Paste It 7.0 - Paste Alt Text from Toolbar Popup & New Icon

I'm pleased to announce the release of Paste It 7.0, a major update which brings new features and improvements in an even tinier package. Here's everything that's new: 

• The most requested Paste It feature has been the ability to paste multiple items from the toolbar, and with the new version this behaviour is finally supported. Clicking the toolbar will now show a popup allowing you to paste  either the primary text or any of the 15 alternate text snippets:
  
  
  
  
  The popup support is fully accessible with support for mouse and keyboard control, plus you can hold down CTRL (⌘ on Mac) to copy text to the clipboard instead of pasting it immediately.
  
  If you prefer the original behaviour of pasting the primary Paste Text immediately on click, the popup can be turned off in the extension options by unchecking "Show Alternate Paste Text in toolbar popup".
  
  
• "Show Alternate Paste Text in context menu flyout" is now the default option to align with the new toolbar behaviour. This can be turned off in the extension options to only show the primary text in the context menu.
  
  
• Paste It has a new icon for the first time in 14 years. The blue star was added to help differentiate from other extensions and the default paste behaviour of the OS.
  
  
  
• Tidied up the UX of the Options page, with larger buttons, checkbox headers and cleaner transitions.
  
  
• Fixed a race condition where paste text could get cleared if the Options page was reloaded during the loading state.
  
  
• The options page has been updated to use native JavaScript instead of jQuery. By removing the jQuery library, the entire extension is now only 25kb - more than 50% smaller than the previous version.

Paste It can be installed to any Chromium-based browser such as Chrome, Brave or Arc from the Chrome Web Store, or from Edge Add-ons for Microsoft Edge. The extension is always 100% free with no ads or tracking.

12/07/24 - Update 7.0.1

This patch update resolves an issue that was preventing Paste It from interacting with ChatGPT.com and a small number of other websites.

28/07/24 - Update 7.0.2

Addresses a regression in 7.0.1 whereby focus events would not be received on a small number of websites, preventing form validation in some cases.

Papercuts 6.0 - Paste in Page

 Papercuts has been updated to version 6.0, which includes new features and improvements:

• "Paste in Page" - Hold the CTRL key (⌘ on Mac) with the popup open to paste notes inside form fields. This new feature works with most secure (https) websites:
  
  
  
  
  
• UX enhancements including a new set of SVG icons which look crisper on high-resolution displays.
  
  
• Support for selecting tabs using the keyboard (tab + enter keys).
  
  
• Export Notes now includes the tab name of each note.
  
  
• Resolved an issue where certain websites would clear pasted notes after focusing out of the input field.
  
  
• Resolved an issue where the enabled/disabled state would display incorrectly in the Notebook.
  
  
• Corrected the ordering of shortcuts on the browser's Keyboard Shortcuts page.
  
  
• Updated jQuery to version 3.7.1.
  
  
•  Installed package is now only 86kb, 33% smaller than the previous version.

Papercuts can be installed to most Chromium-based browsers such as Chrome or Brave from the Chrome Web Store. Please note that Papercuts is not compatible with Microsoft Edge due to differences in the way Edge handles bookmarks.

Existing installations will be automatically updated within a few days, some keyboard shortcuts may need to be reassigned due to a change in the internal IDs used.

As always, Papercuts is completely free, contains no ads, tracking or paywalled features, and does not have external access to your notes.

Paste It 6.0 - 16 Shortcuts

Version 6.0.2

• Resolved an issue where certain websites would occasionally clear the pasted text after focusing out of the input field.

Version 6.0.1

• Focus the primary text field when opening the Options.

Version 6.0.0

Paste It has been updated to version 6.0, which brings support for more shortcuts and UX enhancements:

• Increased number of alternate paste text shortcuts from 5 to 15, for a total of 16 shortcuts with the primary paste text.
  
  
• Updated Options UX to better support the higher number of shortcuts.
  
  
• Options now links directly to the browser's Keyboard Shortcuts page for convenience.
  
  
• Removed link to share on Twitter.
  
  
• Updated jQuery to version 3.7.0.

Paste It can be installed to any Chromium-based browser such as Chrome or Brave from the Chrome Web Store, or from Edge Add-ons for Microsoft Edge. The extension is always 100% free with no ads or tracking.

Existing installations will be automatically updated within a few days, Alternate Text keyboard shortcuts may need to be reassigned due to a change in the internal IDs used.

Papercuts 5.0 - Manifest v3, Search & more

Papercuts has been rebuilt to support Chrome Manifest v3, using service workers and new promise-based APIs. This ensures continued support for Papercuts when Google eventually deprecates support for Manifest v2 extensions.

Additionally, the new version of Papercuts includes many new features and enhancements, making it the largest update in over a decade. Here's a summary of everything that's new:

• New search feature to instantly find text across all of your notes, with a reminder of which tab it was added to.
  
  
  
  
  
• Increased the total assignable shortcut keys from 4 to 15.
  
  
• Refreshed UX on the Popup and Options page with cleaner theming colours.
  
  
• Fix to keep the cursor focus in the same place when pasting in the middle of an input field.
  
  
• Fix the auto-sizing behaviour of multiline notes.
  
  
• Fix for Copy to Clipboard behaviour on sites which do not support paste.
  
  
• Improved the behaviour of Drag & Drop to re-order notes.
  
  
• Browser-specific copy in Options when using the Brave browser.
  
  
• jQuery update to 3.6.3 and other performance enhancements.

Papercuts can be installed in Chrome or Brave from the Chrome Web Store. Please note that Papercuts is not compatible with Microsoft Edge due to differences in the way it handles bookmarks - my other extension Paste It is available for Edge and includes much of the same functionality.

