Search clips with date between October and November 2024 (inclusive). | The date search syntax is extremely flexible – see [[#Date Search]] for a broad range of examples. |

**Somewhat Complex Examples**

| Search String | Meaning | Why? |
| k Logitope c Auto Book | Search for clips containing <q>Logitope</q> in Keywords and <q>Auto</q> AND <q>Book</q>  in the Clip column | Each Modifier remains valid until an new Set of Modifiers is encountered – there here, the effect of <q>k</q> ends at <q>c</q> |
| k Logitope c Auto !Book | Search for clips containing <q>Logitope</q> in Keywords and <q>Auto</q> in the Clip column, but not <q>Book</q> in the Clip column | The <q>c</q> is valid for both <q>Auto</q> and <q>!Book</q>, and the <q>!</q> negates the search for <q>Book</q> |
| l >= 100 d before Oct c "Auto Book" | Search clips with length greater or equal 100, date before last October and "Auto Book" as a string in the Clip Column| <q>d</q> defines a date search |

**Complex Examples**

| Search String | Meaning | Why? |
| l >= 100 d Mon - Tue c !"Auto Book" cr \d | Search clips with length greater or equal 100, date between last Monday and last Tuesday, //not// <q>Auto Book</q> as a string in the Clip Column and at least one digit in the clip column| <q>Auto Book</q> as a string is required not (<q>!</q>) to be in the Clip column, and <q>cr</q> requires a digit to be present in the Clip column |
| l d 2024 ki Logitope cr \d !\d\d c !“Auto Book” l 1-100 | Search for clips from the year 2024 with keyword <q>Logitope</q> (case-insensitive), a single digit in the Clip column, but not more than one consecutive digit and not the string “Auto Book”, and a length between 1 and 100. | <q>cr</q> (Regex search in Clip column) affects <q>\d</q> and <q>!\d\d</q>, <q>\d</q> means one digit in Regex, and <q>\d\d</q> two digits, which are negated by the preceding <q>!</q> |

==== - Finding Terms within Clips ====

To find a term within the longer clip:

  - In the clip table, [[#Selecting Clips|select]] the clip within which you want to search.
  - Enter your search term into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Find in Clip input box]] at the bottom of the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]].
  - Press the **Find** button next to it.

If the [[#Full Clip View]] hasn't been opened yet, it will pop open automatically, and the first match, if any, will be highlighted.

If you press the Find button **without entering any terms** into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Find in Clip input box]], but you have entered a search pattern into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]] (the larger input box for finding clips), **this search pattern will be used** for searching within the clip. Since the in-clip search functionality is more limited, however, this won't work for more complex searches such as regular expressions searches. In this case, enter your search term manually into the Find in Clip input box.

===== - Keywords =====

Keywords refer to text that is manually assigned to clips that have been captured, separate from the clip content itself.

When pasting a clip, only the clip content is pasted to the target application, but not the keywords.

Keywords allow you to find clips by text that is not part of the clip content, and are useful for categorizing or tagging clips.

==== - Editing Keywords ====

To add or edit keywords, hold control and double-click the desired clip in the Keywords column. A small input box will appear when you can make your adjustments. Use the same method to delete keywords by simply removing all text.

**Important note:**

When you open the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] by the [[#Clip Preview hotkey]], it is initially in [[#Input State]], indicated by the blinking of the status bar. In this state, the window waits for the user to trigger a pasting operation, and the very first mouse-click you make onto the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] will not count towards the double-click you need to make for opening the keywords editing box.

Therefore, when in [[#Input State]], first click once onto the window to enter the regular [[#Active State]], in which the status bar doesn't blink any more. Then proceed to hold control and double-click to open the edit box.

==== - Copying Keywords ====

You can copy keywords when the edit box is opened, but there's also a direct keyboard shortcut.

Simply the select the clip of which you want to copy the keywords, and press <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>C</q>.

In addition, you'll find a related option in the [[#Extra menu]] under **Keywords**.

==== - Pasting Keywords ====

In order to quickly categorize multiple clips using Keywords, you can paste Keywords without needing to open the edit box for each clip.

In the Clip Preview, select all clips for which you want to paste certain Keywords.

