JoeJoe's freeware utilities

ArsClip

ArsClip is a FREE (freeware) utility for the windows clipboard. ArsClip monitors the clipboard and keeps track of the entries. Press a configurable hotkey and select an item (or items) to quickly paste into a program.

ArsClip used to be barebonez, but I think I can safely say that it has become a nicely featured program (due to user requests for changes). ArsClip remembers the last 15 (default) or more text entries entered into the Window's clipboard and can be configured to monitor non-text items. Delphi 6 (Personal) source code is included - modify it freely for any non-profit use. NOTE: The newer versions are compiled with Turbo Delphi for Win32 (also a free download).

message thread on Ars Technica (may require registration)

Features

- Multiple permanent items groups
- Picture, RichText, File Copy, Unicode, HTML support
- Keypress emulation
- Form Mode for pasting multiple fields
- Highly configurable

Requirements

This program was written with Delphi 6 (now Turbo Delphi) and requires no installation. It has been tested on Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional. Tested on Vista started with version 3.0.1.

joejoe Jul-06-10 6:01 PM CDT

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Changes in v3.1.4

Download acv314a.zip

New: Jump List support for Windows 7
New: Icon's re-vamped
New: POPUPITEM command in Permanent Items
New: Updated URL fix code to encode spaces for a legal URL

Fix: "replace formatted text with plaintext" option caused a crash
Fix: Clipboard Bar state saved
Fix: Unicode text sometimes falsely detected as duplicate
Fix: Right-Click hold trigger ignored when the mouse is moving [for drag operations]
Fix: Reworded clips to use the word "clip" instead of "item"
Fix: Right-Click on a Permanent Clip on the popup caused an error message
Fix: Mimic Typing speed increased
Fix: Search didn't wait until typings stopped before searching
Fix: The "undelete" item missing from the Recently Removed Clip's right click menu
Fix: Small tweaks to the system tray's menu
Fix: Removed unused "Refresh" system tray item for Vista or above systems

joejoe May-20-09 7:17 PM CDT

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Changes in v3.1.3

Download acv313.zip

New: Option to keep non-text items in a separate list
- Duplicate non-text clips now detected

New: Holding the right mouse button displays the popup
- RightClickDelay variable added to the ArsClip.ini text config file [defaults 600 milliseconds (0.6 seconds)]
- Added new "Program Options" setting to disable the right-click trigger for individual programs.

New: "Paste Selected" will combine and paste items as Unicode (when supported)
- Unicode text now displayed in "Paste Selected" dialog

New: "(Column Break)" item added to Show Order options

(EDIT)Fix: Display warning message if files data cannot be created
Fix: Workaround for crash when system tray icon triggered and display driver reset
- "OldTrayPopup" configuration option added to ArsClip.ini text file

Fix: Permanent Item global hotkeys incorrectly triggered by other programs/hardware
Fix: Errors when copying large, complex items [from programs like Excel]
Fix: Problem with Text Items format configuration
Fix: "Replace formatted text with plaintext" would alter some non-text items, like file copies.
Fix: Some data left on Edit History dialog after "Flush Everything"
Fix: Optional setup program updated
Fix: Minor GUI fixes for the configuration window
Fix: Missing tooltip for Recently Clicked items
Fix: Mimic Typing now works with AltGr generated characters
Fix: Some global hotkeys incorrectly triggered by other programs/hardware
Fix: "Clear" hotkey button not working for editing a Permanent Item

joejoe Jan-12-09 4:47 PM CST

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Changes in v3.1.2

Download acv312.zip

New: "Search" popup item
New: Recently Clicked popup submenu item [only shown when not empty]
New: Full/Configured Icon open "Show Order" configuration window
New: "Edit Permanent Items" added to submenu of All Items submenu and Switch To submenu
New: Edit button show on Popup for currently highlighted Permanent Item
New: Sound Enable is now a configuration item (requires registry write when enabled)

