Monthly update: November 2024

I've just returned from a much-needed vacation, and am gradually resuming my regular routine, which also includes tending to my projects.

Clippings 7.0 was recently released, as well as Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0. There was a delay in releasing the Firefox version of the extension as it was waiting to be reviewed and approved by the Firefox Add-on editors. A minor update to Panic Button was also released at the end of October, as planned.

I have some catching up to do over the next few weeks, so my workload on the Firefox and Thunderbird extensions from AE Creations will be fairly light this month. But expect a minor update to Read Next, which will be a maintenance release.

Clippings 7.0 released!

Clippings 7.0 is the latest and greatest version of the Firefox extension from AE Creations that lets you save frequently-entered text for later pasting into web page forms, and it's now available from Firefox Add-ons and the AE Creations website!

If you already have Clippings installed, it will be upgraded for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Add-ons Manager (Tools → Add-ons), click on the entry for Clippings in the list of installed extensions, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Check for Updates.

What's New

• Copy clipping text to the clipboard from Clippings Manager or the new Clippings Sidebar
• You can now add separators to organize your clippings in the Clippings menu. Separators can be added in Clippings Manager by right-clicking on a clipping or folder and then selecting Insert Separator from the context menu
  
• Brought back the ability to create a clipping from the contents of the clipboard in Clippings Manager (Tools → New From Clipboard). This finally brings back a feature that existed in Clippings prior to version 6.0
  
• New option to show the shortcut key of a clipping in the Clippings menu. Turn on this setting from the redesigned extension preferences page
• New placeholder for embedding a clipping in a clipping. Placeholder syntax: $[CLIPPING(Name of clipping)].
  
• On Linux, the option to minimize the Clippings Manager window when it's inactive is now turned off by default. Quickly turn it on or off by clicking the Minimize When Inactive icon on the status bar
  
• Sync Clippings enhancements: sync data is now compressed, allowing you to sync more of your clippings; also, improved handling of read-only sync files

Things You Should Know About

• Thunderbird Users: This version of Clippings is designed for Firefox and is not compatible with Thunderbird. Get Clippings for Thunderbird, which is compatible with Thunderbird 128.
  
• Some features may not be available when Firefox is in Private Browsing mode, or if the browser privacy settings are too restrictive.
• 
  
  
  Additional add-on permissions are now required for some features. When turning on Sync Clippings or performing actions involving the clipboard for the first time, a message box will appear, indicating the permission requested and how to grant it. If you're upgrading from an earlier version of Clippings, the necessary permission for Sync Clippings will already be enabled.

Compatibility

Clippings 7.0 is compatible with Firefox 128 or newer, as well as Firefox 128 ESR.

The Sync Clippings enhancements require Sync Clippings Helper 2.0, now available.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, hosted on Groups.io.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.

Panic Button 5.0.1 released!

An update for Panic Button, the Firefox extension from AE Creations that quickly hides your browser windows from curious eyes with a click of a button, has been released and is now available from Firefox Add-ons and the AE Creations website. Panic Button 5.0 is compatible with Firefox 115 and newer.

If you already have an older version of Panic Button installed, it will be updated for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Add-ons Manager (Tools → Add-ons), click on the entry for Panic Button in the list of installed extensions, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Check for Updates.

What's New

• Minor improvements to the extension preferences page
  

Things You Should Know About

• Panic Button won't work if Firefox is set to "Never remember history" in Privacy & Security settings.
• The Hide and Replace action is unable to restore any browser tabs displaying Firefox pages such as Add-ons Manager and Firefox Settings.
• Any downloads in progress will continue in the background if clicking the Panic Button to hide or minimize all windows. If Close All Windows was selected in extension preferences as the Panic Button action, downloads in progress will be canceled.
  

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Panic Button should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, hosted on Groups.io.

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 released!

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 is the newest version of the Thunderbird add-on that brings the convenience of Clippings to the popular open-source email client. It is now available from Add-ons for Thunderbird and the AE Creations website.

If you already have an older version of Clippings for Thunderbird installed, it will be updated for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Add-ons Manager (from the Thunderbird menu, click Add-ons), click on the entry for Clippings for Thunderbird in the list of installed extensions, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Check for Updates.

What's New

• The Clippings toolbar button in the message compose window has moved from the status bar to the Composition Toolbar. The Clippings toolbar button no longer appears in the main Thunderbird window.
  