There are two pasting modes:

  * **Append** the current clipboard content to the keywords of the currently selected clips using <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>V</q>.
  * **Replace the keywords** of the currently selected clips with the current clipboard content or add the clipboard content if there are no keywords yet using <q>Ctrl</q>+<q>Shift</q>+<q>V</q>.
==== - Searching for Keywords ====

To search for clips with certain keywords, simply precede the search term with a <q>k</q>. This pattern will search for clips with keyword <q>Logitope</q>:

  k Logitope

This pattern will find clips with keyword <q>Logitope</q> and clip content <q>Auto</q>:

  k Logitope c Auto

See chapter [[#Searching]] for more details.

===== - Pin Sets and Clip Searches =====

The Clip Manager allows saving and reloading both Pin Sets and Clip Searches.

==== - Pin Sets ====

Pin Sets are sets of pinned clips. They are useful for loading and automatically pinning selections of clips for use in specialized context. For example, you could create a set of clips to be used as AI prompts, sets of clips with special characters such as math symbols, or a set of clips with email templates.

The ability to directly re-load Pin Sets from the Pin Set menu makes Pin Sets extremely efficient for accessing clips depending on context without having to run a search.

As all clip files in Auto Book, Pin Sets are saved as linefeed- and tab-separated plain text files. You will find these files in the folder [Auto Book program folder]\SystemData\Clips\PinSets.

=== - Saving a Pin Set ===

To save a Pin Set, first [[#Pinning Clips|pin the clips]] that you want to save as a Pin Set.

Then, choose **Save Pin Set** from the [[#File menu]]. In the dialog that opens, enter the Pin Set name and click **Save**.

[{{:clip-preview-with-pinned-clips.png?nolink&800|Clip Preview with several pinned clips, indicated by the pin icon}}]

=== - Adding Clips to an existing Pin Set ===

[[#Pinning Clips|Pin the clips]] that you want to add.

Then, choose **Add to Pin Set** from the [[#File menu]]. In the dialog that opens, choose the Pin Set to which you want to add the clips and click **Add**.

When adding clips to an existing Pin Set, already existing clips in the existing Pin Set will not be added again. That is, you don't need to worry about whether you have already added a certain clip. If unsure, just add it again – it will be ignored if it's already included in the Pin Set.

=== - Removing Clips from an existing Pin Set ===

Removing clips is possible by loading the Pin Set, unpinning unwanted clips and saving it again:

  - Load your Pin Set
  - Uncheck the clips you want to remove, thereby unpinning them.
  - Choose **Save Pin Set** from the [[#File menu]].\\
  - Select your existing Pin Set. Click **Save** to overwrite it.

=== - Deleting and Renaming Pin Sets ===

You can delete and rename Pin Sets via the **Manage Pin Sets** option of the [[#File menu]].

=== - Loading Pin Sets ===

To load a Pin Set, simply click its name in the [[#Pin Sets menu]].

The clips in that Pin Set are immediately added to the clip table in pinned state.

=== - Unpinning Pin Sets ===

Clips from Pin Sets can be unpinned in the same manner as manually pinned clips, that is, by clicking their checkboxes. Alternatively, click the Pin symbol in the column header to unpin all pinned clips at once; or select multiple pinned clips and hold the Shift key while clicking the Pin symbol in the column header to unpin only these clips.

==== - Clip Searches ====

In addition to Pin Sets, you can also save and reload Clip Searches, or search patterns.

This saves time retyping the pattern for searches that you perform regularly.

While Pin Sets are more useful for collecting a set of defined pins, Clip Searches are more useful in scenarios where new clips need to be included dynamically.

For example, you might save the following search pattern to show clips of the last 7 days containing "PO":

  d today-6 to today c PO

=== - Saving a Clip Search ===

To save a Clip Search, type the search pattern into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]].

Then, choose **Save Clip Search** from the [[#File menu]]. 

The dialog that opens shows two input fields, one for the display name and one for the search string (that is, the search pattern). Both fields are pre-filled with the search pattern you typed into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]].

The display name is the name that will be shown in the [[#Clip Searches menu]]. Change it from the search pattern if you like.

The dialog also allows you to adjust the search pattern, if the pattern typed into the [[#Controls at the Bottom|Clip Search Box]] is not what you want to saved.

Click **Save** when done.

=== - Deleting and Renaming Clip Searches ===

You can delete and rename Clip Searches via the **Manage Clip Searches** option of the [[#File menu]].

=== - Loading Clip Searches ===

To load a Clip Search, simply click its name in the [[#Clip Searches menu]]. The search string is immediately shown in the search field, and the search is automatically executed and the clips table updated as matches are found.

