Create a Simple Scratchpad with Autokey

Productivity Sauce
A plain text file acting as a scratchpad can come in handy in many situations. You can use it to store text and code snippets, links, and other useful stuff. But copying and pasting text fragments into a text file manually is not the most sensible way to go. A simple script based on the AutoKey utility can solve the problem. AutoKey can handle Python scripts, and it has its own API which makes it supremely easy to create interactive scripts. The script itself is not particularly complicated:
snip = clipboard.get_selection() retCode, note = dialog.input_dialog("Note", "Enter note") filename = '/home/dmpop/Documents/Snips/snips.txt' file = open(filename, 'a') file.write(note+": "+snip+"\n\n") file.close()
First, the script grabs the contents of the clipboard and prompts you to enter a short note that describes the new entry. It then opens the snipx.txt file and appends the description and the clipboard contents.
I use the script for storing links, so I also added the following code block that saves the contents in the snips.html file formatted as a simple link list.
filename = '/home/dmpop/Documents/Snips/snips.html' file = open(filename, 'a') file.write(note + ": <a href=\""+snip+"\">"+snip+"</a><br> \n") file.close()
I enabled synchronization for the Documents folder via the Ubuntu One server, so I can access my scratchpad file and link list from multiple machines and via a browser.
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.