We’ve all used the windows clipboard for cutting and pasting data. And we’ve all tried to go back to a clipboard item, only to realize that you’ve already pressed CTRL+C again and erased your previous “remembered” clipboard item. What if there were a way for you to never lose anything that you’ve copied or pasted to the clipboard. Sound too good to be true – well it isn’t. Enter ClipMate.
Let me be the first to say that ClipMate is NOT paying me for this review of ClipMate, and I have a paid license for the product (yeah – too bad for me that I bought it already, eh?). The truth of the matter is that you don’t know what you are missing when it comes to the windows clipboard until you purchase ClipMate.
In it’s most basic sense, ClipMate is a database that stores the items you’ve copied to the windows clipboard. It can run in two modes, but the mode I like best is in the windows-explorer type interface. You can create folders like you would in windows explorer, and organize your copied clips with these folders. There is also a main folder called the InBox that stores all of your copied clips before you’ve stored them (or leaves them there if you are the type that doesn’t like to sort things – though it you are reading this review I can’t imagine that you are a disorganized person).
There are a ton of advanced features, but here’s what ClipMate does best for me (as a web developer):
1. Organizes frequently used data. For example, let’s say you have the same form letter paragraphs you use every time you send an email for a job application. No problem. Write the letter in word (or notepad, or OneNote, or any program you can copy from [get it, yet?], and then hit CTRL+C (or copy any way you want). You will see the clip on your ClipMate clipboard (it’s really called the ClipMate explorer). Now you can create a folder (say Jobs), and then move this form letter (drag and drop). Now every time you want to use that form letter, open your email program and start to write a new email (e.g. press “write”). Then go to ClipMate, click on the Jobs folder, click on the note with your paragraphs to highlight the clip. Now back to your email program and CTRL-V to paste and presto. It’s copied.
2. Allows you to paste a sequential list of data (they call it PowerPaste) without going back and forth between applications a thousand times. For example, say you’re a client emails you with a list of 50 seo keywords that you need to cut and paste into excel to manage. Instead of cutting and pasting each one individually, you can copy the whole list into a ClipMate clip (where I have separate folders for my clients). Your turn on PowerPaste in ClipMate, and then go to excel where you are making the keyword list. With PowePaste on, every time you paste, ClipMate takes the next item from the list sequentially (you can go reverse it you wanted to also). So this way all you have to do is go to excel and click paste. Then move your cursor to the next field and click paste again. And so forth as you progress down the list. Believe me – do it for a 100 item list and you’ll see how fast it can go.
3. Remembers things you didn’t think you needed to remember. There are plenty of times that I copied something – a link, a quote, anything – and then later that day or the next day I wanted to know what it was that I had copied. The problem with the Windows clipboard is that once you copy again, you overwrite what you had. ClipMate solves that problem but putting everything you copy in your inbox. Of course I go through it and clean it out – deleting and organizing as needed, but to have the URL you copied 5 days ago and forgot about – right at your finger tips – is fantastic.
ClipMate has a ton of other features, too. You can work with text (I love the ability to quickly convert text to all caps, all lowercase, or mixed case), you can search your clips (awesome) and you can even encrypt clips that you want to keep secret.
Understand though that it will take you some time to get used to using ClipMate and you will need to do some exploring of the program to get a good feel for the advanced features. There are some videos on their website that go through some basic tasks, though they are limited in what they present. In the future I’ll probably make some tutorial videos to help people use the program.
All said, ClipMate is a fantastic product that I recommend you take a look at. They have a free trial you can use, and the purchase price is a very reasonable $34.95. You can find clipmate at www.clipmate.com.