===== - The Database =====

All your clip archive files are linefeed- and tab-separated plain text files. They are designed to be human-readable and editable with any text editor so that you always remain in charge of your data. If you do intend to edit them, however, you must follow the rules outlined below in section [[#Manually Editing Clip Files]].

You will find these files in the folder [Auto Book program folder]\SystemData\Clips\, and you can access them with any text editor or spreadsheet application.

Within each file, individual clips are separated by linefeeds. Each line, representing one clip, consists of four columns. These four columns are separated by tabulators. The four columns are **Date Added**, **Date Used**, **Keywords**, and **Clip Content**.

Within each column that can contain user-defined text – that is, the keywords and the clip columns –, linefeeds and tabulators are masked as <br> and <tab>. 

The clip folder should contain these files:

  * clips.txt.ab
  * prioclips.txt.ab (if you have assigned keywords to any clips)
  * ClipSearches.abdat (if you have saved any Clip Searches)
  * Some temporary files if the clip archive is not in compact state, for example:
    * deletedclips.txt.ab
    * deletedprioclips.txt.ab
    * addclips.txt.ab
    * addprioclips.txt.ab 

The file clips.txt.ab is your **primary clip archive**. It stores all basic clips (those without assigned keywords) in plain text format. prioclips.txt.ab contains only clips that have keywords assigned to them. This separation allows for faster keyword-based searches.

The Clip Manager **tracks changes transactionally** in order to minimize disk operations and maximize speed. These transactions are stored in temporary files:

The files addclips.txt.ab and addprioclips.txt.ab contain new clips pending consolidation into the main files.

The files deletedclips.txt.ab and deletedprioclips.txt.ab keep track of clips marked for deletion. The clips marked for deletion won't be shown in the Clip Manager anymore, but still exist on the hard-disk. They will be physically removed when [[#Operational Buttons|compacting is performed]].


==== Manually Editing Clip Files ====

You can manually edit clip files, but the following rules must be followed.

For normal editing and deletion, it is recommended to use the Clip Preview's built-in function instead. However, there may be certain situations where you want to use text editors, for example for deleting a very large quantity of clips.

**Important Note:** It is absolutely mandatory to compact the clip archive before editing using the [[#Operational Buttons|Compact Clips button]].

Due to the Clip Manager's transactional database system, if you do not compact first, clips will be unintentionally flagged as deleted and not be shown anymore in the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]].

To avoid conflicts, also shut down the Clip Manager using the [[#File Menu]] or by deactivating the checkbox on the [[#Activating/Deactivating the Clip Manager and Displaying Clips|Clip tab]] before you edit the text files.

Restart the Clip Manager only after you're done editing.

After you have compacted your clip archive, you should only see the following files in your clip folder:

  * clips.txt.ab
  * prioclips.txt.ab (if you have assigned keywords to any clips)
  * ClipSearches.abdat

If you see files such as addclips.txt.ab, deletedclips.txt.ab, or other similar names, it means your clip archive has not been properly compacted. In that case, return to the [[#Basic Configuration|Clip tab]] and execute the compacting operation first.

Edit your clips without keywords in clip.txt.ab and clips with keywords in prioclips.txt.ab. Both are plain text files, with individual clips separated by linefeeds. Each line, representing one clip, consists of four columns that are separated by tabulators. Both files have the same four columns – **Date Added**, **Date Used**, **Keywords**, and **Clip Content** –, but in clips.txt.ab, the Keywords column is always blank.

**Important Note:** When editing, be very careful not to delete any of the tabulators between the columns. Depending on the editor you use, the tabulators may be displayed with a very short or even zero length, making it hard to distinguish them from regular spaces. If you inadvertently delete tabulators, the columns will become misaligned and the [[#The Clip Preview|Clip Preview]] will show improper data. This rule also applies to the blank Keywords column in clips.txt.ab.

**Important Note:** Within each column that can contain user-defined text – that is, the keywords and the clip columns –, linefeeds and tabulators are masked as <q><br></q> and <q><tab></q>. You may not insert any actual linefeeds or tabulators within the clip columns, as these would be interpreted as the beginning of a new clip or new column, respectively. If you need to add linefeeds or tabulators to a clip or its keywords, mask them using the same tags: <q><br></q> for linefeeds and <q><tab></q> for tabs.