Network Clipboard
  • Lars JandelLars Jandel
    Hi Matt!

    Great little tool!
    Four questions:
    1. I guess, you did this by design, but would it be possible to show / use the "own" clipboard, the stuff I sent myself? This would give the option to validate / test the sent clipboard, or use it in addition to the real clipboard while working or pasting it a project in a later session. (Maybe an option to activate in the prefs?)
    2. Is it correct, that each user is having "one slot at a time" which gets overwritten with each new copy? Maybe this gets too complicated: I was wondering, if it makes sense to have multiple "copy spots"? E.g. having three copy buttons - well, I guess this would mean to have a minimal info next to the buttons to know, what the current content is, like comp/layer/keys plus a time stamp could help... This would come in handy, when sending different stuff to different people, so you do not have to check with one person first, that the clipboard has been already pasted, before overwriting the single slot.
    3. Atm, the pasting person already gets the info comps/layers/keys when multiple clipboards are present. Would it be possible to add an optional short note when copying stuff, so the pasting person gets some tiny info to avoid another communication channel? E.g. "Client x changed logo - everyone please update" or "animated box for Sarah". Again, a time stamp would be nice. This short info could be useful as well, if question 2 is sth to consider. 
    4. Idea: A refresh button, which simply shows a time stamp when the clipboard has been modified = new stuff is available

    Thanks, cheers, Lars.
  • Matt TillmanMatt Tillman
    Hey Lars,
    Thanks! I'm glad to hear you like the script. And thanks so much for the feedback.

    1) There are a couple of options for this. You can already copy and paste to/from yourself, which is the simplest option. Though if you do want to test things locally you can temporarily change the transfer directory to your local machine. that way only you can paste what you've copied.

    2) This one is a little more complicated. Every time you copy something you are creating a file with a timestamp, and every time you paste you import the file with the latest timestamp.
    If you navigate to the transfer directory you will see the whole list of copies for the day. These files get deleted upon the first running of the script each day.

    (This covers points 3 and 4 as well)
    I agree, being able to paste from the list of available copies would be really useful. I thought about adding it but decided to make the first release as simple as possible (just copy and paste), partially for simplicity but also due to time constraints.

    I think it would be a good idea to make an "advanced" mode with the next update. This way you could choose between simple copy/paste and having more controls like pasting from history, adding comments and checking for new copies. Maybe even an option to list or preview available copies.

    Timestamps would certainly be useful, I'll be sure to include that in the next update :)

    Not sure when the next update will be but I've definitely got plans.

  • Lars JandelLars Jandel
    Thanks for your replies! :)
    Yep, always the dilemma of simple vs. (too) complicated - let's see, what will make it into an update. ;)
    Will give the local option a spin later - cheers!
  • Joe CurtrightJoe Curtright
    Is there a limit to the number of users? I have bought 6 licenses for my team but it seems to only show up to 3 users to paste from. Thanks for your time.
  • Matt TillmanMatt Tillman
    Hey Joe,

    No there is no limit to the number of users. There are a few possible reasons (that I can think of) that you only see three users to paste from:

    - Only three users have actually copied something
    - Some of your users are not pointing to the same transfer directory
    - Some of your users have the same username
  • Joe CurtrightJoe Curtright
    Thanks Matt, I will look into what could be causing it. Just wanted to make sure there was no limit.
  • Matt TillmanMatt Tillman
    Out of curiosity I just did a quick test on adding a large number of users.
    It looks like some users get cut off the screen beyond about 21, though this likely varies based on screen resolution.

    I'll make a note to add a scroll bar to catch this case. Though it doesn't seem likely that many people will hit that point.
  • Michael WoodMichael Wood
    This looks incredible! Our agency has Mac and windows machines does this still work together, we all have same version of AE and are all connected via local network and local server? 
  • Matt TillmanMatt Tillman
    Thanks so much :)

    Yes, this will certainly work for you.
    Clipboard is compatible with both Mac and PC, and can be used between them. Having the same AE versions setup is also perfect, otherwise you could only paste to higher versions (you can't paste from 2018 to 2017 for example).

    The only issue you might possibly have is footage paths might not update correctly between platforms. However this is a standard problem when working with multiple platforms, and not limited to this tool.

    I hope you find it useful.
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