Welcome to Snippets, by AlpineSoft Welcome to Snippets, by AlpineSoftSnippets is a simple (and free!) tool for storing pieces of text that you type in frequently. Examples include your email address, name, user ID's, passwords, a standard rejection letter, you name it. The snippets you create can be selected from a list or accessed via hotkeys.
Snippets can be downloaded from here. Just download and run the file.
The Snippets installer adds a shortcut to Snippets to your startup folder. Snippets then starts up whenever you log in and adds an icon to your notification area (aka system tray). Snippets can then be opened either by double-clicking this icon or by pressing CTRL + ALT + S.
To create a snippet, open Snippets and click New. Fill in the tag (which is there to help you remember what the snippet is for and to identify it quickly), hotkey (if desired) and the snippet itself. To create a snippet from the text on the clipboard, right-click in the snippet box and select Paste (or press CTRL + V).
To edit an existing snippet, select it in the list and click Edit. From then on, the procedure is the same as creating a new one. You can also edit a snippet by double-clicking on it in the list while holding down the shift key.
To delete a snippet, select it in the list and click Delete. There is no undo facility. Once it's gone, it's gone.
To paste a snippet into the application you are using, you can do any of the following:
You can also place a copy of the selected snippet on the clipboard by clicking Copy.
To locate a snippet quickly, type in the first few characters and then press Enter. If you click on the 'Tag' column you can select a snippet by tag in this way. If you click on the 'Snippets' column, you can select by the text of the snippet itself.
If you want to store passwords or other sensitive information in Snippets, you can protect them with a single master password that you set in Snippets. This master password must then be entered before the snippet can be pasted into an application or edited.
To password protect a snippet, check the Password Protect box when you create or edit the it. To set or change your master password, click on the Set / Change Password button in the Configuration dialog.
How do I change the hotkey to open Snippets? Open Snippets and click Configure. The initial hotkey is CTRL + ALT + S.
What hotkey combinations can I use with Snippets? CTRL + ALT + x, CTRL + SHIFT + x, ALT + SHIFT + x or CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + x, where x is any letter or number on the keyboard.
Snippets says that a hotkey combination I want to use is already in use; why? This can happen for two reasons:
Is it safe to store my passwords in Snippets? Should be; Snippets stores password-protected items in encrypted form. To set the Snippets password (which you can use, in effect, as a master password for all your other passwords), click Configure and then Set / Change Password.
How do I stop Snippets from pressing the Enter key when I don't want it to? Edit the snippet in question, move the cursor to the bottom of the text and press Backspace.
How do I stop Snippets from opening at startup? Open Snippets and click Configure.
How can I move my snippets from one machine to another? On Windows XP, your snippets are stored in file: X:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\AlpineSoft_Snippets\snippets.txt, where X: is your Windows drive (normally drive C:). On Vista, they are stored in X:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\AlpineSoft_Snippets\snippets.txt.
Important! If you have password protected snippets, clear the Snippets password on the old machine before transferring the file across. After copying the file over, restart Snippets on the new machine and then, if desired, re-enter your Snippets password.
Can Snippets paste in graphics / formatted text/ function keys ...? No. As of now, Snippets can only paste in plain text.
How do I convert my vinyl LP's and tapes to digital format? Try VinylStudio, another fine product from AlpineSoft :) (it's not free, though).
Before asking us for help, please check www.alpinesoft.co.uk/freebies/snippets_news.aspx. We will post any known problems and workarounds there. Also, please check that you have the latest version.
You can contact AlpineSoft through our website: www.alpinesoft.co.uk/contact_us.aspx. We will endeavour to reply to all queries, but, as this is free software, technical support is naturally limited.