Fix: "Make Permanent" failed on the very first run
Fix: New popup menu items don't require a reset of the Show Order user configuration options
Fix: Clipboard Watcher causing constant monitoring refreshing
Fix: Shortcut key for "Last" is now reserved even when not currently shown
Fix: Using the Windows Key as hotkey could cause other hotkeys to execute
Fix: "Permission denied" message incorrectly shown for programs with no text fields
Fix: Dragged Permanent Items with keystrokes problem
Fix: "All Items" was not displayed if last group was empty
Fix: Menu item renamed to "Permanent Groups"
Fix: Right-Click on Non-text Items was not working

joejoe Apr-16-08 5:08 PM CDT

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Changes in v3.1.1

Download acv311.zip

New: Marker for the current text item on the clipboard
New: Experimental 'Clipboard Bar' system tray menu option
New: Option to set the smallest popup item height in pixels - default 16
New: Icons scaled to fit popup item height
New: Configuration option to disable the 'Copy Selected' operation for non-standard text controls [enabled by default]

Fix: Images copied in Internet Explorer detected as HTML instead of pictures
Fix: Tweaks for the colors on Win2K systems
Fix: Tweaks for Win2K and XP with basic theme
Fix: Rendering of 'System' item and checkboxes update on the popup
Fix: Tweaks to the left column and tooltip header colors to be more compatible with different OSes
Fix: Tooltip shown on tray icon click covered up the icon - interfering with further clicking
Fix: Current Permanent Items doesn't need to be shown in Full Mode, when configured not shown
Fix: "Last:" item doesn't need to be shown in Full Mode when empty
Fix: Tweaks to the 'Edit Selected' item to be more responsive and eliminate possible freezing
Fix: Duplicate line separators sometimes shown
Fix: 'Edit Selected' disabled for the desktop
Fix: 'Mimic Type' setting in Program Options menu item not working
Fix: The "Save to" group option only worked for existing items, not new items.

joejoe Feb-17-08 3:31 PM CST

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Changes in v3.1.0

Download acv310b.zip

(Note: Original Release had a problem saving permanent items, 310b fixes that problem)

New: XP/Vista Theme Support
New: Updated look for the main popup and the system tray icon popup
New: Option to replace new formatted text clipboard items with plain text
New: "Edit Clipboard" sytem tray icon command
New: "Edit Selected" popup menu item
New: "Move to" right-click option for items on the Permanent Items window
New: Permanent Item edit window now has an option for saving the item to another group
New: Current Clipboard item shown when the system tray icon is clicked
New: Popup hotkey shown on tooltip when system tray icon hovered
New: Option to use a case sensative text item list
New: Included Removed Items in the "Move to first" when selected option
New: Option to show the Edit Item window instead of the popup when highlighted items are detected
New: Pressing Tab simulates pressing the cliptype icon on the main popup
New: "Application" keyboard key can be used instead of a right-click on menu items

Fix: Crash creating a permanent item when no default group exist
Fix: Ctrl+Click configuration option not loaded correctly
Fix: Improved the display speed of the tooltip when the item contains a very large amount of text
Fix: [Program Options->Shift+Insert] setting was not working
Fix: "Current" Permanent Group missing from popup under some configurations
Fix: Some Configuration items re-worded and re-organized
Fix: Hotkey was not being show on system tray's tooltip when "flashing" the icon setting disabled
Fix: Permanent Item name wasn't set when editing certain types of clips

joejoe Jun-11-07 11:47 PM CDT

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Changes in v3.0.3

Download acv303.zip

New: Permanent Items edit window
New: added Help/About tab to Permanent Items
Fix: "All Items" not shown when no Permanent Items exist
Fix: Empty permanent item groups not shown