• You can now add separators to organize your clippings in the Clippings menu. Separators can be added in Clippings Manager by right-clicking on a clipping or folder and then selecting Insert Separator from the context menu
• New option to show the shortcut key of a clipping in the Clippings menu. Turn on this setting from the redesigned extension preferences page
• New placeholder for embedding a clipping in a clipping. Placeholder syntax: $[CLIPPING(Name of clipping)].
  
• Sync Clippings enhancements: sync data is now compressed, allowing you to sync more of your clippings; also, improved handling of read-only sync files
• On macOS, automatic positioning of windows and dialogs, and saving of the Clippings Manager window position and size, are now fully supported and is turned on by default
• On Linux, the option to minimize the Clippings Manager window when it's inactive has been removed, since the window is no longer always on top in recent versions of Thunderbird
  
• When new users install Clippings for Thunderbird, it will only ask for the extension permissions it needs for basic functionality, and will ask for additional permissions if turning on Sync Clippings or creating a new clipping from the clipboard for the first time. This is a change from previous versions, where Clippings for Thunderbird requested full, unrestricted access to Thunderbird and your system
• Many behind-the-scenes improvements to ensure compatibility with future versions of Thunderbird

Things You Should Know About

• Users of Clippings for Thunderbird version 5.7 or earlier should take note: Clippings will no longer automatically import your clippings data when upgrading from those old versions. Export your clippings now (select the "Clippings 6" data format) so that you can import them when you're ready to upgrade Clippings to version 7.0 or newer.
  
• 
  Additional add-on permissions are now required for some features. When turning on Sync Clippings or performing clipboard actions for the first time, a message box will appear, indicating the permission requested and how to grant it. If you're upgrading from an earlier version of Clippings, the necessary permission for Sync Clippings will already be enabled.

Compatibility

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. It is not compatible with Thunderbird 115.x.

The Sync Clippings enhancements requires Sync Clippings Helper version 2.0.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, hosted on Groups.io.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.

Clippings 6.5.9 released!

Another minor update for Clippings, the Firefox extension from AE Creations that lets you save frequently-entered text for later pasting into web page forms, has been released, and is now available from Firefox Add-ons and the AE Creations website. Clippings 6.5 is compatible with Firefox 102 and newer.

If you already have Clippings installed, it will be upgraded for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Add-ons Manager (Tools → Add-ons), click on the entry for Clippings in the list of installed extensions, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Check for Updates.

What's New

• Bug fix: Backup reminder notification only appears shortly after Firefox startup. This issue affects users who keep Firefox running continuously (issue #503)
• Other fixes and improvements
  

Things You Should Know About

• Thunderbird Users: This version of Clippings is designed for Firefox and is not compatible with Thunderbird. Get Clippings for Thunderbird, which is compatible with Thunderbird 115 and 128.
  
• Some features may not be available when Firefox is in Private Browsing mode, or if the browser privacy settings are too restrictive.
• If you want to use Sync Clippings, download and install the Sync Clippings helper app. More information and download links can be found on the Sync Clippings page on the AE Creations website.

Get Ready for Clippings 7.0!

Version 6.5.9 is the last to be compatible with Firefox versions going as far back as 102. The next major version of Clippings requires Firefox 128 or newer. If you haven't already, upgrade to the latest version of Firefox as soon as possible in order to enjoy all the new features in Clippings 7.0 when it's released.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forum, hosted on Groups.io.

Clippings 7.0 release candidate 4 released!

A fourth release candidate of Clippings 7.0 is released to fix a serious issue in the third release candidate build, which has been pulled from availability. Unless there are any more last-minute showstopper issues, this build may become the official release.

See the previous blog post for details on the new features and improvements in Clippings 7.0, as well as compatibility information and other things you should know about.

Note that the version number of this release candidate build will appear as 6.999.4 in Add-ons Manager.

How to Get It

IMPORTANT! If you're already using Clippings and want to try this release candidate, back up your clippings first before upgrading.

To install this release candidate, head over to the Clippings 7.0 release candidate 4 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-7.0rc4.xpi, then click on it and follow the prompts to add it to Firefox.

If you've installed a previous release candidate build of Clippings 7.0, follow the same instructions to install release candidate 4 since it will not be updated automatically. 

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, now hosted on Groups.io.

If you find a bug, you may file a bug report on GitHub. Please search the issues list first to confirm that your issue has not already been reported.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.

Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 released!

