Lesson 7: Shortcuts

Shortcuts work like QuickPick but can pull clips from any collection or database. Think of them like desktop shortcuts to files—ClipMate shortcuts reference any clip in your system.

Exercise: Create Shortcuts

Using the credit card clips from Lesson 4:

1234123412341234
1203
5678567856785678
1204

(Re-copy them if needed)

Assigning Shortcuts

1. Select the first clip (card number)
2. Press Ctrl+R to open Rename Clip dialog
3. Set Title: Visa Number
4. Set Shortcut: .CC.V.NBR
5. Click OK

Repeat for other clips:

Clip	Title	Shortcut
1234...	Visa Number	.CC.V.NBR
1203	Visa Exp Date	.CC.V.DT
5678...	MasterCard Number	.CC.M.NBR
1204	MasterCard Exp Date	.CC.M.DT

Structure

Use periods to create hierarchies:

• .CC = Credit Cards
• .CC.V = Visa
• .CC.M = MasterCard

Carry-Over Prefix

Enable "Carry-Over Last Prefix" to auto-fill .CC.V. when creating similar shortcuts.

Move to Safe Collection

Important clips deserve a permanent home:

1. Select the shortcut clips in ClipList (Shift+Click for range)
2. Edit > Move To Collection
3. Select Safe

Clips in Safe won't be automatically deleted.

Using Shortcuts

Type . (period) to activate shortcuts. All shortcut clips appear at the top of the ClipList.

Narrowing Results

You Type	Result
.	All shortcuts
.CC	Only credit card clips
.CC.V	Only Visa entries
.CC.V.D	Just Visa Expiry Date

Backspace widens the search. Escape cancels.

Shortcuts + QuickPaste

The most powerful combination:

1. You're on a web form needing MasterCard details
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+Q (QuickPaste)
3. Type .CC.M
4. MasterCard clips appear
5. Select and press Enter to paste
6. Ctrl+Shift+Q again—your search is still active!
7. Select next item and Enter

Organizing Shortcuts

Plan your hierarchy:

• .CC — Credit cards
• .U — URLs
  • .U.N — News URLs
  • .U.J — Joke URLs
• .ADDR — Addresses
• .PWD — Passwords (use encryption!)

Related Topics

• QuickPaste Options
• QuickPick (Lesson 6)

Congratulations!

You've completed the ClipMate tutorial! You now know:

• Basic clipboard capture and retrieval
• PowerPaste for sequential pasting
• Append to combine clips
• QuickPaste for ad-hoc pasting
• Text editing features
• QuickPick for filtering
• Shortcuts for instant access

Explore the rest of the documentation to discover even more features!