Clippings

Clippings is a Mozilla add-on that saves you from repetitive typing. In this respect, this extension, which is compatible with the latest versions of Firefox and Thunderbird, offers to store clippings of entered text, which you can then reuse when you need to.

Needless to say, it can have a great impact on your productivity, mostly if your work involves typing the same string of text over and over again. The extension is easy to install and configure, and it is available from the developer’s webpage. It is excellent that there is a quick start guide to help you with the first steps.

Good news is that Clippings works with not only words but longer phrases and even more complex combinations. It can help you store items from webpages and form fields in Firefox. Likewise, it lets you select and add text from an email message in Thunderbird. However, you may prefer to simply drag the selection and drop onto the corresponding toolbar button. Finally, there is also the possibility to save the source page URL together with the rest of the data.

To paste a clipping, you can use the context menu. Likewise, there is an autocomplete menu, which lets you find it by typing its name. Besides, it is quite convenient that you do not always need to use the mouse to reuse a clipping. Instead, you can type hotkey combinations. What is more, you can even create custom combinations to paste specific chunks of text.

Clippings are stored in a database. In this regard, there is the Manager, which lets you create a sort of folder structure that helps you find the desired clipping more easily. In addition, you can use color codes to differentiate entries by their types. Luckily, the database can be backed up to safeguard your clippings from accidental losses. Not only that, your clippings can be exported and shared in a wide array of file formats.

Other useful features of Clippings include the possibility of using HTML tags to paste formatted text. Also, I find it quite opportune to use placeholders for such type of data as date and time. This way, the extension automatically prompts me to complete the missing part.

Fortunately, you can sync your clippings between Firefox and Thunderbird. Furthermore, you can install Sync Clippings Helper and use a shared network folder to make clippings available to several computers. More than just that, you can even use a Cloud location for such purpose as well.

It is a shame that there are certain conditions under which the extension does not work properly, for instance, when Firefox is in Private Browsing mode. Similarly, it cannot paste the desired elements on those sites that are protected against bulk pasting. Finally, it seems the add-on fails to remember the dimensions of its window the last time you opened it. In most cases, the limitations mentioned are not serious and are the result of restrictions imposed by third parties.

All in all, I am sure you agree that such an extension as Clippings can effectively increase your productivity by releasing you from the effort of continuously typing the same fragments of text. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you give it a try a least.