Welcome to InfoClip, the handy text-saver from InfoBook Publishing. Introduction and Overview ========================= InfoClip provides a quick and easy way for you to gather selected blocks of text as they're copied (with Ctrl-C or Ctrl-X) from any application - without the need for tediously switching to a text editor, creating a file, inserting the text, saving the file and switching back. With InfoClip, the blocks of text are automatically collected and saved together in the InfoClip buffer. At any time, the contents of the buffer can be viewed or edited, copied to another file, appended to another file, or printed. Putting InfoClip to work for you is as simple as: - Start the InfoClip program. It loads in a few seconds and immediately minimizes itself, waiting in the background to do its job. - Go about your business. Let's say you're on-line, browsing the Internet looking for various items of information that you'll want to save for future reference. When you find an item of interest, select the text and then copy it by pressing Ctrl-C. With no further effort on your part, the text will be stored in the InfoClip buffer (or, you can have InfoClip print the selected text, or both save and print it) and you can continue your Internet research uninterrupted. And InfoClip is flexible too! You can tailor it to suit your individual preferences. InfoClip's features include: * A button for toggling the program between active and suspended states, allowing you to easily control InfoClip's cut/copy monitoring activity. * A choice of Separators (None, a Blank Line, or Custom) for indicating separation between blocks of saved text. * A Date/Time Stamp option so you can have the date and time automatically inserted at the beginning of each block of saved text. * Automatic Action options (None, Save, Print, Both) which let you specify whether InfoClip, while in Active mode, will ask you each time how you want the block of text handled or will automatically take the selected action for you. (If None is selected as the Automatic Action, there's an Ignore option that lets you tell InfoClip to do nothing with a block of text.) * Buffer options which enable you to do any of the following with the contents of the buffer: Copy (copy to a new file, replace an existing file or append to an existing file), View/edit, Print, or Clear (erase). * Print options for specifying a different printer (in case you'd rather not use your default printer) and for selecting a different printer font and font size. * A display of the size, in bytes, of the buffer file. InfoClip is the freeware version of the program and is available for download via the Internet at our Web site: http://home1.gte.net/jdonth InfoClip also comes in a Plus version that can be ordered through our Web site. The Plus version * Adds a powerful Select option that lets you specify a specific "favorite" file to save your selected text to instead of saving it to the generic InfoClip buffer file; * AND adds the old DOS PrintScreen key back to your Windows environment. With the PrintScreen capability you can get a snapshot of your current screen with just a press of the PrintScreen key on your keyboard. The program also lets you control the size of the screen image printed on your printer. Program Installation ==================== 1. Just run the setup program (ICLIP16.EXE for Win 3.1x or ICLIP32.EXE for Win 95/98/NT.) The setup program will also create group folders under Win 3.1x and the "Start" entries for Win 95/98/NT. It will also include an UNINSTALL entry to make removal of the software a snap. Note: All files created by the program are created in the SAME directory that the program is run from. This makes it easy to remove all related files and makes backup simpler. Distribution of software ======================== This program is a copyrighted work that is freely distributable with no restrictions. It is freeware. Contact the author ================== e-mail at: jdonth@gte.net http://home1.gte.net/jdonth Running the Program =================== The InfoClip program starts running as a minimized program. The program will be running (minimized) with either a red or a green IBP icon. While the icon is green, InfoClip will respond to any cut (Ctrl-X) or copy (Ctrl-C) commands. While the icon is red, InfoClip will NOT respond to any cut or copy commands. To change the state of the program from active to suspended or from suspended to active simply click on the IBP icon on the InfoClip Maintenance Form. The color of the icon will reflect the current state. InfoClip is very simple to use. (We think so, anyway; let us know.) Right "out of the box" the program will respond in this way: The program starts in active mode with NONE selected as the Automatic Action, so the first time you do a cut or copy operation the program will pop up a Select Action window in which you can choose to: - SAVE the highlighted text, or - PRINT the highlighted text, or - BOTH (SAVE and PRINT the highlighted text), or - IGNORE the highlighted text. If you select SAVE, the program will insert a Date and Time stamp (unless you have previously unchecked this option) at the top of the block of text and then save it in the current buffer. When you have finished collecting the information that you have been saving, click on the InfoClip icon or ALT-Tab to the program and restore it. This will bring up the InfoClip Maintenance Form. Let's take a quick tour of the Maintenance Form. (If it's not on your screen, please run the program and restore the minimized program.) The Separator Options --------------------- In the upper left corner there are three radio buttons that are grouped together under "Separator". When you save a block of cut or copied text to InfoClip's buffer, you can specify how you want the blocks separated. The choices are: - NONE, which will add no separator; - BLANK LINE, which will add one blank line; and - CUSTOM, which will bring up an editor to allow you to create any kind of text separator. The Date/Time Stamp Option -------------------------- Below the Separator group, you will see a checkbox marked "Date/Time Stamp." When checked, this option adds a Date and Time Stamp line to the beginning of every block of text saved in the buffer. This will make it easier for you to keep track of when you placed your text into the buffer. The Automatic Action Options ---------------------------- To the right of the Separator group you will see a second group of radio buttons called "Automatic Action." The choices here are: - NONE, which tells InfoClip you'll want it to ask you what to do with each block of text that you cut or copy; - SAVE, which will automatically save every cut or copied block of text in the InfoClip buffer; - PRINT, which will automatically print every cut or copied block of text; and - BOTH, which will automatically save and print every cut or copied block of text By specifying an Automatic Action (other than NONE), your train of thought will not be disrupted by the Select Action prompt every time you cut or copy text. The Buffer Options ------------------ Below the Date/Time Stamp checkbox and the buffer file name/size, you will see a panel of four buttons. These are for selecting actions relating to the contents of the buffer. (If the buffer is empty, all four buttons will be disabled.) If there is any text stored in the buffer, the buttons provide the following choice of actions: - COPY, which lets you save the buffer contents to a new file, add the contents to the end of an existing file, or replace an existing file with the buffer contents; - VIEW, which lets you view the buffer contents and (edit them, if you wish); - PRINT, which lets you print the buffer contents; and - CLEAR, which lets you delete the buffer contents. (Warning: once you clear the buffer you can not get the contents back, so make sure you first save and/or print the contents if there's a chance you might need them again.) The Print Options ----------------- Below the panel of buffer-action buttons are a PRINTER panel and a FONT panel. The Printer panel allows you to choose the printer InfoClip will use when you direct it to print something. The Font panel lets you control the font and font size (and color) of the text printed on the selected printer. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for selecting InfoClip. We hope you enjoy using it! Be sure to visit our web site at http://home1.gte.net/jdonth for the latest version of InfoClip or to order a copy of the InfoClip Plus version of the software. Sincerely, Joe Donth InfoBook Publishing Company -------------------------------------------------------------------- We wish to gratefully acknowledge the following contributions in the development of this program: For assistance in the design and development of the program features thanks goes to Mary Kennan, Beta Tester #1. Mary also contributed in the writing of the help documentation. You can reach Mary at For assistance in solving a Delphi/Windows bug that would have made the program much more difficult to use, thanks goes to Eric G.V. Fookes . In addition to providing occasional help to other developers, he is also the developer of the award-winning NoteTab text editors for Windows. For more information on NoteTab see: http://www.notetab.ch/