Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 beta 2 released!

This is the second beta release of the next version of Clippings for Thunderbird. It is being made available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and are willing to tolerate a few inevitable bugs.

Read on to learn more about what's new in Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0, and how to get it!

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 from Clippings Manager -- right-click on the list of clippings and select 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
• Sync Clippings enhancements: sync data is now compressed, allowing you to sync more of your clippings; also, improved handling of read-only sync files
• When new users install Clippings for Thunderbird, it will only ask for the extension permissions it needs for basic functionality, and will ask to grant 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
•  New in 7.0b2  New placeholder for embedding a clipping in a clipping. Placeholder syntax: $[CLIPPING(Name of clipping)]
•  New in 7.0b2  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  

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 legacy 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 extension 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 extension permission requested and how to grant it. If you're upgrading from an earlier version of Clippings and had Sync Clippings turned on, the necessary permission for this feature 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 require an upgrade of the Sync Clippings Helper app. Read this blog post for details about Sync Clippings 2.0 and how to install the beta release.

How to Get It

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

To install this beta release, head over to the Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 beta 2 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-tb-7.0b2.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.

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.

Clippings 7.0 beta 1 released!

This is the first beta release of the next version of Clippings. It is being made available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and are willing to tolerate a few inevitable bugs.

Read on to learn more about what's new in Clippings 7.0, and how to get it!

What's New

• Copy clipping text to the clipboard by right-clicking on a clipping in Clippings Manager or in the new Clippings Sidebar
• Create a clipping from the contents of the clipboard in Clippings Manager (Tools → New From Clipboard). This enhancement finally brings back a feature that existed in Clippings for Firefox prior to version 6.0
  
• You can now add separators to organize your clippings in the Clippings menu. Separators can be added from Clippings Manager -- right-click on the list of clippings and select 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)].
  
• On Linux, the option to minimize the Clippings Manager window when it's inactive is now turned off by default
  
• Sync Clippings enhancements: sync data is now compressed, allowing you to sync more of your clippings; also, improved handling of read-only sync files
• Many behind-the-scenes improvements to ensure compatibility with future versions of Firefox

Things You Should Know About

• The version number of this beta release will appear as 6.99.1 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 and had Sync Clippings turned on, the necessary permission for this feature 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. Read this blog post for details about Sync Clippings 2.0 and how to install the beta release.

How to Get It

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

To install this beta release, head over to the Clippings 7.0 beta 1 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-7.0b1.xpi, then click on it and follow the prompts to add it to Firefox.

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.

Clippings 6.5.7 released!

Another update to Clippings 6.5, 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 requires Firefox 102 or 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: Message bar icons in Clippings Manager are almost invisible in Firefox 128 when using dark mode color themes (issue #474)
• 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.
  
• 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.

Help and Support

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

Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3.6 released!

Another minor update to Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3 has been released, and is now available from Add-ons for Thunderbird and the AE Creations website. This update introduces compatibility with Thunderbird version 128, the next major release of the popular email client which is currently in beta.

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

• Compatible with Thunderbird 128

Things You Should Know About

• 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.

Help and Support

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

Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 beta 1 released!

A beta release of the next version of the Sync Clippings Helper application is now available for testers and early adopters trying out the new Sync Clippings features found in Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 (and soon, Clippings 7.0 for Firefox). Read on to learn more about how to get it, things you should know about, and how to report a bug.

(If you've just stumbled upon this blog post and don't know what Sync Clippings is, you can learn more about this feature of the Clippings add-on for Firefox and Thunderbird 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
  

 Things You Should Know About

• Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 is backwards compatible with older versions of Clippings. Or rather, it should be -- testers are welcome to verify this!
  
• The macOS installer package is not available for this beta release; it will be available at a later date. Until then, see the next section, "How to Get It," for instructions on installing this beta release on macOS
• 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

Sync Clippings Helper is available as a Windows setup program (requires Windows 7 or newer) and a shell script for Linux and macOS that can be run from the command line. Get them from the Sync Clippings Helper 2.0 beta 1 page on GitHub.

To install on macOS, run the Linux setup shell script, which works on both Intel and Apple Silicon systems.

If you're already running Sync Clippings Helper on Windows, you can install this beta release over your current version. On macOS and Linux, the setup script will automatically detect and prompt you to upgrade a previous version of Sync Clippings Helper.

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.

If you find a bug with the Sync Clippings Helper app or its installers, you may file a bug report on GitHub. Please search the issues list first to confirm that your issue has not already been reported.

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 beta 1 released!

This is the first beta release of the next version of Clippings for Thunderbird. It is being made available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and are willing to tolerate a few inevitable bugs.

Read on to learn more about what's new in Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0, and how to get it!

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 is no longer available in the main Thunderbird window
• You can now add separators to organize your clippings in the Clippings menu. Separators can be added from Clippings Manager -- right-click on the list of clippings and select 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
• On Linux, the option to minimize the Clippings Manager window when it's inactive is now turned off by default
  
• Sync Clippings enhancements: sync data is now compressed, allowing you to sync more of your clippings; also, improved handling of read-only sync files
• Many behind-the-scenes improvements to ensure compatibility with future versions of Thunderbird
  

Compatibility

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 is compatible with the latest beta release of Thunderbird 128. It is not compatible with Thunderbird 115.x.

