Review: CopyPaste
![[cp1 graphic]](images/cp1.gif)
System Requirements:
Macintosh LCII or later, System 7.1 or later
Reviewed on a Performa 636CD, 20Mb RAM, running System 7.5.3 Update 2.
Download from http://members.aol.com/copypaste1
In U.S., contact:
Julian Millar/Script Software
P.O. BOX 854
Crystal Bay, NV 89402
(916) 546-9005
E-Mail: julian@sierra.net
Peter Hoerster's shareware CopyPaste 3.2 is a gem for anyone who needs to retrieve, rearrange, or otherwise manipulate textual, graphical or audio information (did I leave anyone out?). During my recent frenzy of editing articles for ATPM 2.12, constructing a Web page, putting out two newsletters and writing a lengthy article for offline publication (in my spare time!), I really got a chance to put CopyPaste 3.2 through its paces. It scored an instant touchdown.
CopyPaste 3.2 is a system extension that gives your Mac ten clipboards instead of one. Multiple bits of text, graphics, sound, or movies can be cut or copied separately into each clipboard. Until you register (a one-time fee of $20 entitles you to all future updates), that's about all you get — 10 clipboards.
Ahhh, but once you register, the true beauty of the gem is revealed...
First, you get MultiPaste, which allows you to paste the contents of multiple clipboards sequentially in any order without repeating the command. This is very handy when you're stumped about how to organize a paragraph or sentence and want to test some options. Simply copy each phrase or sentence into its own clipboard and then paste them back into your document in various orders. With its ability to accept sound files, the MultiPaste feature could be fun for budding composers. Computer artists can check out different color combinations, background textures or other effects in a snap!
Next, the Clip Archive. How many times have you done a Web search and come up with 200 or so matches? Typically, you jump to several that look promising, maybe you bookmark one or two, but there's so many matches and so little time. You want to save the pertinent matches to browse later, so you switch to the following cycle: copy a description, choose your word processor, and paste the text, switch back to the browser. Clip Archive eliminates this time-consuming cycle — activate one or more of the the ten available Archives and each highlighted text clip is appended to the selected storage file by a simple keystroke combination. No switching between applications, no mad scribbling if Netscape and System 7.x are hogging all your available RAM.
Also, you can choose to save clipboards during restarts. This is great for me when I'm working in a linear graphics program like Deneba's Canvas and a pixel-based program like Adobe Photoshop at the same time. That 20Mb of RAM feels pretty puny and I wish I had a dollar for every time my screen froze — I'd own a PowerPC by now!
Last, but certainly not least, is the application switching feature (in my opinion, this is the only worthwhile feature available in Windows that doesn't come with Mac OS). You may already have a small shareware program already installed that accomplishes this one task. If you don't, the feature bundled with CopyPaste is a refreshing alternative to mousing through the MultiFinder menu to shuttle between open applications.
CopyPaste is easy to install and use. Simply drop the extension onto your System Folder and a message will appear telling you it wants to go into the Extensions folder, hit OK. Restart.
If you've got a great memory (which I no longer have since becoming a parent - I call it "parental senility"), then just cut and paste to individual clipboards by highlighting text or choosing other objects (pictures, sounds), hold the command key + "C", "X", or "V" + a number between 1 and 9. The standard clipboard (activated command + "C", "X", or "V") is assigned the number 0.
If you need more of a "memory jog," goto the "Copy," "Paste," or "Cut" menu commands of your application. You'll notice that these now contain submenus which display the first 30 characters of text or the type of non-text content (*Picture*, *Sound*, or *Movie*) for each clipboard. Alternatively, you can activate the Floating Palette (command + c + mouse click).
![[cp3 graphic]](images/cp3.gif)
This window sits on top of any open application. The "C" and "P" buttons activate "copy" and "paste" functions directly into the open application and eliminates the need for keystrokes or opening submenus. The only complaints I have about the Floating Palette are that it is hard to close once open and is not easily moved if it happens to overlap portions of the file or desktop you need to access (one solution may be to make the Floating Palette "selectable" via the Application Switching feature).
The full CopyPaste window is opened via the "Copy," "Paste," or "Cut" submenu. Here, you can see the complete text or picture, hear the sound, or view the movie contents of each clipboard. The Utilities menu is also accessed here. My feeling is that the Utilities are still under some construction. When I read the manual, I anticipated that some of the text tools would be useful for text manipulation that I frequently have to do on files I transfer to my Mac during Telnet sessions with a VAX mainframe. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Two Utilities that are occasionally useful are the date and time insert options available under "Date & Time" submenu and the save/open file options under "Misc tools."
The Utilities menu can be accessible to the Finder and open software applications via their "Edit" menu, but does not work with all applications (Word 5.1, for example). If it worked with Word 5.1, I would have found the Text Tools far more useful and perhaps the other Tools as well. The Utilities menu option is most useful in my experience to Delete Clips or access the Clip Archives from the Finder.
These "peeves" are minor compared to the overall utility of this extension. It is certainly more than worth the investment. An interesting sidelight is the origin of the program, Peter Hoerster began programming because he wanted to have the Bahéí (not an exact replica of the proper printing, but these were the best characters I could find in my font collection) date on this computer. I may never use the Utility that adds a Bahéí date to a clipboard, but I'm thankful its there, because without it, there'd be no CopyPaste.
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This review is ©1996 Belinda Wagner, bwagner@bgsm.edu
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