Make the most of Butler's custom pasteboards
Feb 26, '07 07:30:04AM
Contributed by: kabing
It took me a while to really grasp the power and usefulness of Butler's custom pasteboards (aka clipboards). But once I did, I've found them to be a wonderful time-saver Here are some hints to get folks started. They are structured as a series of steps, but you don't need to follow the order slavishly.
Create some Custom Pasteboards: Good candidates are strings of text that you use frequently. My custom pasteboards include the following:
- the html sytnax for a hidden link
- website urls preformatted as hidden links for posting in forums
- search syntax strings for Accordance Bible Software
- templates for the editing of a wiki
To create a custom pasteboard:
- Copy the text you want to save
- Pull up Butler's Configuration window
- Click on the "+" button at the bottom, move down to Smart Item, then Pasteboard and then choose Custom Pasteboard
- Give the pasteboard an identifying name
- Place it somewhere in your configuration (I keep mine in the "This Mac" menulet)
Read on for a few more tips to get the most out of custom pasteboards...
Group your pasteboards in Containers (aka folders): At first, I only had a few custom pasteboards, which floated "loose" in my configuration. But eventually I had so many custom pasteboards, that became unwieldy. So I organized them by the contexts in which I use them. Among my pasteboard containers are: Accordance, NeoWiki, and Miscellaneous. To create containers:
- Go to Butler's Configuration Window
- Click on the "+" button at the bottom, and chose Container
- Give it a name
- Move the Container to where you want it in your configuration
- Drag the appropriate custom pasteboards into the container
Assign Hot Keys: This, for me is the real magic of Butler's pasteboards, especially when combined with Containers. You can assign hot keys for individual pasteboards, but I have too many to keep track of that many hot keys. My solution, therefore, has been to assign the Containers hot keys. To assign Hot Keys to a Container:
- Open Butler's Configuration Window
- Click on the Container (or pasteboard) you want to assign a hot key to
- In the frame on the right, click on the Triggers Tab
- Type the desired hot key into the Hot Key field
- As soon as you assign a Hot Key to a container, a drop-down menu will appear. Choose one of the "Open a Menu" options
Now, if you type the hot key combination for one of your pasteboard containers, a menu will appear that lists all the pasteboards stored there. Use the arrow keys or the mouse to select the pasteboard you want and hit Return. The pasteboard is entered in your document.
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