The Sync Clippings enhancements require an upgrade of the Sync Clippings Helper app. An announcement of a beta release of the next version of Sync Clippings Helper will be posted here shortly.

How to Get It

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

To install this beta release, head over to the Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 beta 1 page on GitHub. Look for the link to clippings-tb-7.0b1.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.

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.

Monthly update: July 2024

I've been repeatedly postponing the release of the first beta build of Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 due to some additional work that I wanted to get done, and I admit that I've fallen victim to scope creep. But it is now in a state where it's almost ready for release; there are still parts where it feels like it's half finished, but at least it's usable enough for testing. There's just some minor tweaks I'm making to the folder icon that appears in the Clippings menu and Clippings Manager, but that should be it....

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 will require an upcoming version of the Thunderbird email client. Thunderbird 128 is currently in beta testing (it's available from the Thunderbird website) and a public release is expected very soon.

What about Clippings for Firefox? Work on the next version of Clippings for the Firefox web browser is currently in progress. This new version of the Firefox extension will have most of the same features found in Clippings for Thunderbird 7.0 but with a few additional enhancements, including a new Clippings sidebar in the browser window. The first beta build of Clippings 7.0 for Firefox is planned for release in a few weeks -- keep an eye on this blog for the beta release announcement!

The improvements to Sync Clippings that are coming in Clippings 7.0 will require upgrading to a new version of Sync Clippings Helper, so also watch for an announcement of a beta release of this background helper application.

Clippings 6.5.6.1 released!

This update to Clippings 6.5.6 fixes a bug that is occurring on Linux. It is 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

• Bug fix: On Linux, pasting a clipping with placeholders doesn't work (issue #463)
  

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.
  
• 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.

Help and Support

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

Clippings bug on Linux: Pasting a clipping containing placeholders doesn't work

The latest version of Clippings that was released last week introduced a regression bug where pasting a clipping containing a placeholder doesn't work. This issue is occurring on Linux only, and is being tracked in this GitHub issue.

An update to Clippings 6.5.6 with a fix for this issue is currently under review by the Firefox Add-ons editors. An announcement will be posted here when it's released.

In the meantime, Linux users can work around this issue by downgrading to version 6.5.5, which is available from the Clippings version history page on the AE Creations website. Those who are interested in trying out the update with the bug fix can install a beta release of Clippings 6.5.6.1 from GitHub.

Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3.5 released!

Another minor update to Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3 has been released, and is now available from Add-ons for Thunderbird and the AE Creations website. Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3 requires Thunderbird version 115.

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

• Minor fixes and improvements
  

Things You Should Know About

• 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.

Help and Support

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

Clippings 6.5.6 released!

Another update to Clippings 6.5, 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 requires Firefox 102 or 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: Ampersands (&) don't appear in the Clippings menu for folder names (issue #422)
• Bug fix: On macOS, pasting a clipping using keyboard paste or containing placeholders doesn't work in full-screen browser windows (issue #432)
• 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.
  
• 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.

Help and Support

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

Sync Clippings Helper doesn't work on Firefox releases packaged with Snap or Flatpak

There's a known issue affecting Firefox releases that are distributed with Ubuntu 22.04 and Fedora 40; both of these Linux distributions use Snap and Flatpak, respectively, to distribute software packages. Firefox releases that were installed via these package managers are unable to connect to Sync Clippings Helper.

A symptom of this issue is an error that appears when trying to open the Sync Clippings settings dialog from the extension preferences page:

The About dialog also shows that Sync Clippings Helper is not installed, even if it is:

To work around this issue, download Firefox for Linux from the Mozilla website and install that instead of from the default package manager in Ubuntu, Fedora or other affected Linux distributions.

Monthly update: June 2024

Work is progressing well on the next version of Clippings. The work I've done in the last two releases has paid off, making the conversion to Manifest V3 fairly smooth. That means more time can be spent on implementing the same new features from Clippings for Thunderbird, and maybe even fit in one extra enhancement.

In the meantime, a minor release of Clippings 6.5 and Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3 will be out soon, which contains a few bug fixes, such as one for a macOS-specific issue where I was able to find a suitable fix that was less complicated than a larger UI revamp that I originally had in mind. Proving that keeping it simple is the way to go!

Read Next 1.1.5 released!

An update to Read Next 1.1, the reading list extension for Firefox from AE Creations, has been released and is now available from Firefox Add-ons and the AE Creations website. Read Next 1.1 requires Firefox 102 or newer.

If you already have an older version of Read Next 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 Read Next 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 fixes and improvements 

Help and Support

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

Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3.4 released!

A minor update to Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3 has been released, and is now available from Add-ons for Thunderbird and the AE Creations website. Clippings for Thunderbird 6.3 requires Thunderbird version 115.

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

• Added special handling of import files created from future versions of Clippings

Things You Should Know About

• 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.

Help and Support

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

Clippings 6.5.5 released!

An update to Clippings 6.5, 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 requires Firefox 102 or 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

• Added special handling of import files created from future versions of Clippings
  
• Minor 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 versions 102 and 115.
  
• 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.

Help and Support

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