Timestamp extension not always showing

PopClip Extensions
1

one of my most used extensions is the Timestamp. I often insert the date with timestamp as a prefix to most files i save on my computer. Anoth mass use is at the beginning of a note i am writing in Notes.app. In most cases, i just left-click and usually the popup menu is Paste and Clock icon, for timestamp…but what’s puzzling is how often i do not get the menu to popup. I’ve tried various solutions. One is i’ll type a bogus character or two, then highlight them and often then the menu popsup. But sometimes in notes.app i just cannot get the menu to appear. Other times, when saving a file, i’ll put cursor at beginning of filename, but often it won’t allow without highlighting entire filename to replace it…i don’t wannt to replace it, i want to prefix it.
Othertimes i’ll click and do get a menu, but the timestamp is not included. Are there requisits to show or not show that extension?

are these common issues? or am i doing something wrong?

1 Like
2

Normally PopClip should appear if you hold the mouse button for 0.5 seconds when in an editable text field.

In case that doesn’t work in a particular text box, use the PopClip keyboard shourcut, which you can configure in PopClip’s settings.

3

thanks. yes in most cases holding down the mouse button does bring up the menu, but sometimes it doesn’t.
i do have a keyboard shortcut setup and often use that, particularly if i’m indecisive and the popup does come up, but then goes away before i decide to click it, i can use the shortcut key to bring the menu back up… but often, in an editable location, the menu won’t come up at all.

second situation… menu pops up, but the timestamp icon is not there… why?

4

It’ supposed to work but occasionally it might not be able to detect that it’s in a text field.

Are you noticing it happen in any particular situation, such as a certain app or type of text field?

If the menu pops up but the timestamp icon is not there, that would mean PopClip thinks the text field is not editable.

5

i’m sure it’s happened in several apps, but for sure in Notes.app, which i use all the time.
of course, testing it right now, it works just fine. just clicking anyplace pops up paste and timestamp icon, if i highlight some text, the whole menu pops up…

but frequently when i click, no menu pops up

6

See if you can notice what shape the mouse cursor is when it fails. Is it the I-beam (caret) or the Arrow?

7

just now, cursor in Notes.app is an “I” beam and just clicking mouse button, nothing, if i highlight some text, menu comes up, but no timestamp, no paste.

i even start a new note, same

tried shortcut key, 1st try, too quick but i think same

2nd click shortcut, now working fine
click, menu shows paste and timestamp,
highlight text full menu, with paste and timeclock

but still “I” beam cursor

8

Thanks for observations. PopClip uses the enabled state of the Paste menu to see if the text is editable. Sometimes apps or macOS don’t update that state or it takes a while to update. It’s an occasional problem for many years. I’ll have a look in that bit of the code again and see if I come up with any bright ideas.

9

thanks for the quick reply. I am very impressed with your support

i only wish for popclip for windows…while i don’t sit at my windows 8.1 computer much anymore, i really missed the popclip menu NOT popping up when highlighting some text i needed to copy. hahaha

10

I should have mentioned before … you migh want to try the current PopClip Beta (if you are not already) which does include some fixes for situation where PopClip does not auto-appear. I can’t say whether it will cover your specific situations, but it may be worth a try.

11

I installed the beta, which at first didn’t seem to affect the Timestamp extension any differently. However, if I copied something to clipboard, it seemed to make it work again in Finder.

12

I’ve noticed this behavior of the timestamp extension missing too, though I haven’t been successful in getting it show using shortcut.
I primarily use the timestamp in Finder for appending date to files while renaming.
I have not tried the beta, but I have removed the timestamp extension and re-added it, that doesn’t seem to help. It does appear in other apps, and while I don’t use it much in other apps, I will be more attentive to which apps it might appear, vs not.
Additionally, I’ll install the beta version.

13

Your comment made me realize what might be happening. Do you often copy non-text items (e.g., images) to the clipboard?

If there is content on the clipboard that the target application can’t handle, the application may disable the “Paste” option because it cannot paste that content. This leads PopClip to believe it’s in a non-editable text area.

14

I do often copy images to the clipboard. I just tried doing that very thing, though the timestamp option was visible.
I think I do have an idea of what might be related to the issue though, when I copy a pw from 1Password the clipboard is automatically cleared after 90 seconds. I just tried going through that scenario, (copying a password, waiting more than 90 seconds) and lo and behold the timestamp extension is missing when I try to select a file name in the Finder.

15

Ah, that would explain it better than images.

I could potentially add a heuristic: “If the clipboard is empty, assume that ‘Paste’ is available, even if the menu item is grayed out.” May have some slight negative side effects though. These things always a balancing act.