Another tidbit you may not know about clippings is that you can  
select parts of the content of a clipping in the usual manner (click  
& drag, double-click, etc.) and copy or drag & drop the selected  
portion. See the link below for an explanation of how to change a  
hidden Finder pref to allow the selections to hilite, making them  
easier to use:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070308031011641

Larry T

On Dec 24, 2007, at 10:54 PM, maxclass@... wrote:

> Happy Holidays
>
> I thought that I would bring up a point that many of you may  
> already be aware of but that I am sure that not every one knows  
> about. In fact when I showed this one simple thing to one of the  
> Apple guys at the New (incredible) Apple store here in Las Vegas he  
> seemed astounded and said "My God, I didn't know you could do  
> that!" If the Apple guy didn't know this I will assume that not  
> everybody knows about this simple but useful trick.
>
> Although FB has a "Scripts" menu where you can design your own  
> Scripts and paste them into your code you still have to go through  
> the process of creating them in the first place then remember how  
> to get them into the Scripts menu.
>
> Here is a simpler way to do exactly the same thing.
>
> First of all this is about something Apple calls a "Text Clipping".
>
> Q. What is it?
>
> A. Think of it like a mini clipboard that you can copy anything  
> onto to except that you can have as many of them as you like,  
> unlike the Clipboard where you can only have one item at a time on  
> it at a time.
>
> Q. How do you create one of these?
>
> A. It is as simple as drag and drop. On your Desktop create a  
> Folder named FB_Scripts or any name you like. That allows you  
> instant access to your new Scripts. To try it simply open up any FB  
> (or any other) file. Select whatever it is you want to copy. Click  
> and hold the cursor anywhere in the selected text for a couple of  
> seconds then simply drag the selection to the Desktop or your  
> Scripts Folder on your desktop. That's it.
>
> If you create or have an kind FN templates, Case structures, Long  
> IF's, Do Until's While Wend's, etc, you only have to design or copy  
> one once, drag it off as a text clipping to your Scripts Folder and  
> you now have it any time you need it with drag and drop.
>
> MaxNote: Remember, you can have as many of these individual text  
> clippings as you like.
>
> Q. So how do I use them?
>
> A. Just remember Drag and Drop. Simply select any clipping with you  
> cursor then drag it to where you want it and let go. The entire  
> contents of the text clipping will instantly appear in your file,  
> yet the original remains intact.
>
> Q. Why should I use these over any other method of saving information.
>
> A. Because, in addition to all of the points below you can inspect  
> the contents of any text clipping at any time by simply double  
> clicking on them in the Finder and they spring open for inspection  
> where you can resize the window to view some or all of there  
> contents and the window size is automatically saved for the next  
> time you open it.
>
> 1. They are stored in the smallest possible size your system will  
> allow.
> 2. You can drag and drop them into any part of you Mac that accepts  
> text or graphics (yes graphics too).
> 3. Its like having an unlimited number of clipboards.
> 4. They are automatically named with the starting text in your  
> selection yet can be renamed to anything you like.
> 5. As far as I know there is no reasonable size limitation to the  
> amount of information they can hold.
> 6. You can go through your e-mail and select out bits of code  
> examples and simply drag them to your desktop to hold the until you  
> are ready to find a place for them.
> 7. Instead of saving code examples in FB format (if you do not have  
> FB running while you are reading your mail) you can save them as  
> text clippings and view them any time without a single application  
> running.
> 8. You can use them as a "Read_Me" file when you zip something to  
> someone. Double click and its open.
>
> Q. Can I Change or Edit a text clipping?
>
> A. No. If you need to change it drag it to any text editor (FB,  
> TextEdit, etc.) and edit it there then drag the newly edited  
> version to the desktop as a new file. Then drag the old text  
> clipping to the trash.
>
> Q. Can I do this with any kind of file information?
>
> A. Just about as far as I know. I use it in "Mail, "Safari", "FB",  
> "Dictionary", "TextEdit", "Xcode", just about anywhere I find  
> information I want to grab hold of as keep for further examination.
>
> Q. Will it retain URL's in the selected text?
>
> A. Yes it will.
>
> Well that's about it for now. I am sure that many of you may  
> already have use this great little tool but for those of you that  
> have not you will find it a great addition to your bag of tricks.
>
> Hope some of you find this useful. If anyone else has any other  
> tricks you can use these for let us all know.
>
> Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. [10:54 Christmas Eve]
>
> Max Taylor
> The MaxClass Guy
>
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