feature request: ability to store (much) more than 100 clips

Thanks for the feedback.

The limitation of 100 is a bit historical. First there was only the application indicator and therefore no way of really having a history of more than 100 items. With the Unity Lens now there is a possibility of having more and this is certainly something we are looking into.

I had just a look at how clipit is doing it. It seems that is a limit of 1000 and the more clipboard items you have the more memory it is using. So basically this is the same now how Diodon is functioning as well. This is not really desirable if you have a higher limit then 100 (there are some tweaks though in Diodon where e.g. images get loaded only when needed but still).

One way would be to have a nosql database or something similar. We are currently looking into something more integrated into the current desktop though where we can profit of technologies which there already are.

There is currently a trial with Zeitgeist <https://blueprints.launchpad.net/diodon/+spec/zeitgeist-integration>. This is not quite ready yet though and there are still a few obstacle to overcome.

But if we get this up and running we would get many thing for free. For instance is there a function to delete zeitgeist history older then a certain date. Furthermore is it also possible to mark application not to be added to the clipboard history (e.g. when copying passwords from a password storing application) and more.

This is just an idea though which we are working on. Any feedback is welcome.

Thanks so much for your prompt reply, Oliver!

I am surprised that Clipit has a 1000 limit. Previous to that I was on Windows using a clipboard manager that had unlimited entries. The issue of course is memory, but can't that be considered the user's responsibility? When their memory gets low, they'll see what's using it. The Windows one (and I think clipit, but I'm not sure) had a lot of options to cut off memory use per clip.

I myself only clip text so memory is not an issue. I guess it's not possible to simply remove the 100 limit? Or maybe you can tell me how to do that in source?

Otherwise, do you have an ETA for Zeitgeist?

Thanks,
Shiraz

Thanks for your feedback and ideas.

Well. mainly I think it is not the user's responsibility (especially if not advanced) that not too much memory is used but the developers responsibility to provide an application which can handles the memory well whatever the user is doing.

To set a limit to 100 as Diodon is doing it now is though unfortunate. Currently, there is no time line when zeitgeist gets implemented as there are quite a few factors involved which are hard to predict when those are solved.

When it comes to the current memory consumption does Diodon already optimize that no files or images are stored in memory. It simply stores the images temporarily on the hard disc and only stores the link to it in memory. Images are loaded then when needed to be pasted.

The idea to have a temporary solution for advanced users (gsettings entry where the history size can be changed) could be considered. This would mean though that the size of the history and the size of the indicator would need to be separated (as clipit does it right now as well). Otherwise you have an indicator which thousands of items and this would even make the hole interface hang....

Currently, I am trying to focus on zeitgeist and a possible implementing a dbus service. But I would definitely consider any patches implemented on this.

Thanks for your response Oliver. I wish I was a desktop developer (what language is Diodon written in?) or I'd do this myself. I'm actually surprised that in the whole Linux world, I can find just 2 clipboard managers with a limit of 1000, and none greater. I like an infinite history, where memory use is limited per clip. And/or a clipboard manager that limits by total memory use, not by number of clips.

Instant access to whatever one has copied just seems like the way of the future. Something like the Firefox awesome bar except for clips. Traditionally, people think of clipboard managers as something that shows you a list and you choose from that. In our increasingly search-indexed world, (think Gmail, think Awesome Bar), I think of the list as something that is live filtered (eg. as you have implemented in Unity), with much more focus on the search itself. Just remember a little part of something you copied way back when. The clipboard becomes an extension of human memory.

Anyhow, that's my impetus. I'm simply surprised there's not much more on this front. Maybe someone will pick up on this post and be able to provide a simple setting to increase clip history (as you said, separate from the indicator dropdown). Until then, I look forward to the Zeitgeist integration, with gratitude and no expectations.

I'm not sure -- do I mark this as Problem Solved or leave as is until the feature wish is fulfilled? It would be nice if this was logged in such a way that others with a similar request would see it.

Shiraz

I totally agree with you on this and that is exactly what we are working for in Diodon (which is by the way written in Vala).

Best if you want to get more attention on this issue with the 1000 limit best report a bug report so people see it and can pick it up. This question I guess can then be answered as answered.

Thanks.