Usage Guide

Usage Guide

This guide covers both manual and automatic transformation workflows in Clipboard Recast.

Manual Transformation

Manual transformations give you full control over when and how to process your clipboard content.

Basic Manual Transformation

1. Copy Content: Copy any text to your clipboard
2. Trigger Action: Press Cmd+Shift+A or click “Clipboard Actions” from the menu bar
3. Select Transformation: Choose the transformation you want to apply
4. View Result: A window appears showing both original and transformed content
5. Use Result: Choose to:
   • Copy: Copy the result to clipboard (original content preserved)
   • Replace: Replace clipboard content with the result
   • Close: Keep original clipboard content unchanged

Alternative Ways to Trigger

• Menu Bar: Click the Clipboard Recast icon → Select “Clipboard Actions”
• Keyboard: Press Cmd+Shift+A from anywhere
• From Menu: Click icon → Select “Clipboard Actions…”

Viewing Results

The result window shows:

• Original Content (left side): What you copied
• AI Result (right side): The transformed content
• Action Buttons (bottom): Copy, Replace, or Close

Both views are scrollable for long content.

Automatic Transformation

Automatic transformations process your clipboard content as soon as you copy it, based on your workflow rules.

Enabling Auto-Processing

1. Open the Workflows window (menu bar icon → Workflows…)
2. Check the “Auto-process clipboard changes” checkbox at the top
3. For each workflow you want to auto-trigger, enable “Auto-trigger when matched”

Privacy Warning

Auto-processing automatically sends clipboard content to your AI provider when conditions match. Be mindful when copying sensitive information.

How Auto-Processing Works

When auto-processing is enabled:

1. You copy content to clipboard
2. Clipboard Recast detects the content type
3. Checks if any workflows match the content
4. If a workflow has auto-trigger enabled and matches:
   • Automatically sends content to AI
   • Shows notification when processing
   • Displays result window when complete

Best Practices for Auto-Processing

Good Use Cases:

• Error messages → Automatically search for solutions
• Screenshots → Automatically analyze content
• URLs → Automatically summarize web page content

Avoid Auto-Trigger For:

• Generic text (too broad, triggers too often)
• Sensitive data (passwords, API keys, personal info)
• Large content (can be slow and expensive)

Example Workflows

Explain Code (Manual)

Setup:

1. Create workflow:
   • Name: “Explain Code”
   • Trigger Type: Code
   • Action: Explain
   • Auto-trigger: ✗ (disabled)

Usage:

1. Copy code from your IDE
2. Press Cmd+Shift+A
3. Select “Explain Code”
4. Read the explanation

Debug Errors (Automatic)

Setup:

1. Create workflow:
   • Name: “Debug Errors”
   • Trigger Type: Error
   • Action: Search Solutions
   • Auto-trigger: ✓ (enabled)

Usage:

1. Copy an error message
2. Wait 1-2 seconds
3. Result appears automatically with suggested solutions

Fix Grammar (Manual with Keywords)

Setup:

1. Create workflow:
   • Name: “Fix Grammar”
   • Trigger Type: Text
   • Action: Fix Grammar
   • Keywords: “draft, email, message”
   • Auto-trigger: ✗ (disabled)

Usage:

1. Copy text containing “draft”, “email”, or “message”
2. Press Cmd+Shift+A
3. “Fix Grammar” appears in the actions list
4. Select it to fix grammar

Analyze Screenshots (Automatic)

Setup:

1. Create workflow:
   • Name: “Analyze Screenshot”
   • Trigger Type: Screenshot
   • Action: Explain
   • Auto-trigger: ✓ (enabled)

Usage:

1. Take a screenshot (Cmd+Shift+4)
2. Wait 2-3 seconds for detection
3. AI automatically analyzes the screenshot
4. View the explanation in the result window

Understanding Content Type Detection

Clipboard Recast automatically detects 12+ content types:

Code Detection

Triggers when content contains:

• Programming keywords (def, function, class, if, while, etc.)
• Common syntax patterns (brackets, semicolons, indentation)
• Code-like structure

Error Detection

Triggers when content contains:

• Error keywords (Error, Exception, Warning, Failed)
• Stack traces
• Error codes and messages

URL Detection

Triggers when content contains:

• URLs starting with http:// or https://
• Web addresses

Screenshot Detection

Triggers when:

• New screenshot file appears on Desktop
• Image is copied to clipboard
• Screenshot naming pattern matches

JSON Detection

Triggers when content:

• Starts with { or [ and ends with } or ]
• Contains valid JSON structure

XML Detection

Triggers when content:

• Starts with < and contains XML-like tags
• Has matching opening/closing tags

Markdown Detection

Triggers when content contains:

• Markdown headings (#, ##, etc.)
• Markdown formatting (**bold**, *italic*, etc.)
• Markdown links [text](url)

HTML Detection

Triggers when content contains:

• HTML tags (<html>, <div>, <p>, etc.)
• HTML document structure

CSV Detection

Triggers when content:

• Contains comma-separated values
• Has consistent column structure

Email Detection

Triggers when content contains:

• Email headers (From:, To:, Subject:)
• Email-like structure

File Path Detection

Triggers when content:

• Starts with / (Unix path) or drive letter (Windows path)
• Contains path separators

Text Detection

Default for everything else that doesn’t match above patterns.

Working with Results

Copying Results

Click the Copy button to:

• Copy AI result to your clipboard
• Keep original content accessible (can paste original from history)
• Close the result window

Replacing Clipboard

Click the Replace button to:

• Replace clipboard content with AI result
• Original content is saved to history
• Close the result window
• Next paste will use the AI result

Closing Without Action

Click the Close button or press Esc to:

• Keep original clipboard content
• Dismiss the result window
• No changes to clipboard

Tips for Effective Use

1. Use the Right Workflow Type

Match workflow trigger to content:

• Code snippets → Code trigger
• Error messages → Error trigger
• General text → Text trigger with keywords
• Screenshots → Screenshot trigger
• API responses → JSON trigger
• Config files → XML or JSON trigger
• Data exports → CSV trigger
• File operations → File Path trigger

2. Leverage Keywords

Keywords help refine when workflows appear:

• Add specific words that indicate intent
• Use multiple keywords separated by commas
• Keywords make Text triggers more specific

3. Mix Manual and Automatic

• Manual for actions you want control over (explain, improve)
• Automatic for routine tasks (error debugging, screenshots)

4. Test Before Auto-Trigger

Before enabling auto-trigger on a workflow:

1. Create it with auto-trigger disabled
2. Test it manually a few times
3. Verify the results are what you expect
4. Then enable auto-trigger

5. Monitor Your Usage

Keep an eye on:

• AI provider costs (each transformation uses API credits)
• Response times (some providers are faster than others)
• Result quality (try different providers for different tasks)

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Quick reference for all usage shortcuts:

• Cmd+Shift+A: Transform clipboard content (global)
• Cmd+Shift+H: Open clipboard history (global, default — customizable in Settings)
• Cmd+Q: Quit application
• Esc: Close result window

Next Steps

• Workflows Guide: Deep dive into workflow configuration
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Master all shortcuts
• Screenshots: Learn screenshot-specific features