RSS Feeds
Keep a History of Every Copy and Paste with ControlC
Posted by Adam Pash at 6:00 AM on February 6, 2008
Windows/Mac/Linux: Freeware application ControlC saves and uploads your clipboard history to the ControlC web site, giving you a 5-day history of all your clipboard data. ControlC recognize URLs, images on the web (displaying the image in the history), in addition to any text you copy. It does not recognize or upload copied files; instead, it will upload the name of the file you copied. You can use ControlC for anything from a bookmarking tool (it does offer social aspects and selectively making clipboard data public) to a clipboard backup tool that persists even after you shutdown your computer. A free account gives you a 5-day history, while a premium account is unlimited. The site is currently in closed beta, but the "beta4040" code will let anyone register. ControlC is free to use, works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. For desktop-based clipboard managers, check out Ditto, Jumpcut, or DDM.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
joshnunn
Posted February 6, 2008 3:08 PM
The US commenters don't get the point. This app would be very useful to anyone who uses multiple computers regularly. I've got ditto and quicksilver keeping tabs on my clipboard for me on my PC at work and mac at home respectively, and I love being able to copy and paste with abandon. Having this stuff online just takes it one step further and means I could have everything in both places. Seems like a good idea to me (if we can trust them of course)
Sai Ram Kunala
Posted September 5, 2008 3:00 PM
you can add this into the desktop-based clipboard managers list - http://www.bluemars.org/clipx/
Santoroski
Posted 7:40 AM 6/2/08
Whoops I should learn to read: beta4040. Just signed up!
Santoroski
Santoroski
Posted 7:40 AM 6/2/08
Who has invite codes to sent out?
Santoroski
mawcs
Posted 8:40 AM 6/2/08
And what if you control c your credit card? SSN? passwords?
How is this useful enough to overcome the privacy issues?
mawcs
artis
Posted 8:40 AM 6/2/08
Why would I want this?
artis
jarmod
Posted 8:40 AM 6/2/08
Bizarre. A solution in search of a problem?
jarmod
Bakari
Posted 10:39 AM 6/2/08
While these type of services seem benign, it's really becoming worrisome how these type of sites seem to collect so much of what we do on the computer. I like the idea, but just wish I had my own private, underground, outer space, totally private server so I wouldn't have so many other people managing my digital traffic.
Bakari
kaushalmodi
Posted 10:39 AM 6/2/08
In near future, the word 'private' will have become extinct.
kaushalmodi
gamby1337
Posted 10:39 AM 6/2/08
This would be a great idea...if it wasnt online. I mean do you really want that information online? All of those copy and pasted pictures of por... friends and family? Or if you are copying and pasting private information from one document to another. This would be cool as a program on your computer so you could quickly and easily look back on it in your taskbar or something.
I guess I shouldnt be surprised with more and more services heading to the online realm....so long my desktop I will miss thee.
gamby1337
dnthomps
Posted 10:39 AM 6/2/08
BTW... Ditto [ditto-cp.sourceforge.net]
Limit the clip board to say <50 clippings so you don't end up with a huge db.
dnthomps
dnthomps
Posted 10:39 AM 6/2/08
What a great way to get that company data out of the building. Thanks Lifehacker.
dnthomps
geekgrrl77
Posted 1:39 PM 6/2/08
I was momentarily excited when I saw this-- but why bother putting all this stuff online? What would be the point?
I'll stick with my *favorite* free app Jumpcut (mac only). I don't know how I lived without it. It saves a history of my copied text that I can access anytime on my own computer.
[jumpcut.sourceforge.net]
Now my life at work would be even easier if someone made something like Jumpcut for a PC.
geekgrrl77
bentruyman
Posted 1:39 PM 6/2/08
@Bakari: Exactly. How hard would it be to save this information in a text file locally? Or even better, an encrypted text file. I wonder sometimes why services like these even end up online. Maybe to better serve ads. Yet, something so simple like this seems like a perfect "Lifehacker Exclusive" app. ;-)
bentruyman
okayplayah
Posted 3:40 PM 6/2/08
I cut and paste so much. I don't think I would even WANT to have that information. That's even before I considered things like privacy and security and all the other issues that a program like this would ultimately bring up. It's not that I cut/paste my SS#, CC#, passwords that often - but wouldn't just once be enough? I don't know if this is really useful...
okayplayah
Jigzila
Posted 4:40 PM 6/2/08
PTHPasteboard is another great clipboard for mac. The Pro version is shareware but the standard version is freeware.
