How to backup your written text to Notes quickly

Tuesday, 18. December 2007, 18:34:42

Ever lost everything you wrote because of a freak-accident? How about make a quick snapshot of whatever you wrote before you edit it? Well, you can simply backup everything into the Notes panel. First, Select all (Ctrl+A) text , & then execute Copy to Note command (Ctrl+Shift+C) for backup... Now, let's simplify the whole process into 1 simple step: Just press F2 to select all text & backup everything into Notes panel at once... Sounds good? You bet!

1. Go to Preferences(Ctrl+F12) > Advanced > Shortcuts > Keyboard Setup.
(& create a new keyboard setup, if you didn't do that already)

2. Double-click on a keyboard setup you want to use, then go to Advanced > Edit Widget section.

3. Click on "New" button to create a new shortcut & input F2 as the shortcut.

4. Then, input Select all & Copy to note in the actions field. Click OK twice.

Now, you can backup your written text into the Notes with just a simple F2 Hotkey! Don't worry, you still able to use F2 to evoke the Go to page dialog. The F2 will ONLY backup all texts from a text-box into Notes if the cursor is focus on a text-box!

UPDATE: After getting some good ideas from bpm, we came up with a better syntax:

Improved version: This will show a highlighted "SAVED" at the end for confirmation.
Select all & Copy to note & Go to end & Insert, " SAVED" & Range previous word & Range previous character

Kestrel ONLY version: This is a bit more fancy, it show a blink of "SAVED" for confirmation.
Select all & Copy to note & Go to end & Insert, " SAVED" & Range previous word & Delay, 400 & Delete & Backspace

How to execute Copy + Paste and Go with Single Mouse GestureHide Opera with Mouse Gesture & Button

Comments

That's a good tip. I just wish there was a way to add "unselect" to the macro; AFAIK, can only do it by clicking in the text box.

By bpm, # 26. January 2008, 19:19:54

Actually, there is a way to do so:
Select all & Copy to note & Go to end

But of course, you won't get the impression or indication that all the text were copied into the note because they are not highlighted after you pressed F2...

By dude09, # 27. January 2008, 08:21:50

Yeah... danger of leaving it all selected is that if you type anything without deselecting, what you had gets wiped out. Ideal would be deselect plus a confirmation prompt (which should get dismissed with no extra action on your part - which disqualifies a javascript alert box, for example). With a serious macro language, they give you a command which lets you write prompts such as "saved to note".

Here's a workaround: after Go to end, Insert," Saved" & range previous word. You get your prompt, and the "range" command selects it so the next thing you type will cause it to be deleted. If not typing more, just tap Delete.

By bpm, # 27. January 2008, 10:55:55

Wow, this is just getting better & better!
Thanks for your great idea.

By dude09, # 27. January 2008, 14:41:13

Ever lost everything you wrote because of a freak-accident?

Alas, many times I did!

Will try now your tip, many thanks!

By purgossu, # 29. March 2008, 17:18:32

Sorry, I cant understand what exactly is the use of doing all this? Everything written in the notes is saved automatically. Where else does one write?

By Rounak, # 7. April 2008, 12:49:00

@Rounak

It's not for use in notes as such, but for saving texts writed in boxes (for example, this "write a comment" or "new comment" box used in forums).

By purgossu, # 7. April 2008, 13:12:53

ok....i dont know how many would really need it....i think pressing ctrl+shift+c is not all that difficult.....

By Rounak, # 7. April 2008, 16:04:48

Well, this tip is about simplify the backup steps into 1 simple step.
F2 is a common hotkey for "Save as" in most application, thus it work well for those who always write long messages & worry about losing their writing before finished it...

By dude09, # 7. April 2008, 16:33:39

ok !!! an advanced solution for advanced users. Well Done!!

By Rounak, # 8. April 2008, 04:19:48

oops!!!!1 sorry for my previous comments. After using it I realised how useful and convenient it is to press only F2 rather than several keys. Also, the confirmation "saved" helps. Its a simple solution for all users.

Thanks dude09, I will always keep an eye on your blog.

By Rounak, # 9. April 2008, 14:25:27

@bpm
If you accidentally type over some text (at least in windows), just press ctrl + z to undo the change. ctrl + z works almost everywhere in windows for undoing things. Even after renaming files!

By VJgamer, # 6. June 2008, 18:01:47

the trick of saving text by merely pressing F2 does not work with email text typed in gmail.......right?

By Rounak, # 9. June 2008, 17:33:51

the trick of saving text by merely pressing F2 does not work with email text typed in gmail.......right?

If you use the "standard" Gmail view, then Copy to Note command won't work. But F2 will work properly if you switch Gmail view option to "basic HTML"...

By dude09, # 9. June 2008, 18:24:31