Turn a Browser into a Scratchpad
Productivity Sauce
Transforming your browser into a scratchpad for jotting down notes is as easy as entering the data:text/html, <html contenteditable> line into the address bar and hitting Enter. There are a lot of variations of this simple trick, and you can find a few of them in a thread on Hacker News. I use a slightly modified version of Writability:
data:text/html;charset=utf-8, <title>Scribbles</title><body OnLoad='document.body.focus();' contenteditable style="font-size:21px;line-height:1.6;font-family:'Alegreya',Alegreya;max-width:21em;margin:0 auto;padding:3rem;background-color:rgb(233,233,225);color:rgb(68,68,68);" spellcheck="false">
This solution looks and behaves like a regular text editor, and it even supports basic text formatting like bold and italics. The only shortcoming of this neat hack is the fact that there is no straightforward way to save the contents. To solve this problem, you can use a simple Bash shell script that appends the current text selection to the scribbles.txt text file:
#!/bin/bashxsel -p >> ~/scribbles.txt
The script uses the xsel utility which is available in the software repositories of many mainstream Linux distributions. To install xsel on Debian or Ubuntu, run the apt-get install xsel command as root. Make the script executable using the chmod +x foo.sh command. Finally, assign a keyboard shortcut to the script. On KDE, this can be done in the Shortcuts and Gestures section of the System Settings panel. To save the contents of the scratchpad, select the entire text and press the assigned shortcut.
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Digital Autonomy
• The Answer Was Already on the Shelf
• Changing the Chip Industry: How Public Investment Has Grown Open Silicon
• United Nations Open Source Portal Goes Live
• EU Open Source Strategy Plays Key Role in Tech Sovereignty Package
• France Says “Au Revoir” to Microsoft
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
-
The Linux Kernel Dev Staging Area Now Rejects AI-Generated Patches
Unless a kernel patch is a valid security fix, it will be rejected if it was created using AI.
-
Linux Surpasses Double-Digit Market Share
According to two sources, the Linux operating system has hit a major milestone in market share that naysayers thought would never happen.
-
AI Helped Develop a Linux Exploit
A use-after-free race exploit was discovered and exploited on CentOS Stream 9.
-
Yet Another Linux Kernel Vulnerability Discovered
Affecting millions of systems, a kernel flaw discovered by Qualys could allow users to gain root privileges.
-
Ubuntu 26.10 to Include Ubuntu Certified Hardware Check
If you've ever wondered if your laptop or PC is officially certified to run Ubuntu, that curiosity will soon be met.
-
Substantial Update to IPFire Now Available
The lastest version of IPFire features a fundamental change to how the system handles DNS.
-
Gnome Working on Test Center App to Make Testing Easier
It's now possible to test experimental features on the Gnome desktop without worrying that you'll break things.
-
New Vulnerability Discovered in Linux Kernel
Hiding out for nearly 15 years, the Ghostlock vulnerability allows a standard logged-in user to gain root privileges.
-
New Linux Flaw Lets Attackers Escape VMs
A 16-year-old vulnerability allows an attacker to escape a virtual machine, gain access to the host, and execute malicious code.
-
Hannah Montana Linux Is Back!
Developer Noah Cagle decided the world needed the once obscure but beloved Linux distribution and gave it a decidedly pink refresh.