A new version of Sync Clippings Helper, a companion application for the Clippings extension for Firefox and Thunderbird that syncs your Clippings data between computers or multiple instances of those applications, has been released, and is now available for download from the AE Creations website.

Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 adds support for new features found in upcoming releases of Clippings and Clippings for Thunderbird, and is compatible with current and older versions of those extensions.

If you already have an older version of Sync Clippings Helper installed, a notification will appear while Firefox or Thunderbird is running, letting you know that the new version is available. Click on it to go to the AE Creations website and download it from there.

The Sync Clippings Helper update notification.

You can download Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 anytime from the Sync Clippings Helper page on the AE Creations website.

What's New

• Supports sync data compression, allowing you to sync more of your clippings. The option to compress sync data is turned on by default in Clippings preferences
• Proper handling of read-only sync files. Creating or modifying a clipping or folder in the Synced Clippings folder is not permitted if the sync file is read-only
  

How to Get It

Go to the Sync Clippings Helper page for download links and installation instructions for Windows, macOS and Linux.

On Windows, the Windows Defender SmartScreen dialog may appear when launching the setup program. Rest assured that it's perfectly safe to proceed with the installation. To allow the setup program to run, click More Info, then Run Anyway.

The Windows Defender SmartScreen dialog may appear when launching the Sync Clippings Helper setup program.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about the Sync Clippings Helper app should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, hosted on Groups.io.

Clippings 7.0 release candidate 2 released!

This is a release candidate of the next version of Clippings, the extension from AE Creations that lets you save frequently-entered text for later pasting into web page forms, and is now available for testers and early adopters who are craving the latest and greatest!

This second release candidate fixes a few issues with notifications for backup reminders and Sync Clippings Helper app updates. Unless there are any more last-minute showstopper issues, this build may become the official release of Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0.

See the previous blog post for details on the new features and improvements in Clippings 7.0, as well as compatibility information and other things you should know about.

Note that the version number of this release candidate build will appear as 6.999.2 in Add-ons Manager.

How to Get It

IMPORTANT! If you're already using Clippings and want to try this release candidate, back up your clippings first before upgrading.

To install this release candidate, head over to the Clippings 7.0 release candidate 2 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-7.0rc2.xpi, then click on it and follow the prompts to add it to Firefox.

If you've installed Clippings 7.0 release candidate 1, follow the same instructions to install release candidate 2 since it will not be updated automatically. 

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, now hosted on Groups.io.

If you find a bug, you may file a bug report on GitHub. Please search the issues list first to confirm that your issue has not already been reported.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 release candidate 3 released!

This is a release candidate of the next version of Clippings for Thunderbird, the extension from AE Creations that lets you save frequently-entered text for later pasting into email messages, and is now available for testers and early adopters who are craving the latest and greatest!

This third, and hopefully final, release candidate fixes an issue with notifications for Sync Clippings Helper app updates. Unless there are any more last-minute showstopper issues, this build may become the official release of Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0.

See the previous blog post for details on the new features and improvements in Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0, as well as compatibility information and other things you should know about.

How to Get It

IMPORTANT! If you're already using Clippings and want to try this release candidate build, back up your clippings first before upgrading.

To install this release candidate, head over to the Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 release candidate 3 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-tb-7.0rc3.xpi, then right-click on it and select Save Link As, then choose a folder location on your system (for example, the Desktop). Then follow these step-by-step instructions from the Mozilla Support website to install Clippings in Thunderbird.

If you've installed a previous release candidate of Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0, follow the same instructions to install release candidate 3 since it will not be updated automatically.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, now hosted on Groups.io.

If you find a bug, you may file a bug report on GitHub. Please search the issues list first to confirm that your issue has not already been reported.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 release candidate 2 released!

This is a release candidate of the next version of Clippings for Thunderbird, the extension from AE Creations that lets you save frequently-entered text for later pasting into email messages, and is now available for testers and early adopters who are craving the latest and greatest!

This second release candidate fixes an issue affecting Clippings Manager. Unless there are any more last-minute showstopper issues, this build may become the official release of Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0.

See the previous blog post for details on the new features and improvements in Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0, as well as compatibility information and other things you should know about.

How to Get It

IMPORTANT! If you're already using Clippings and want to try this release candidate build, back up your clippings first before upgrading.

To install this release candidate, head over to the Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 release candidate 2 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-tb-7.0rc2.xpi, then right-click on it and select Save Link As, then choose a folder location on your system (for example, the Desktop). Then follow these step-by-step instructions from the Mozilla Support website to install Clippings in Thunderbird.