joejoe Mar-14-07 9:51 PM CDT

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Changes in v3.0.2

Download acv302.zip

New: "Flush Clipboard" system tray command

Fix: "Switch To" configuration option not loaded
Fix: -data command fix for 2 files
Fix: Edit window "sticking" when accelerator keys used on popup
Fix: "Maximum width" not loaded on restart
Fix: Broken chain detected, but not corrected

joejoe Feb-03-07 8:17 PM CST

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Changes in 3.0.1

Download acv301.zip

New: Vista Clipboard API support - no more chain breaks in Vista
New: "Show Order" configuration option to fully configure the popup
New: popup max width option
New: [Popup -> Tooltip Hint] max width and height options
New: Improved disabled monitoring notification on the system tray
New: Save to Popup button on the Edit Item window
New: [P] cliptype icon for pictures

Fix: "-data" switch not saving all files in profile
Fix: Removed Items Flush rewritten
Fix: Program quits in Vista when hotkey pressed for High integrity process
Fix: Pictures scaled to fit tooltip
Fix: Only true type fonts were shown on Set Popup Font dialog
Fix: now only Text or Non-Text icons are outlined when highlighted
Fix: "Show Options" simplified to reflect Show Order changes
Fix: Font styles, sizes, and color settings for popup implemented (see Set Popup Font button)
Fix: minor font changes to windows and dialogs for ClearType support

joejoe Jan-12-07 4:29 PM CST

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Changes in 3.0.0

New: Right-Click menu item to show Menu (woohoo!)
New: Improved tooltip (hint window) graphics and positioning
New: Updated visuals for highlighted popup items
New: Program icon can be clicked on popup to Edit current item
New: "Program options" item on popup
New: "[CLIPBRD]" keystroke/command that inserts current clipboard contents into a Permanent Item when pasted - making it a template.
New: added "-data" command line option to store data in the current user's profile
New: "Edit" button on preview window
New: Right-Click cut/copy/paste menu for Edit window
New: Disable Chain Break detection option (for Vista)
New: Improved accelerator keys generation
New: Improved Unicode item displaying in Permanent Items

Fix: Index Out of Bounds error occurs when users run ArsClip for long periods of time
Fix: Problems when configured to show main popup on system tray
Fix: Removed Items Flush can fail if program immediately closed
Fix: Workaround for VBA (Visual Basic) clipboard items
Fix: Rare case where chain break detection is turned off permanently after the first break
Fix: Problem with Removed Items cache off by 1
Fix: Access Error when no text, non-text, or permanent items are on the popup.

joejoe Mar-18-06 1:34 AM CST

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Changes in 2.8.7

Fix: text truncated when pasted twice and "Last:" Show Option enabled

joejoe Feb-26-06 2:42 PM CST

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Changes in 2.8.6

New: Popup rewritten
New: Clickable cliptype icon to paste as formatted text
New: Complex text items configuration option for HTML, Unicode, and RichText
New: Improved ellipses (...) for URLs and filenames
New: Flush Everything system tray option
New: Automatically generated shortcut keys for all main popup items, including Permanent Items [when option enabled]
New: "SPACE" keyboard emulation option

Fix: Flushed items sometimes revert after a reboot
Fix: Hoovered tooltip's height limited

Older Items

Changes in v2.7.9
Fix: Many preview windows not wordwraping text
Fix: Program icon on popup sometimes shows up as generic application icon
Fix: Flush system tray menu items moved to a submenu
New: RichText shown in Removed Items and Shift+Click previews
New: Find button in Removed Items
New: [WAIT] command and [DATE] command for Permanent Items with simulated keystrokes
New: Edit Item window activated using the Ctrl+Click menu, Edit History, or Removed Items

Changes in v 2.7.6 thru v2.7.8
Fix: Resolved error dialog durring startup with richtext Removed Items  
Fix: Resolved crash displaying popup with specific Removed Items
Fix: Immediate crash when there are no Removed Items

