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Data Management

ClipMate allows you to organize clips into collections for long-term storage and categorization. Whether you need ten clips or ten thousand, understanding collections is key.

Default Collections​

ClipMate creates three collections by default:

CollectionPurposeDefault Behavior
InBoxRecent clipsHolds 200 most recent; older clips go to Overflow
OverflowTrimmed clipsHolds 800 clips trimmed from InBox
SafeImportant clipsNever automatically deleted

Virtual Collections​

Virtual collections are specialized searches, not actual storage:

  • Trashcan - Shows all clips marked for deletion
  • Today - Clips captured today
  • Past 7 Days - Clips from the last week
  • Past 30 Days - Clips from the last month
  • All Bitmaps - All image clips

About the Trashcan​

The trashcan shows clips marked for future deletion. Each database has a retention rule (default: 7 days) before permanent deletion.

Rescue Clips

You can recover clips from the trashcan before they're permanently deleted.

The Flow of a Clip​

Typical clip journey:

1. Captured into InBox
         ↓ (200 clips later)
2. Moved to Overflow
         ↓ (800 clips later)
3. Moved to Trashcan
         ↓ (7 days later)
4. Permanently deleted

You can intervene at any point to move clips to Safe or custom collections.

Managing the Trashcan​

To empty the trashcan immediately: File > Empty Trash

note

This is optional—ClipMate's default handling means you rarely need to empty trash manually.

Capturing to Specific Collections​

You can capture directly into any collection:

  1. Make the collection active
  2. Enable "accept new clips" on the collection
  3. New clips go directly to that collection

Garbage Avoidance​

If a collection has "garbage avoidance" enabled, unwanted captures "bounce" to the InBox instead of cluttering your working collection.

Maintenance Scheduling​

ClipMate runs two types of automatic maintenance:

Retention Enforcement (Always Active)​

Automatically moves clips through the cascade (InBox → Overflow → Trashcan) during idle time. This runs every hour when your system has been idle for at least 5 minutes.

Cleanup (Configurable)​

Permanently deletes clips from the Trashcan after the retention period (default: 7 days). You can configure when this runs per database:

  • Never - Manual cleanup only
  • At Startup - Runs when ClipMate starts
  • At Shutdown - Runs when ClipMate closes
  • After Every Hour Of Idle Time - Runs during idle maintenance
  • Manual - Only when you choose "Empty Trash"

Configure cleanup timing in Database Properties.

See Also​