(Windows only)
The purpose of the app is to reduce the size of a captured image inside the clipboard and possibly save it to a file.
It and can be used as an interface to the Tesseract OCR also.
After starting "clipboardresize.exe", it silently runs in the background looking for a new image in the clipboard.
If the clipboard content is changed, the app is activated and runs the selected operations, i.e. resize, save etc. *2)
To copy the screen content (or a part of it) to the clipboard,
use the Windows 10 builtin hotkeys:
| Hotkey | Operation |
|---|---|
| [SHIFT] + [Printscreen] | capture the whole screen |
| [ALT] + [Printscreen] | capture the active window only |
| [CTRL] + [WIN] + [s] | capture a selectable screen area |
| [ALT] + [z] | the ClipboardResize capture hotkey |
The ClipboardResize capture hotkey operates likewise:
if Config-file section [config] -> winHotkeyAliasEnable=1 -> as a simpler alias to [SHIFT] + [WIN] + [S] or
if Config-file section [config] -> winHotkeyAliasEnable=0 -> use the builtin "capture screen area"-operation.
(the "builtin "capture screen area"-operation" is not usable at the moment!)
If Config-file section [operation] -> useActivator=1, the activator-button is shown, otherwise the ClipboardResize gui is activated.
If anything is copied to the clipboard, the soundfile "clipboard.mp3" *1) is played too.
(The optional start-paramter "showwindow" forces ClipboardResize to show its gui-window after startup.)
The download includes a batchfile "clipboardresize_startVisible.bat" to test it.
To start the app with Windows, use the batchfile (powershell) "create_clipboardresize_exe_link_in_autostartfolder.bat", or
take a look at the project startdelayed.
*1) Controlled by [config] -> clipboardBeepSound in the Config-file.
*2) The app can only distinguish between data (possibly an image) and text.
Config-file is "clipboardresize.ini".
| Hotkey | Action | Remarks | Virtual-Key Codes |
|---|---|---|---|
| [ALT] + [y] | OCR | via Tesseract | |
| [SHIFT] + [WIN] + [z] | show menu | operations are selectable | |
| [WIN] + [ALT] + [z] | set resize-width and -height | settings are saved in the file "clipboardresize.ini" | |
| [CTRL] + [WIN] + [z] | capture fullscreen, reduced size | to clipboard + save as a file *1) | |
| [CTRL] + [ALT] + [WIN] + [z]] | kill the app (remove it from the memory) | ||
| [SHIFT] + [ALT] + [z] | open filemanager | filemanager in "._savedclips" folder |
1) Image file (.png format) is stored into the "._savedclips" folder,
filenames are:
"clpr_DATETIME_0.png" ("_0"-ending are resized) and
"clpr_DATETIME_1.png" ("_1"-ending are fullsize),
DATETIME is year_month_date_minute_second
of the current time.
There is a preview (reduced size) in the center of the app-window too, and a [FullSizeView clipboard] image button in the menu.
Using a hotkey to capture does not close an open clipboardresize window (but is faster than using a button)!
Capture area: [SHIFT] + [WIN] + [s] hotkey is supplied by Windows 10, not by clipboardresize.
Other Windows capture hotkeys: [WIN] + [PRINT] (capture whole screen) and [ALT] + [WIN] + [PRINT] (capture active window)
do also not close an open clipboardresize window.
I use it to extract text from images (not complete documents with multible colums).
Default hotkey is: [ALT] + [y], Config-file section [hotkeys] -> ocrHotkey), press the hotkey then draw a rectangle all around the text.
Use a picture-viewer that does not scroll the image, otherwise it will difficult to draw a correct rectangular around the text.
I prefer Irfanview.
Uses Tesseract for Windows now, install it from:
https://digi.bib.uni-mannheim.de/tesseract/
ClipboardResize just captures the selected area to the file "tmp.png" and call tesseract.exe with parameters:
lang="eng+deu", psm="6", tesseracOutputbase="tmp"
The file "tmp.txt" is generated and read back to the clipboard. Simple, but effectiv!
Parameters a configurable, Config-file section [tesseract]:
tesseractPath="C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR\tesseract.exe"
lang="eng+deu"
psm="6"
imagenameTmp="_tmp.png"
tesseracOutputbase="_tmp"
The two temporary files are not deleted, but overwritten on next ocr operation.