Jigzila
muffinimal
Posted 12:40 AM 7/2/08
I am perfectly happy with my freeware application Arsclip. Despite the name, it is actually very good. It doesn't save your complete copy-history though. The last 15 items you have copied are available with a shortcut key which opens up a context menu. About 7 days worth of history is available as well. The best thing about the application are the permanent items. I keep loads of stuff I regularly paste handy for when I need them.
I can't imagine having to deal without the program. Having certain pastable items always at hand and being able to copy multiple things at once and choosing which one to paste later is a humongous time-saver.
muffinimal
with_a_pH
Posted 3:40 AM 7/2/08
huh... why would we want this kind of functionality online?
with_a_pH
Wallenstein
Posted 3:40 AM 7/2/08
Do not forget to never copy one of your passwords.
Why are so many people so enthusiastic about online tools?
Wallenstein
scorePro
Posted 3:40 AM 7/2/08
What would be neat is an app that has context sesitive copy/paste. I do a lot of dev work (which includes a lot of c/p) You can quickly build up a huge clipboard. it would be good if you could optionally decide / filter which app you need to c/p from. say i use VS.Net and copy something to paste.... i then switch to an email and copy a link to paste in to ie (global paste)... then go back to VS to carry on working and my paste is now the link!! What I would like to do is a context paste (i.e. paste the last thing I copied in VS) Anyone follow that :)
scorePro
Bayes
Posted 3:40 AM 7/2/08
I'll continue using my Klipper in KDE, thanks. I'd rather not send private data that ends up on my clipboard to some website. Interesting idea, but definitely a problem that doesn't need solving. As others have said though it would be cool to have an application like this for offline usage in Windows.
Bayes
giannisg
Posted 3:40 AM 7/2/08
Incredible software... it could easely be a great solution (keeping data everywere) and, at the same time, a huge hole in my personal life.
The only suggestion that i will make is to change the shortcut from the normal Ctrl+C to another (possibly Ctrl+Alt+C) when you actually *wish* to upload your content...
...oh and only five days? To short period for me...
giannisg
Bakari
Posted 6:42 AM 7/2/08
@Wallenstein: "Why are so many people so enthusiastic about online tools?"
It seems be a part of the whole Web 2.0 social networking trend, which I happen think is really good. But sometimes you just have to think about the long range effects of these type of Web sites. In some ways, ControlC could possibly be a little like Delicious--where you're simply storing and sharing what you do on the web. You might, for example find others on ControlC who copy and paste things you're interested, then those networks become a resource to you. But on the other hand, issues of privacy get skewed, and at some point what you copy and share could be used against you if you're not careful.
Plus, there's also just the problem of becoming drowned in information. I mean, damn, we have so much information that we read, store, retrieve, tag, share, comment on, and redistribute. It's important that we learn how to downsize our information intake so we can maintain a life outside of the computer space.
I'm not saying ControlC is bad idea for everyone, but I'm arguing moreso how important it is that we monitor our information intake so that we won't become so overloaded.
Bakari
RabbitRun
Posted 11:41 PM 7/2/08
To cut a long story short: this is totally nuts!
RabbitRun
bugmenot21
Posted 1:40 AM 11/2/08
My god how obvious is it that this is a spyware... i mean good god the program could easily store the clipboard in your pc but NOOOOOO... i mean come on people please do not use this program....
bugmenot21
Wallenstein
Posted 3:26 AM 13/2/08
@Bakari:
There really are times, when this Web2.0 thing makes me feel old. Just like you have mentioned, I sometimes feel drowned by the information, I find for myself. So I do not really wish to receive the findings of other people in addition to that.
Also I possible have a much stronger wish for privacy. I do not want to share all of the things I do (on the internet and elsewhere). I am trying to be more selective. So I will never understand why people put up web sites showing the private lives. Does somebody care about that stuff?
Wallenstein