v3.1.2 - Test 2

Download ac312-t2.zip

New: Recently Clicked popup submenu item [only shown when not empty]
Fix: New popup menu items don't require a reset of the Show Order user configuration options

Notes: Currently, the Clicked queue doesn't check for duplicates. Also, there isn't a configuration option to set the size of this queue either.

v3.1.2 - Test 1

Download ac312-t1.zip

Fix: Clipboard Watcher causing constant monitoring refreshing

When a sound was configured for a new clipboard item, this problem would cause it to be played constantly at regular intervals.

v3.1.1 Test 8 - Feature Freeze

ac311-t8.zip

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

The Copy Selected option caused a few conflicts with some programs when sending CTRL+C keystrokes to non-standard text controls to detect selected text. This will, unfortunately, mean that selected text in a web browser will not be detected by default, but it will mean problems caused by this option should be fixed.

--

This will be the last of the features added to this release of ArsClip. Only last minute bug fixes will be addressed before the official release.

v3.1.1 Test 7

ac311-t7.zip

Fix: The "Save to" group option only worked for existing items, not new items.

v3.1.1 Test 6

ac311-t6.zip

Fix: 'Mimic Type' setting in Program Options menu item not working

v3.1.1 Test 5

ac311-t5.zip

New: Option to set the smallest popup item height in pixels - default 16
New: Icons scaled to fit popup item height
New: Clipboard Bar can be resized vertically
Fix: 'Edit Selected' disabled for the desktop (and possibly Explorer)
Fix: Clipboard Bar was not made visible

Edit Selected was causes some long pauses when the target was the desktop (and in some cases Explorer). I've disabled this for those targets until I can find a workaround.

The new "smallest" option lets a user with a small font choose an item height that's less visually appealing, but can fit a lot more items in a smaller space. The size of each item is the largest number between the "smallest" setting and the height of the text, so the font size choice will always fit. The icons now scale to fit these smaller sizes.

v3.1.1 Test 4

ac311-t4.zip

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

v3.1.1 Test 3

ac311-t3.zip

Fix: Improved compatibility for the highlight and separator lines

In this version, the gradient has been made more subtle and the colors use for both the highlight and highlight text are the currently defined system colors. The highlight is now using a dark border, a slightly lighter top and a slightly lighter bottom - all based off of the current highlight. The highlight is still distinctive, but should be much more similar to 2K and XP's highlight settings and Themes.

The edge lines used for separators on the popup are the darker edges used in XP and 2K but are lighter for Vista to closely match Vista's style.

v3.1.1 Test 2

ac311-t2.zip

Fix: Tweaks for Win2K and XP with basic theme.

The highlight and menu color have been brigthened when the luminocity is low. This should improve the appearance of old OSes and themes using a dark and dull color.

v3.1.1 Test 1

ac311-t1.zip

New: Experimental 'Clipboard Bar' system tray menu option
New: Experimental marker for the current text item on the clipboard
Fix: Tweaks for the colors on Win2K systems

Currently, the Clipboard Bar only supports moving (via dragging) and horizontal sizing on the right size.

If you can't see the current clipboard item marker, then I've probably failed in the choice of marker. It's a selection rectangle around the program icon.

For Win2K systems, the popup's highlight was way to dark, the line separators didn't match, and there's no color difference between the icon column and the rest of the popup. For XP systems running basic theme's, I don't have a fix yet.

ArsClip uses the system defined colors for Menu and Highlight, so you can always tweak them in the display properties of the OS.

Next version v3.1.1 ideas

These are some of my ideas and some user ideas that I forgot about or haven't figured out how to implement until how. If you have an idea of your own, send it to me.


- Current clipboard indicator on popup

The idea is to have some visual clue to show which text or non-text item on the popup is the one currently on the clipboard. Most of the time the topmost item is the one on the popup until you click on another item or even a permanent item.

My first idea is to have a color change or maybe an underlined font - which ever is less distracting.


- Current Clipboard floating window or bar

If you've used uTorrent, it has a "Download Bar" option that displays a tiny always on top tooltip showing current status information. I was thinking that this would be a perfect option for always showing the current clipboard contents as well as other information. I was thinking about including hotkey information and the time/date when the clipboard item was created.

At a minimum, the user must be able to drag it around and close it with little effort.


- User option for line spacing / minimum size of popup items

For users that have a lot of information on the popup, a few pixels per item add up quickly. This option will let the user trade appearence for functionality and crowd the items as much as they want to shrink the total size of the popup.

v3.1.0 and feature freeze

After reviewing the changelog, I've decided to up the version to v3.1.0 (instead of v3.0.4) and no more new features will be added until after an official release.

Only bug fixes will be made available as Public Betas.

Version 3.1.0 will include 13 New features and 8 Bug fixes (not include bugs introduced in the Test Versions).

v3.0.4 Test 18

ac304-t18.zip

New: Current Clipboard item shown when the system tray icon is clicked
Fix: Added a reliable method of getting selected items in standard edit controls
Fix: Less delay for showing the popup when either selected item is configured

Notes: The clipboard is shown as a tooltip, except when you have configured the main popup to shown when the system tray icon is single clicked. This new method lets you know what's on the clipboard without a hassle.

ArsClip has two methods for detecting selected text (or files) in the foreground program. The first method is reliable and uses standard TextBox messages to determine something is selected. The text is retrieved via CTRL+C and the program only pauses long enough for the item to appear on the clipboard. The second method is used when the target window isn't a standard edit control. CTRL+C is simulated and after a small pause (100ms) the clipboard is checked for a new item. This method sometimes, but not often, doesn't detect a selected item in time.

v3.0.4 Test 17

ac304-t17.zip

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
Fix: The Permanent Item's name wasn't set when editing certain types of clips.

When creating a new permanent item, before you could only save it into the current permanent group (which changes depending on which program is in the foreground).

The new "Move To" right-click option in permanent items is just another method to use instead of draging the item on the window.

v3.0.5 Test 16

Test 16??? A bunch of little changes add up to a lot of test version.

ac304-t16.zip

Fix: Only ALT being held down will block the main popup from being shown
Fix: Hotkey not being show on system tray's tooltip when "flashing" the icon has been disabled
New: Option to show the Edit Item window instead of the popup when highlighted items are detected

I'm not quite sure about the wording of the new feature. This new option lets you highlight something (text or files), press the normal popup hotkey to edit the text using the Edit Item window. Actually, I'm also not sure if the "Edit Selected" popup item is needed or good to have with this easier option.

Anyways, I need feedback on these new items. I'm leaning towards removing "Edit Selected" by default. Most users won't know it's there and will probably only discover it on accident on the rare occasion they open the popup with something highlighted.

v3.0.4 Test 15

ac304-t15.zip

Fix: Tweak for the routine that waits for the hotkey to be released before showing the popup
Fix: "Edit Selected" was not supported when keystroke monitoring was disabled
Fix: Various minor configuration visual changes

I'm going to look at the routine that waits for keys to be released to see how I can speed it up a bit. For example, if "Edit Selected" is not shown on the popup, I don't need to wait for any keys to be released, but I know for sure that I need to wait for ALT to be released when it is shown. If there is no wait, it will override the CTRL+C keystroke to copy the selected item.