SmartBoard32 Enhances the Windows Clipboard \par \par Hartford, Cheshire - 3rd July 1997 - Oakley Data Services today announced\par the immediate availability of SmartBoard32, the enhanced 32bit version of\par their popular SmartBoard product.\par \par Suitable for Windows 95 or Windows NT4, SmartBoard is a "Clipboard\par Extender". The normal Windows Clipboard can only retain a single item at a\par time - as soon as a second item is copied to the Clipboard the first item\par is lost. With SmartBoard running that is no longer true, SmartBoard retains\par multiple "Clip Items", even across a Windows restart, and allows simple\par pasting back of any of them into any application. \par \par SmartBoard runs as an invisible task in Windows - there is no icon\par cluttering up the desktop. A single mouse-click or hot-key press pops\par SmartBoard up on top of the current application allowing the selection of\par the "Clip Item" to paste, and then disappears out of the way again having\par pasted it into the current application automatically. Unlike its\par competitors there is normally no need to switch back and forth between\par SmartBoard and the target application, or use the application's own paste\par command. \par \par "SmartBoard appears to be almost built-in to the operating system itself,\par and that makes it a complete no-brainer to use", said Colin Messitt, Senior\par Partner at Oakley Data Services. "The user can just pop SmartBoard into his\par Startup group and forget about it until he needs to recall a data item for\par pasting. The power and ease of use make it useful to almost all Windows\par users too - from office-suite users copying and pasting text and\par spreadsheet cells, through developers using it for boilerplate code, to\par power multimedia users cutting and pasting images and sounds". \par \par SmartBoard supports all clipboard formats, Windows Standard or privately\par defined, and allows the user to configure it in exactly the way that works\par for him. The user can specify what clipboard formats to capture, from what\par programs, limit captures to items under a specific size and specify\par preferred formats from particular programs. For example the user could\par specify that he wants to capture both Rich Text Format and plain Text from\par Microsoft Word, and the Lotus compatible XL1 format from Microsoft Excel,\par but only if it is less than 50K in size. Enhancements in the 32bit version\par include the ability to define "rules" that dictate the categories that clip\par items are stored in and to optionally request nicknames based on a\par combination of the source and content of the information. For example,\par SmartBoard can be set to watch for text clip items starting with \cf2\ul http://\cf1\ul0 or\par www. and assign them to a category called "URLS", and have SmartBoard ask\par for a nickname to save trying to remember what the sometimes cryptic URL\par actually refers to. Items could be subdivided further, storing addresses\par that ended in .com to one subcategory, those ending in .co.uk in a second\par subcategory, and all others in a third subcategory. Or programmers can\par build collections of useful functions, based on the clip item containing a\par specific sequence of text that identified it as a function. This powerful\par feature implemented using Grep syntax for total flexibility is unique among\par clipboard enhancement utilities.\par \par The modern interface looks much like File Manager or the Win95 Explorer,\par with a set of user-definable categories and sub-categories down the left\par side, and the content of the currently selected category on the right. In\par the case of text items the first few characters are shown, Bitmaps and\par Metafiles show as thumbnails and other data gives capture details. \par \par Nicknames can be assigned to any of the items to help identification, and\par the user can "zoom-in" on an item for a closer look by right-clicking.\par Zooming in on text presents a pop-up window showing the first few lines\par complete with formatting (tabs/line breaks etc.), zooming in on graphics\par shows them full-size. \par \par A "plug-in viewer" interface (again unique among clipboard extenders)\par allows the development of zoom-in and printing capability for any other\par Clipboard format. Samples are supplied which support the RIFF WAV format\par (the sound plays), Rich Text Format (as used by most word processors,\par displays and prints the formatted text) and the "File List Handle" format\par (from Windows Explorer - great for creating boilerplate groups of files).\par The interface is open and sample source-code is supplied to help other\par developers build plug-ins for other formats.\par \par A system-wide hot-key facility allows the association of a key combination\par with a particular item. Whenever the key combination is pressed the\par associated item is automatically pasted into the current application, ideal\par for "canned" replies, e-mail signatures etc. (again, unique among clipboard\par extenders as far as we know).\par \par Items can be moved around between categories using Drag 'n Drop, and\par multiple text items can be appended together, either automatically while\par capturing, or after the event. Items can be edited, printed or copied to\par file. In the case of Text items a template capability allows the user to\par create "boilerplate" items with variable fields that can either be updated\par automatically (dates/times etc.) or by the user specifying the required\par replacement data at paste time.\par \par A further enhancement in the 32bit version is text reformatting\par capabilities. If the text copied to the clipboard is full of line breaks\par that you would rather weren't there you can re-flow the text before pasting\par it elsewhere, a real timesaver, or change its case in a number of styles.\par \par "We looked at the implementation and capabilities of our competitors before\par embarking on the development of the 32bit version of SmartBoard, to ensure\par we met or exceeded their capabilities in all major areas, and without doubt\par we have achieved that. There are a range of useful, unique facilities that\par simply aren't achievable with other similar products" said Colin Messitt.\par "Combine that with the seamless integration with the Operating System which\par avoids the multi-step, switch back and forth and chase around menus\par approach that other products require, and this is without doubt the most\par powerful and useable Clipboard extender available today".\par \par The price of SmartBoard32 is 15.00 UK Sterling or 24.95 US Dollars,\par excluding tax. For licensed users of the 16bit version this is a FREE\par upgrade, just download, install and use.\par \par SmartBoard can be obtained direct from Oakley Data Services by phone on +44\par (0)1889 565064; by fax on +44 (0)1889 563219; ordered via the internet at\par \cf2\ul http://www.smartcode.com\cf1\ul0 , or by e-mail to sales@smartcode.com. MasterCard,\par Visa and Amex Credit Cards are accepted.\par \par Evaluation copies (an 800K download) which are fully functional are\par available:- \par \par By anonymous FTP from \cf2\ul ftp://ftp.smartcode.com/smtb32.zip\cf1\ul0\par Via the World-Wide-Web at \cf2\ul http://www.smartcode.com\cf1\ul0\par The oakley conference on CIX, filename SMTB32.ZIP\par \par Founded in 1993, Oakley Data Services produces and/or publishes utility,\par financial, home-office/hobby and educational game software packages for\par Windows. \tab\par \par * * *\par Review copies available upon request\par \par \pard\fi-1800\li1800\tx1800\f0\par }