As always, Papercuts is completely free, contains no ads, tracking or paywalled features, and does not have access to your notes.

Paste It 5.0.2 - Copy to Clipboard Fix

Paste It has been updated to version 5.0.2, which brings a behavioural change when pasting text in an input field which does not allow pasting. Previously Paste It would show a prompt asking if it should copy to the clipboard instead - now it will add the text to the clipboard without prompting.

This change was required to fix an issue that was introduced in Chrome 107 due to a new policy that blocks clipboard access unless initiated from a user gesture, see this bug report for further details about the issue.

New Behaviour

Old Behaviour with Error

 

Paste It can be installed for free from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons.

Paste It 5.0

Version 5.0.1

• Remove the request for notifications permission when updating to Paste It 5.0. The Options page has been updated to use standard window alerts on paste which does not require special permission.

Version 5.0.0

I'm pleased to announce Paste It version 5.0, the biggest update since I launched the Chrome extension 11 years ago. Here's everything that's new:

• Paste It has been rebuilt to support extension Manifest V3, using service workers and the new promise-based APIs. This ensures continued support for Paste It when Google deprecates support for Manifest 2.0 extensions in 2023.
  
  
• Increased Alternate Paste text fields from 3 to 5, for a maximum of 6 text fields with the primary text.
  
  
• New option to "Show Alternate Paste Text in context menu flyout", supporting all 5 Alternate Paste text fields in addition to the primary text.
  
  
• Fix to keep the cursor focus in the same place when pasting in the middle of an input field.
  
  
• Updated UI on the Options page with improved accessibility to assist Screen Readers.
  
  
•  The Brave Browser now links to "brave://extensions/shortcuts" on the Options page. Brave users can install Paste it from the Chrome Web Store and syncing will be supported via the Brave Sync Chain.
  
  
• Updated jQuery to 3.6.0 and performance enhancements.

Paste It 5.0 can be installed for free from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons.

The Chrome version of Paste It recently reached 20,000 users with daily installs higher than ever, while the Edge version continues to grow with over 1000 users so far. I hope you enjoy the latest update, and remain committed to providing Paste It as a free extension with no ads, tracking or paywalled features. Reviews and feedback are always welcome.

Phillips PicoPix Max Projector Review

As I was travelling over the past year I was looking to pick up a small projector that would be easy enough to carry for a great movie viewing experience on the go. When I saw the Phillips PicoPix Max on Indiegogo it looked like the perfect fit, with full 1080p projection in a small size and in-built Android.

After a 2-month delay receiving the unit, I've now been using it for 5 months on a semi-regular basis. Phillips have shipped several software updates in this time, most recently the first major update (version 1.1). This felt like a good time to post some initial thoughts.

I'm viewing on a white 100" projector screen.

Positive Thoughts

• Build quality feels premium and although far from 'pocket-friendly' as advertised, it's small enough to fit in a bag. At 850g it's not much heavier than a large tablet.

• Picture quality is good even at 100" - the image looks crisp without any visible artefacts. Many '1080p' projectors on the market are actually upscaling from 720p - the PicoPix Max uses native 1080p and the difference is significant at this size.

• Brightness is impressive at normal mode, and great for night-time viewing. My flat is bright in daylight it's difficult to view before sunset - an increasing problem as the days have gotten longer.

• When I first got the projector the fan noise was too loud unless I dropped down to the dim eco-friendly mode, but this was addressed in the recent 1.1 patch. Now normal mode is suitably quiet for viewing and eco mode is silent.

Issues

• It's advertised as an Android projector, but this is unlike any Android device I've owned. Largely this is due to there being no Google Play services, so you won't find a Play Store or any Google apps like Chrome or Play Movies. YouTube requires use of a 3rd party app for authentication, which I didn't feel confident to put my Google creditendials into.

• App selection is poor, the in-built 'Aptoide Store' lists many apps that simply don't work, giving errors such as 'Play Services Required'. When I bought the projector I'd hoped to watch The Mandalorian on it, but Disney+ wasn't there. More recently I tried to watch Westworld season 3, but I couldn't get HBO. After trying many apps in Aptoide I've given up unless they are pre-installed, which limits you to Netflix and only a small handful of others.

• The cast support on the device is basic screen share and the device has no ChromeCast support. This is a real shame as it would have been one way of circumventing some of the issues mentioned above, but most apps can't be casted from my Android phone. Other non-Android devices have "ChromeCast Built-In", so I really hope this get's added in a software update.

• I ended up purchasing a ChromeCast dongle to stick in the back HDMI port, but sadly this surfaced another batch of problems. Bluetooth Audio is only supported though the on-board software, so it's impossible to use with dongles like the ChromeCast - I've had to start using an old-school 3.5mm headphone cable to connect to my bluetooth speaker.

• As most display features are handled at the software layer, over HDMI you don't get many of the advertised features like 4-Corner Keystone correction. As a result I have to awkwardly position my screen at an angle to get a correctly aligned picture.

• This is more of a nuisance but other software features are missing over HDMI, for example you can't see the current battery level without switching the Input mode back to Android.

Verdict

The PicoPix Max feels is a nice piece of hardware with over-engineered software that fails to meet some of my basic expectations from a projector. Without Play Services, Android feels like a bad fit for this sort of device and I think Phillips would have been better off focusing on the fundamentals like full feature support over HDMI.

As most of the issues are software-based, it's not impossible to imagine them being addressed with updates before this device hits retail. Receiving Google Play Services might be a stretch, but ChromeCast Built-In would be a great start and give users a way of accessing apps that aren't supported.

The PicoPix Max is an intriguing device that offers a glimpse to the future of portable projectors, but I couldn't recommend it in it's current form.