Monthly update: October 2025

This month, I'm working on Windows-specific improvements to Sync Clippings Helper, the companion app for the Clippings extension for Firefox and Thunderbird. I fixed a long-standing bug where it wasn't installed correctly for multiple users on the same PC. Currently, all users on the same PC who wanted to use Sync Clippings had to be Administrators, and each of them had to run the setup program, created using NSIS, to correctly set up their per-user settings. But this didn't work at all if users were Standard Users, even when entering an Administrator's credentials to allow the installation to proceed.

I was able to find the cause of the bug after realizing that Sync Clippings Helper wasn't correctly registered for Firefox and Thunderbird for all users on the PC. Fixing this bug also involved fixing the Sync Clippings Helper app so that it creates the per-user settings file, syncClippings.ini, during first run. This fix will get rid of the need for each user on the PC to run the setup program.

A beta release of an update to Sync Clippings Helper for Windows will be released soon for testers and early adopters. Users on macOS and Linux aren't affected by this issue, and can continue using Sync Clippings Helper 2.0.

While working on these fixes, I came up with some ideas for improving the installation experience of Sync Clippings Helper on Windows for IT-managed environments such as schools, libraries, businesses and other large organizations. These ideas will be considered for a future release.

The other priority for this month is to release the first public version of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension that lets you review the web addresses of all links in a draft message before sending. Keep an eye on this blog for the release announcement!

An Update on Read Next

In a previous blog post, I had planned on working on a new version of Read Next, the reading list extension for Firefox from AE Creations. Due to low user numbers, I've decided to abandon this effort. Minor updates for Read Next with bug fixes and improvements to keep pace with Firefox will continue to be released as needed.

Read Next 1.5.2 released!

Another minor update for Read Next, 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 1.5 is compatible with Firefox 128 and 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 (from the Firefox menu, select "Extensions and Themes"), 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

• Now available in German

Help and Support

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

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributor private-lock for translating Read Next into German!

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 5.1.2 released!

Another minor update to 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 5.1 is compatible with Firefox 139 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 (from the Firefox menu, select "Extensions and Themes"), 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

• Bug fix: On Windows, the replacement window for the "Minimize All Windows" action is shrunk down in size (issue #102)

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 7.1.2 released!

Another minor update to Clippings for Thunderbird, the extension that saves frequently-entered text for later pasting into email messages, has been released and is now available from Add-ons for Thunderbird and the AE Creations website. Compatible with Thunderbird 140 and newer.

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

• Updated German localization 

Help and Support

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

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Crowdin contributors Tobias Bannert and Pierre-de-la-Verre for updating the German localization!

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.

Monthly update: September 2025

Just in time for back to school or work after the summer holidays in the northern hemisphere, an update to Clippings has been released for Firefox, with an update for Clippings for Thunderbird coming shortly. This release contains a much-awaited update to the German localization.

Check Links 1.0, the first public release of the new Thunderbird extension that lets you review the links in a draft message before sending, is also coming soon. For now, a preview release is available for testers, early adopters, and translators.

I'm also planning to spend some time on some maintenance work on the Sync Clippings Helper installer for Windows.

Clippings 7.1.2 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 7.1 is compatible with Firefox 140 and newer. 

If you already have Clippings installed, it will be updated for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Add-ons Manager (from the Firefox menu, select "Extensions and Themes"), 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

•  Updated German localization

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 140 and newer.
  
• Some features may not be available when Firefox is in Private Browsing mode, or if the browser privacy settings are too restrictive.
• While Clippings works on the vast majority of web sites, some are now preventing pasting into text boxes. If pasting doesn't work, copy the clipping from Clippings Manager or Clippings Sidebar by right-clicking on it and selecting Copy Clipping Text. You can then paste the clipping into the web page by selecting Paste from the browser context menu.

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 contributors Tobias Bannert and Pierre-de-la-Verre for updating the German localization!

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.

Check Links 0.99 released!

A preview release of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension from AE Creations that lets you review the web addresses of all links in a draft message before sending, is now available for testers, early adopters and translators. This preview release is very close to what you'll find in the upcoming first public release.

Keep reading to learn more about Check Links, and how to get this preview release!

Features

• Choose how you want to review the links in your draft email. Use Message View to review the links one by one in a message preview. Or select Table View where you can review all of them at a glance. 
• Check Links can also detect link placeholders in your email, allowing you to replace them with a proper hyperlink. 

How to Get It

To install this preview release, head over to the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to add it to Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

If you've installed any of the previous beta releases, you'll be automatically updated to this release if automatic extension updates are turned on. 

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. 

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Translators Wanted!

Help make Check Links understood for a global user base. If you're fluent in English and another world language and would like to help, consider contributing a translation on SimpleLocalize.

Check Links 0.9.3 released!

This is the sixth beta release of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension from AE Creations that lets you review the web addresses (URLs) of all hyperlinks in a draft email message before sending. It contains a few important bug fixes, and is a must-have for all beta testers.

Read on to learn what's new in this release, and how to get it!

What's New

• Bug fix: Unresponsive composer toolbar button (issue #17)
• Bug fix: After updating Check Links, the composer context menu item disappears (issue #18)

How to Get It

To install this beta release, head over to the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to add it to Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

If you've installed the previous beta release, you'll be automatically updated to this release if automatic extension updates are turned on. 

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. 

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Translators Wanted!

Help make Check Links understood for a global user base. If you're fluent in English and another world language, consider contributing a translation! Learn more about how to get started.

Check Links 0.9.2 released!

