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Although macOS has gradually adapted to features that were once only available on iOS and iPadOS, relevant selection tools have stuck in the past. Select the text, and you will need to control-click to appear a relevant menu with a random set of options to work on the text. That list is difficult to customize or organize.
Popclip offers an iOS / iPadOS-like pop-up bar that appears whenever you select a text in an app. The app dates back to 2011, along with the evolution of Apple’s iPhone and iPad options. Popclip includes several options by default, including searching on Google, searching for a word or phrase in the macOS dictionary app, suggesting opening a URL as a link, and providing spelling suggestions.
Why launch a pop up bar? It speeds up the time from selection to results, making it an intuitive drag-and-click operation instead of copying and pasting on menus or apps or web sites. For the actions you perform many times a day, you are rubbing and shaving off time.
The app also helps in paste operation. Wherever you type, Popclip offers the ability to add a single-click paste operation and a paste-and-match-style button. Pasted with the app is somewhat anonymous: it requires double-clicking on the insertion point, holding down for at least half a second, or shift-clicking.
Popclip becomes much more powerful when you install dozens of extension developer pilotmoon software free of charge. These extensions can work on text and links, perform translations through third party sites, transfer searches to a large array of search, trade and information sites and shorten links.
For example, you can convert text into a title case using Popclip, copy rich text from a web site or other document and convert it into markdown, send it to Bing Translator for translation, shorten a link to Beatles or watch a movie. Can. Title in Rotten Tomatoes or IMDb.
Extensions connect Popclip to dozens of other apps so you can create notes, to-do items, calendar entries — even make phone calls via FaceTime or Skype. The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Almost every popular productivity app, browser, and search site is included for launch.
You can install up to 25 extensions at once and rearrange their icons by dragging them into the Popclip system menu, which indicates how they should be displayed in the selection or pop-up bar.
Pilotmoon offers a fully functional demo version on its site that is good for 150 users. The full version is available through the Mac App Store for 14.99. macOS 10.13.6 or later required. A free trial is available on the developer’s website.
When editor Dan Frex reviewed an early version of Popclip in 2012, just over a year after its initial release, he noted, “I find Popclip easier and faster than using the traditional menu commands. This is more convenient than right-clicking on the text. “
Popclip has built on that power over the past decade and has expanded its reach without the need for you to expand further. A long list of single-click easy-to-combine extensions puts a vibe full of useful arrows ready to shoot from your Mac selection bow.
We reviewed Popclip in 2012, long after its launch.
With the strong resurgence of the Mac in recent years, we want to celebrate the tools we use and recommend readers to make the most of your macOS experience. Mac James highlights the great nuances of Mac software, apps that have high usability, a sharp focus on solving limited problems, and are usually developed by an individual or small company. Stay tuned for weekly updates, and send your suggestions to the Mac James Twitter feed (MakJames)