The file -> tesseracOutputbase gets the extension ".txt" by Tesseract.
Checkboxes only affect the hotkey operations, not operations that are triggered by a button press,
besides the "Snipping Tool"-button!
-
Auto-Resize
If not checked the captured image is not resized.
The original version of the captured image is written to the disk ("_1"-ending), if Auto-Save (fullsize) is checked. -
Auto-Save
If not checked the resized version of the captured image is not written to the disk. -
Auto-Save (fullsize)
If not checked the original version of the captured image is not written to the disk. -
Activator-Button
After an image is captured, instead of the Clipboardresize-Window the Activator button is shown only. -
Autohide
After an image is captured, the Clipboardresize-Window is closed after 2 seconds,
which is usefull to capture multible images in series.
Otherwise the Clipboardresize-Window is closed only, if it loses the focus (besides clicking the close-cross or killing the app).
Portable, run from any directory, but running from a subdirectory of the windows programm-directories
(C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86) etc.)
requires admin-rights and is not recommended!
Directory must be writable by the app!
Create a directory, example: "C:\jvrks\clipboardresize".
Download Updater from Github to the previously created directory:
clipboardresize.exe 64 bit Windows use:
updater.exe 64bit
or
clipboardresize32.exe 32 bit Windows use:
updater.exe 32bit
Install only one version of clipboardresize!
Unpredictable behavior may occure otherwise.
Updater viruscheck see Updater repository
- From time to time there are some false positiv virus detections Virusscan at Virustotal see below.
Be shure to use only one of the *.exe at a time!
As the name says ...
- Use Activator-button
If an image is captured to the clipboard the Activator-button is shown only (instead of the gui-window). - Auto-hide
The app window hides itself after 4 seconds (hides only if focus lost otherwise).
If capturing a series of images a approbiate setup is:
Auto-Resize off/on, Auto-Save on, Use-Activator off, Auto-hide on.
** An activated CAPSLOCK always prevents a resize!**
Use it, to temporary disable any resize operation.
| Issue / Bug | Type | fixed in version |
|---|---|---|
| Images are save again, if the "Snipping Tool" is closed | issue | --- |
- Windows 10 or later only.
- Directory must be writable.
- "_savedclips\*.png".
- "clipboardresize.ini"
Overview of all default Hotkeys used by my Autohotkey "tools"
Only "simple" hotkeys are allowed, i.e. a word character like "a", "b", "c" and preceding modifiers "#!^+~".
Gdip_All.ahk based on Gdip standard library v1.45 by tic (Tariq Porter) 07/09/11
- Modified by Rseding91 using fincs 64 bit compatible Gdip library 5/1/2013
- Modified by jvr 2020
- Supports: Basic, _L ANSi, _L Unicode x86 and _L Unicode x64
| Version (>=) | Change |
|---|---|
| 0.174 | Open Filemanager Hotkey ([SHIFT] + [ALT] + [z]) |
| 0.168 | Default ocr filenames changed to "_tmp.*", ocr: using own area-capture mechanism, OCR-Hotkey default changed to Alt + y |
| 0.164 | A32 version removed |
| 0.160 | clipboard text modification removed, an activated CAPSLOCK prevents a resize |
| 0.156 | Removed Virtual-Key Codes from the configuration file, using autoconversion from "normal" keys now |
| 0.155 | Using Virtual-Key Codes in the configuration file |
| 0.154 | OCR integration (changed) to Tesseract |
| 0.152 | Saved-clips preview latest clips are shown first |
| 0.145 | Saved-clips preview, Click on image to load it back to the clipboard |
| 0.144 | Gdip_All_patched.ahk removed variable-name duplicates |
| 0.143 | Updater integration |
| 0.142 | Gui "enhanced", Github repo default branch changed to "main" |
| 0.141 | Autohide improved and enabled |
| 0.140 | On a Clipboard-change (content = image) a small activation-button "ClipboardResize" is shown at the top/center of the screen only (Dissappeares after 10 seconds)! |
Please take a look at license.txt
(Hold down the [CTRL]-key to open the file in a new window/tab!)
Copyright (c) 2024 J. v. Roos
Virusscan at Virustotal, clipboardresize.exe 64bit-exe, Check here
Virusscan at Virustotal, clipboardresize32.exe 32bit-exe, Check here