If you've installed Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 release candidate 1, follow the same instructions to install release candidate 2 since it will not be updated automatically.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, now hosted on Groups.io.

If you find a bug, you may file a bug report on GitHub. Please search the issues list first to confirm that your issue has not already been reported.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.

macOS users on Intel Macs: Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 release candidate 2 now available!

This is the second release candidate of the next version of Sync Clippings Helper, a companion application for the Clippings extension for Firefox and Thunderbird that syncs your Clippings data between computers or multiple instances of those applications. This version supports the enhancements to the Sync Clippings feature in Clippings 7.0, the next version of the Firefox and Thunderbird extension.

This release candidate was originally available for Linux only, but it's now available as well for macOS on Intel Macs.

What's New

• Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 is now compatible with macOS versions going back to 10.15 Catalina
  

See the this blog post for details on the new features in Sync Clippings Helper 2.0.

Things You Should Know About

• Because there are no changes to the Sync Clippings Helper app, and the app installers for Windows and macOS on Apple Silicon Macs are not affected, the second release candidate is only available for Linux and macOS on Intel Macs. Testers who are using Windows and macOS on Apple Silicon Macs can continue to use the first release candidate build.
  
• Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 is backwards compatible with older versions of Clippings.
• If you're installing Sync Clippings Helper using the setup shell script, make sure that Python 3 and the Tkinter package (python3-tk) is installed on your system. The setup script will check for those dependencies and will inform you if they aren't found.

How to Get It

Download the updated macOS installer from the Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 release candidate 2 page on GitHub.

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Sync Clippings Helper should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, now hosted on Groups.io.

Clippings 7.0 release candidate 1 released!

This is a release candidate of the next version of Clippings, the Firefox extension from AE Creations that lets you save frequently-entered text for later pasting into web page forms, and is now available for testers and early adopters who are craving the latest and greatest! Unless there are any last-minute showstopper issues, this build may become the official release of Clippings 7.0.

Read on to learn more about what's new in this version of Clippings, and how to get it!

What's New

• Copy clipping text to the clipboard from Clippings Manager or the new Clippings Sidebar
• You can now add separators to organize your clippings in the Clippings menu. Separators can be added in Clippings Manager by right-clicking on a clipping or folder and then selecting Insert Separator from the context menu
  
• Brought back the ability to create a clipping from the contents of the clipboard in Clippings Manager (Tools → New From Clipboard). This finally brings back a feature that existed in Clippings prior to version 6.0
  
• New option to show the shortcut key of a clipping in the Clippings menu. Turn on this setting from the redesigned extension preferences page
• New placeholder for embedding a clipping in a clipping. Placeholder syntax: $[CLIPPING(Name of clipping)].
  
• On Linux, the option to minimize the Clippings Manager window when it's inactive is now turned off by default. Quickly turn it on or off by clicking the Minimize When Inactive icon on the status bar
  
• Sync Clippings enhancements: sync data is now compressed, allowing you to sync more of your clippings; also, improved handling of read-only sync files

Things You Should Know About

• The version number of this release candidate build will appear as 6.999.1 in Add-ons Manager.
• Additional extension permissions are now required for some features. When turning on Sync Clippings or performing actions involving the clipboard for the first time, a message box will appear, indicating the extension permission requested and how to grant it. If you're upgrading from an earlier version of Clippings, the necessary permission for Sync Clippings will already be enabled.

Compatibility

Clippings 7.0 is compatible with Firefox 128 or newer, as well as Firefox 128 ESR.

The Sync Clippings enhancements require an upgrade of the Sync Clippings Helper app. The release candidate build of Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 is now available.

How to Get It

IMPORTANT! If you're already using Clippings and want to try this release candidate, back up your clippings first before upgrading.

To install this release candidate, head over to the Clippings 7.0 release candidate 1 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-7.0rc1.xpi, then click on it and follow the prompts to add it to Firefox.

Users of the previous beta releases will be automatically updated to this release candidate if automatic extension updates are turned on in Add-ons Manager. 

Help and Support

Questions and comments about Clippings should be posted to the AE Creations Help and Support forums, now hosted on Groups.io.

If you find a bug, you may file a bug report on GitHub. Please search the issues list first to confirm that your issue has not already been reported.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor 52fisher for providing updated localizations for Chinese (Simplified)!

If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help update or add a new translation, consider contributing a translation in Crowdin. Localizations in other languages are always welcome, and will be added in future releases.