Changes in v2.7.5
Fix: Remember.txt and solitary linefeed issue resolved
New: Pictures support for popup menu tooltips (Unicode popup only)
New: System tray option to disabled monitoring of specific programs
New: Improved "Current" popup item support of picture formats
New: System tray option to flush both text and non-text items
New: "Recently Removed" popup menu item
New: "Misc" popup menu item to streamline the popup, even in Full Mode

Changes in v2.6.9
New: [Control Panel] -> [Sounds] entry to play a sound when a new clip is copied
New: Option to show all permanent items directly as submenus
New: PreCaptureDelay variable added to ArsClip.ini for a workaround to Office
Fix: "Flush" items from system tray would display the main popup
Fix: Problem with Accelerator keys, emulated keystrokes, and the Unicode popup

Changes in v2.6.8
Fix: Program would freeze on some system showing the "Paste Method for" menu item
Fix: Program would freeze on some system using hotkey alternative methods
Fix: Error message when Save or Cancel not pressed in Permanent Items
Fix: Send keys may error out if pasted quickly mutiple times
New: "System" popup item in fullmode that shows the system tray icon's popup menu
New: Flush Text / Flush Non-Text seperated on icon's popup menu
New: Option to change popup font when Unicode is enabled
New: Duplicate "Flush" menu items removed

Changes in v2.6.7
New: Per-program pasting assignment option on system tray icon menu
(For Example, always use Mimic Typing for CMD.EXE)

Changes in v2.6.6
Bug: Fix to detect accidental single/double click on System Tray Icon to show popup
Bug: Fix for switching groups when editing a Permanent Item
Bug: Item Type ([P],[U],[T],[F],[R],[H]) not shown unless using Unicode Text option
Bug: Complex Items Permanet Items could be corrupted after several add & delete operations
New: Show "Paste as Plain Text" CTRL+Click menu option when pasting as Complex Item by default
New: Option to "Move..." a Permanent Item into another group

Changes in v2.6.5
Bug: Popup would always display at mouse position
Bug: Problem pasting from ArsClip into an ArsClip window
New: Show tooltip for "All Items..." hover when using Unicode popup
New: Permanent Items Groups sorted by name

Changes in v2.6.4
New: "All Items" submenu for Permanent Items
New: Options to display popup on when tray icon is single clicked
New: Default to mouse cursor when carat position is not found (for programs like Mozilla).
New: Better support for "Paste as complex item by default" and plain text
New: Resizeable Preview window

Changes in v2.6.3
Fix: Fixed duplicate hotkey detection to work with the Tooltip Popup hotkeys
Fix: Problem with RichText and the "Get Clipboard as..." button locking the window
Fix: "Paste Selected..." window's cancel button didn't work right
Fix: Up button on Permanent Items window could cause errors
New: Button to select type of clipboard format to use in Permanent Items
New: ArsClip can now paste into its own windows, like Permanent Items
New: 'FIX URL' now places the fixed URL on the popup instead of just on the clipboard

Changes in v2.6.2
Fix: GDI object leak when new clipboard item retreival fails
Fix: Problem when item copied and clipboard watcher executes at the same exact time
Fix: Win9x Mimic Typing problems with uppercase letters [Final fix]
Fix: "Cannot open exepigs.ini" error when shortcut working directory is different
Fix: Duplicate Hotkey windows message detection
Fix: Permanent Items Windwow - Up button did not range check
Fix: Multi-Monitor aware Preview Window
New: Option to "Fix" URLs broken by linefeeds (like in email, or bulletin board posts)
New: Option to show popup at Mouse cursor position
New: Keyboard Delete key works for Edit History
New: Option to show Permanent Item switching menus on popup (before, it was always shown with Permanent Items)
New: Option to paste as complex text by default (instead of plain text by default)

Changes in v2.6.1
Fix: Copy to Clipboard broken on Removed Items
Fix: Win9x Mimic Typing problems with uppercase letters
Fix: Numerous small display problems for the Unicode popup
Fix: More WinXP erronious errors removed
Fix: Icon restored when Explorer crashes
New: Any type of clip can be a Permanent Items
New: Option to label clip types on the popup (similar to Edit History)
New: Option for extended Clipboard Chain Break detection
New: Removed Flush Items confirmation dialog (since Removed Items is available)

