`pbcopy` and `pbpaste` are one of my most-loved in the list.
Dealing with some minified json, switching to iTerm, doing `pbpaste | json_pp | pbcopy` and having a clean output is _so_ nice.
replies(28):
Dealing with some minified json, switching to iTerm, doing `pbpaste | json_pp | pbcopy` and having a clean output is _so_ nice.
The only drawback is that yes it only works most of the time. And when it doesn’t I get infuriated.
Glitches happen without any change to settings or network on my side - it works now, and 5 min later doesn’t.
So I have it enabled so there is a sound when something goes into the clipboard. Even on my mac, I have come to rely on that audio feedback. But it has the added benefit that when I am using my phone in front of my computer and I copy something on my phone, I immediate (and it is impressively fast... maybe a 200ms delay), I hear the chime that something was added to my clipboard on my mac. So it gives you that good feedback that a copy "worked".
You can also shift+cmd+V to see the clipboard history, which is another complimentary tool with universal clipboard because if a paste isn't working as expected you can see if the universal copy never "took" (as you mentioned it is semi-unreliable), or if it just got overridden. You can then use the navigator to paste the older item.
Requiring WiFi makes (so the phone/computer is on a network and can communicate with the other devices), but what's the benefit of Bluetooth? Does it only work when the phone and computer are near each other?
I use most of Apple's "built in" applications like Mail, Notes, Photos, etc. with Firefox (instead of Safari) probably the only exception to that.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uipasteboard...
I've noticed that more and more apps on both macOS and iOS sniff the clipboard contents and randomly clobber it. I usually notice it in apps like Sourcetree, where I'll click something or do a certain action and suddenly I can't paste anymore. I even get a feel for it, like my mind detects the pattern that empties the clipboard so I sense when I can no longer paste, but I can't figure out concrete repeatable steps to make it happen. On iOS it's more random, and I feel like it's probably Facebook doing it, or maybe websites in Safari. I just assume that everything is spying on my clipboard contents now, hoping to log secrets/passwords and PII to sell to scammers.
I have to say, this is one of the more disappointing developments from Apple, that they certainly must know by now about these clipboard shenanigans, but have done nothing to stop them. They need to implement permissions that deny all apps the ability to get/set the clipboard by default, and have an option to ask the user whether so-and-so app can access the clipboard (outside of normal copy/paste), every time with the option to allow always. And all clipboard access attempts should probably get logged somewhere.
I have found a lot of utility with cross-device copy/paste. I know it requires the somewhat mysterious phantom Bluetooth/Wi-Fi connectivity that AirPlay/Airdrop use, so if I have disabled Bluetooth on my device, for example, it will no longer work. I could see where it might not be fully reliable enough to count on, I have experienced inexplicable failures, not often but enough to understand that it might not be some folks’ default preference. As part of the “handoff” function, it can be disabled in Settings at least.
https://georgegarside.com/blog/macos/fix-apple-watch-auto-un...
In their iOS app, there’s an entry in Settings -> Security -> Allow Universal Clipboard which lets you opt-in to passwords through the clipboard. I suspect there’s something similar on macOS.
Turning off Bluetooth or wifi may be one of the more common reasons it doesn’t work. Some people never do that, but others do.