Getting started
Organize with collections, labels and pins
History is chronological. Collections are what you keep on purpose.
Pro
What it does
Three tools, three different jobs:
- Pins keep a clip at the top of the picker for as long as you want it there.
- Collections are named folders you can filter the picker by.
- Labels are the same idea with a keyboard shortcut attached, so a filtered view is one key away.
Where the collections live
You choose. Collections and smart folders can render as horizontal pill chips above the search bar, or as a dedicated vertical sidebar rail down the left side of the picker. The rail suits a long list, the chips suit three or four.
Multi-select
Mark several clips with ⌘M, then press ⌘⏎ to take them back as one, in the order you marked them, with a separator you choose in Settings: newline, comma, space or tab. This is the fast way to build a list out of things you copied one at a time. In the default Clipboard mode they are merged onto the clipboard for your own ⌘V; in Active-app mode they are pasted for you one after another.
Drag out
Drag any clip to Finder. Images and files drop as themselves, and text drops as a real .txt file. Nothing is converted behind your back.
Tips
- Let a rule do the filing. A rule that files every screenshot into a Screenshots collection means you never maintain it by hand.
- Related clips is the shortcut for “where is the other version of this”, which is usually faster than remembering the words you searched for last time.
Set up a collection you will actually use
- 1 Create the collection
Open the picker with ⌘⇧V and create a named collection, for example Screenshots, Standups or Client A.
- 2 File clips into it
Add a clip to a collection from its card, or let a rule file it automatically the moment you copy something that matches.
- 3 Filter by it
Pick the collection from the picker to see only those clips. Collections can sit as pill chips above the search bar or as a vertical rail down the left side.
- 4 Give it a key
Assign a label hotkey so the filtered view is one keystroke away instead of a click away.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between pinning and a collection?
A pin keeps one clip at hand permanently. A collection is a named group you can filter by. Most people pin a handful of clips and keep a few collections.
What are related clips?
From any clip you can jump to others with similar meaning, which is how you find the other three versions of a paragraph you have been rewriting.
Do pinned clips survive Clear on lock?
Yes. Clear on lock wipes history when your Mac locks and keeps pinned clips.