Changes in v2.6.0
Fix: Rare "index out of bounds" error when deleting Permanent Item Groups
New: Show Unicode on Popup option and Tooltips (marked Experimental for now, even though it's stable)
New: Improved Removed Items form (similar to Edit History)
New: Support for complex item types in Removed Items
New: Option to disable Clipboard Chain Break notification

Changes in v2.5.3
Fix: False positive Clipboard Chain Break errors on WinXP

Changes in v2.5.2
Fix: Possible crash reporting Clipboard Chain Break
Fix: Possible error that "locks" the clipboard contents

changes in v2.5.1
Fix: shift+insert paste method fix (shift key could stick)
Fix: minor cosmetic changes
New: keystroke commands in permanent items
New: saves complex clipboard items and "other" items between sessions
New: improved edit history form
New: "config -> tooltip popup" options panel
New: save item icons in full color\save "other" items icons
New: move removed items from memory to files (requires less memory/allows large queues)
New: dialogs scalable
New: improved clipboard chain watcher reporting
New: double click icon option to show popup on system tray icon
New: keystrokes commands for the tooltip popup

changes in v2.5.0
Fix: "clipboard chain" error would multiply if left unattended
Fix: large font issues and forms controls not visible
Fix: clipboard chain watcher might produces access violation errors on win9x machines
Fix: shift+insert paste method not working on win9x machines
Fix: file monitoring problems on some win9x machines
New: autoswitch (remembers what permanent item group you use for each program)
New: tooltips on the popup to show a preview of a hovered text item
New: tooltip popup (single item popup, called by a 'previous' and 'next' hotkey)
New: option to double-click the tray icon to show the popup - alternative to a hotkey
New: paste as [richtext/unicode/files] option on the ctrl+click menu
New: item icons saved between sessions
New: identify the program that most likely broke the clipboard chain

Changes in v2.4.4
New: Numbers from 0-9 are used for text items accelerator keys
New: Form Mode - pastes an item, presses TAB, shows the popup again

Changes in v2.4.3
Fix: Wrong EXE released again! It pasted the permanent items name.

Changes in v2.4.2
Fix: Wrong EXE released. It didn't paste permanent items.

Changes in v2.4.1
Fix: Permanent Items window re-written to fix numerous bugs

Changes in v2.4.0
Fix: Fix for "Stack Overflow" message
Fix: File version read "2.3.10" instead of "2.3.0", updated version to be sequential

Changes in v2.3.0
New: Automagically detects clipboard chain breaks
New: Snazzy Icons
New: Detect email addresses when "Running" an item (opens email program)

Changes in v2.2.9
New: Ctrl+Click menu with Run/Preview/Paste/Clipboard options for the selected text item
Fix: "No paste" dialog would not show up in the foreground

Changes in v2.2.8
New: Configurable "Clipboard only" and "Make permanent" keystrokes
New: SHIFT+INSERT pasting option
New: "Refresh Clipboard Monitoring" command on System Tray menu
Fix: Copied text items with ampersands would generate accelerator keys

Changes in v2.2.7
New: Option to disable system tray icon changes
Fix: Better method of updating the system tray icon

Changes in v2.2.6
New: Shift-Click pictures in the non-text items to preview them
New: F1 + Click to "copy to clipboard only" a non-text item
New: "Flush" command in Full mode for text and non-text items
New: Two system tray icon notifications when an item enters the clipboard: one for normal mode, and one for disabled mode

Changes in v2.2.5
New: "Full Mode" command on popup to temporarily show all options
New: Configuration option to show Permanent Items as a submenu
New: F1-Click on a text item on the popup to copy to clipboard only
New: F2-Click on a text item on the popup to make it a new Permanent Item
New: Close the Preview window using keystrokes
New: "Copy to Clipboard" command in Edit History