This is the fifth beta release of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension from AE Creations that lets you review the web addresses (URLs) of all hyperlinks in a draft email message before sending. It's now available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and while this is the most stable beta release yet, expect to run into the occasional bug.

Read on to learn what's new in this release, and how to get it!

What's New

• Fixed Linux-specific UI bugs 

How to Get It

To install this beta release, head over to the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to add it to Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

If you've installed the previous beta release, you'll be automatically updated to this release if automatic extension updates are turned on. 

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. 

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Translators Wanted!

Help make Check Links understood for a global user base. If you're fluent in English and another world language, consider contributing a translation! Learn more about how to get started.

Check Links 0.9.1 released!

This is the fourth beta release of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension from AE Creations that lets you review the web addresses (URLs) of all hyperlinks in a draft email message before sending. It's now available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and while this is the most stable beta release yet, expect to run into the occasional bug.

Read on to learn what's new in this release, and how to get it!

What's New

• Added support for dark mode
• Improvements to keyboard navigation 

How to Get It

To install this beta release, head over to the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to add it to Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

If you've installed the previous beta release, you'll be automatically updated to this release if automatic extension updates are turned on. 

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. 

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Check Links 0.9 released!

This is the third beta release of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension from AE Creations that lets you review the web addresses (URLs) of all hyperlinks in a draft email message before sending. It's now available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and are willing to tolerate a few bugs.

Read on to learn what's new in this release, and how to get it!

What's New

• Added a menu item in the compose context menu
• User interface improvements in the Message View and Table View dialogs, including addition of user help

How to Get It

To install this beta release, head over to the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to install into Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

If you've installed the previous beta release, you'll be automatically updated to this release if automatic extension updates are turned on. 

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. 

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Monthly update: August 2025

I was planning on slowing things down a bit to enjoy the summer, but that changed one day when I accidentally sent out an email with broken links (the URLs were incorrect). Since I was using Thunderbird for email, I searched for an extension that could allow a user to review the links in a draft message and hopefully prevent the mishap that I experienced. I wasn't able to find such an extension for Thunderbird... and so, Check Links was born!

I threw together a functioning prototype in a weekend, and spend the last two weeks polishing it further. The first beta build of Check Links came out last week, and another is due shortly as this new extension for Thunderbird gets closer to version 1.0.

This has caused me to set aside the work that I had planned for a new version of Read Next, but I plan to revisit it when Check Links 1.0 is released.

Check Links 0.8.1 released!

This is a beta release of Check Links, the new Thunderbird extension from AE Creations that lets you review the web addresses (URLs) of all hyperlinks in a draft email message before sending. It's now available for testers and early adopters craving the latest and greatest, and are willing to tolerate a few bugs.

Read on to learn what's new with this release, and how to get it!

What's New

• Minor improvements to the Message View and Table View dialogs, including checking for blank URLs
• Draft emails will no longer be set as modified if none of the links were changed during link checking 

How to Get It

To install this beta release, head over to the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to install into Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

If you've installed the previous beta release, you'll be automatically updated to this release if automatic extension updates are turned on. 

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer. 

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Introducing Check Links: an extension for Thunderbird

Check Links is a new extension for the Thunderbird email client. With Check Links, you can review the web addresses (URLs) of all hyperlinks in a draft email message before sending. Never send an email with broken or incorrect links again! 

 

Get started by clicking the Check Links button on the compose toolbar. 

Review each link one at a time with Message View.

Keep reading to learn more about Check Links, and how to get involved as a beta tester! 

Features

• Choose how you want to review the links in your draft email. Use Message View to review the links one by one in a message preview. Or select Table View where you can review all of them at a glance. 
• Check Links can also detect link placeholders in your email, allowing you to replace them with a proper hyperlink. 

Testers Wanted!

Check Links is in the beta testing phase, and is being made available to early adopters and enthusiasts who are keen on trying out the latest and greatest!

You can get the latest beta release from the Check Links page on the AE Creations website, where instructions on how to install into Thunderbird are provided. Please note that it's not yet available on the Add-ons for Thunderbird website.

Check Links is compatible with Thunderbird 128 and newer.

Report a Bug

An up-to-date list of known issues can be found in the Check Links project on GitHub.

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

Help and Support

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

Clippings for Thunderbird 7.1.1 released!

A minor update to Clippings for Thunderbird, the extension that saves frequently-entered text for later pasting into email messages, has been released and is now available from Add-ons for Thunderbird and the AE Creations website. Compatible with Thunderbird 140 and newer.

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

• Bug fix: "Automatically break lines" setting is ignored if the Paste As dialog is enabled when pasting an HTML-formatted clipping (issue #243) 

Help and Support

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

Clippings 7.1.1 released!

A 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 7.1 is compatible with Firefox 140 and newer. 

If you already have Clippings installed, it will be updated for you if automatic extension updates are enabled. Otherwise, open Add-ons Manager (from the Firefox menu, select "Extensions and Themes"), 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 macOS, the placeholder prompt dialog is sometimes distorted if the browser window is full screen (issue #555)
• Bug fix: Issues caused by the Paste As dialog if it's enabled when pasting an HTML-formatted clipping (issues #557 and #559)

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 140 and newer.
  
• Some features may not be available when Firefox is in Private Browsing mode, or if the browser privacy settings are too restrictive.
• While Clippings works on the vast majority of web sites, some are now preventing pasting into text boxes. If pasting doesn't work, copy the clipping from Clippings Manager or Clippings Sidebar by right-clicking on it and selecting Copy Clipping Text. You can then paste the clipping into the web page by selecting Paste from the browser context menu.

Help and Support

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