 |  Jumpcut: Multiple Mac Clipboards
Made Easy
By Chip Carter
One limitation in both the Mac OS and Windows is that only the last item which has been copied (or cut) is saved in the Clipboard to be pasted. If you want to copy multiple items efficiently, often you need some sort of additional utility. Over the years there have been many freeware, shareware, and commercial utilities available to provide multiple clipboards.
I've tried at least a dozen of these utilities over the years, and currently I prefer Jumpcut: It's very simple, reliable, and free.
Jumpcut only remembers text; it doesn't process graphics. This keeps its use of system resources — memory and processor cycles — extremely low. Jumpcut is just an application: It doesn't rely on a System Preference Panel, an invisible "daemon", or a Startup Item. It does use a Menu Bar icon, so it's easy to use (and easy to quit, if desired).
A download link and instructions are at:
http://jumpcut.sourceforge.net/
After you've downloaded it you can keep it anywhere, but it's a good idea to just put it in your "Applications" folder. Of course you can drag it to your Dock to add it there.
If you add it to the Dock, you can click and hold the mouse on its icon to tell the Mac OS to always open Jumpcut when your computer starts up:
Whenever Jumpcut is open, its "scissors" icon will appear on your Menu Bar, as shown below. Just click on the icon and it will show the last 15 items which you've cut or copied. If you want to show more — or fewer — items, you can easily change that number, by selecting "Preferences…" near the bottom of the menu. There are also preferences for different Menu Bar icons, different hotkey combinations (discussed below), and a few other simple settings options.
To paste any of the items which have recently been cut or copied, you can just select the item from the menu…
 …or you can use a "hotkey" combination and a bezel will appear: This allows you to paste something without going to the menu. By default, clicking Control-Option-V will invoke the bezel, and it will paste as soon as you let go of the keys. To change which item you are pasting, just use the arrow keys after you have pressed the hotkeys, before you let go. After you've tried using the hotkeys once or twice, it's easy to remember.
By default, JumpCut remembers more items — 40, instead of 15 — in its "stack" for the bezel. You can also change that number under "Preferences…"
There are a LOT of other utilities out there which provide multiple clipboards. Since I'm picky about software ease-of-use and reliability, I've abandoned some solutions which had more-complicated-than-necessary interfaces, or offer too many other features at the cost of software conflicts or speed. Those of us who keep many applications and windows and open simultaneously (who doesn't?) want to avoid implementations which had obtrusive floating, sliding, or pop-up palettes, windows, or docks. Jumpcut does it's job well, and the price is right.
Posted by Elizabethon Wednesday, February 24 2010 - 19:00:00 |  | |