Changes in v.2.2.4
New: Option to "Disable clipboard Monitoring when Scroll Lock is on"
New: "Copy to clipboard only" dialog for console style programs
New: Show "Edit History" on popup - configuration option
New: Shift-Click on a text item on popup to preview it's full contents

Changes in v2.2.3
Fix: Character encodings displayed wrong

Changes in v2.2.2
Fix: Increased compatibility with other clipboard monitors
New: Configuration has a new look
New: 'Paste in reverse' option in "Paste Selected" dialog
New: Dimensions are shown for pictures

Changes in v2.2.1
Fix: numberous bugs in the Permanent Items edit window
New: Configuration option to show "Switch to [Permanent item Group]" on popup

Changes in v2.2.0
Fix: Linefeeds without ControlReturn chars in remember.txt crashed ArsClip
New: Non-text items support (Experimental)
New: Configuration option non-text items (Clipboard Options, Pasting)
New: Previews on Edit History and Removed items

Changes in v2.1.5
Fix: Minor changes for filename logic
New: Configuration option for Removed Items
New: Removed Items dialog

Changes in v2.1.4
Fix: Testing for duplicate filenames
New: CTRL+Click will open/run files, folders, URLs items in popup
New: About window for version and homepage info

Changes in v2.1.3
Fixes -
- tabs no longer make the popup too wide
- focus is returned when ESC is pressed
- work around for Win9X and large text
Changes in v2.1.2
Fixes -
- garbage appearing in history (Haven't I said that before???)
- clipboard ignoring problem (when ESC pressed or focus lost)
- session not being saved at logout/shutdown
New stuff
- New option "If copied item is already in history, move item to the top of the list"
- "..." place after items too long to display on popup
- New option to show "Last:" on popup

Changes in v2.1.0
New Clipboard options
- Copy program icons to show on popup (Experimental)
- Load items from last session
New Popup options
- Show "Current" item on clipboard
- Number of characters to show for each item

Changes in v2.0.8 and previous versions
Fixed problem with accelerator keys and new pasting method
Fixed scrollbars apprearing on config form in WinXP
New pasting method "Place on clipboard and don't paste"
New popup option to move selected item to first in the list
Fixed bugs
- Paste selected didn't work when accelator keys where disabled
- Paste All/selected would place extra newline characters durring paste
- files/folders would place extra newline characters durring paste
New "Paste All/Paste Selected" option on popup
Updated Hotkey accepts ", . `" for keystrokes
New Edit History option
New monitor filenames and folders option (EG. when you copy a file in Explorer)
Windows Key is now usable for hotkeys
Had to removed the "preserve current clipboard item", this caused problems
CTRL+V pasting now does not overwrite the current clipboard item
New right click options on system tray
- Flush History
- Switch to...
Delete button from Permanent Item Groups
New Permanent Item Groups to switch between sets of permanent items (by user request)
New faster method of pasting option
- supports high ascii characters
- doesn't destroy editor's autoformating
- less keyboard conflicts
New right click options on the system tray icon
Double Left click opens configuration window
Fixed obscure bug caused when used with MS Office on Win2k/XP
Fixed bug where ArsClip was not correctly saving the type of hotkey used
Replaced Delphi's default program icon
Added configuration option to add accelerator keys to the popup window
Added configuration option to set the number of remembered items
Increased pasting speed

NO WARRANTY
ANY USE BY YOU OF THE SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE
SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED FOR USE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
ANY KIND. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE
SOFTWARE'S CREATOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY
KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
THE SOFTWARE'S CREATOR IS NOT OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE
ANY UPDATES OR UPGRADES TO THE SOFTWARE. THE INCLUDED
SOURCE CODE MAY BE MODIFIED AND DISTRIBUTED FOR NON-PROFIT
USE ONLY.