Keyboard shortcuts

HandyPaste has two shortcuts that work in every app. Everything else happens inside the picker or the library, where the keys are the ones you'd expect.

Not the Shortcuts app

This page is about keyboard shortcuts. For automations in Apple's Shortcuts app, see Menu bar, Services and Shortcuts.

The two shortcuts to remember

Shortcut	What it does	How to remember it
⌥⌘V	Open the picker to paste a snippet	⌘V pastes; add ⌥ to paste from HandyPaste
⌥⌘C	Save the selected text as a new snippet	⌘C copies; add ⌥ to copy into HandyPaste

⌥ is the Option key (also labelled alt), next to ⌘ Command. Hold both, then press the letter.

Both work wherever you are: in Mail, Slack, a browser, Terminal, even over a full-screen app. HandyPaste only needs to be running; it lives in the menu bar. Both are also in the menu bar menu, with the current shortcut shown next to them, in case you forget.

⌥⌘V: paste a snippet

1. Click where you want the text, as if you were about to type it.
2. Press ⌥⌘V. The picker opens in the middle of the screen. The app you were in stays active, so your caret doesn't move.
3. Type a few letters of the snippet's title, text or keyword. The best match is selected.
4. Press Return. The picker closes and the snippet appears at your caret.

If the snippet asks questions (like a name), the picker shows them first; answer and press Return again. Changed your mind? Esc closes the picker and nothing is pasted.

When Return copies instead of pasting

Without Accessibility permission, or with Settings ▸ Pasting set to Copy it to the clipboard, Return copies the snippet and you press ⌘V yourself. The picker's footer tells you which one will happen: ↩ Paste or ↩ Copy.

⌥⌘C: save selected text

1. Select text in any app: drag across it, or double-click a word.
2. Press ⌥⌘C. HandyPaste copies the selection for you and puts your clipboard back the way it was.
3. The Save as Snippet panel opens with a Title (the first line of the text), a Folder (the one you saved into last time, or No Folder), and a preview of the text.
4. Change the title or folder if you like, then press Return to save, or Esc to cancel.

A small Snippet Saved message appears for a moment. Click it to open the new snippet in the library.

You might instead see one of these:

Message	What it means	What to do
Nothing to Save · Select some text first.	Nothing was selected, so there was nothing to copy	Select the text, then press ⌥⌘C again
Can't Copy in This App · Secure Keyboard Entry is on.	The app blocks other apps from pressing keys in it, for example Terminal with Secure Keyboard Entry on, or a password field	Turn off Secure Keyboard Entry in that app's menu (in Terminal: Terminal ▸ Secure Keyboard Entry), or copy the text and add it in the library
Allow HandyPaste to Copy the Selection	HandyPaste doesn't have Accessibility permission, which it needs to press ⌘C for you	Click Open System Settings and turn on HandyPaste, or use Services ▸ New HandyPaste Snippet from Selection, which needs no permission
Snippet Limit Reached	The free version's 15 snippets you create are used up	Delete a snippet you don't need, or unlock Pro

Change a shortcut

1. Open Settings (⌘, in the library, or Settings… in the menu bar menu) and choose General.
2. Under Keyboard Shortcuts, click the button showing the shortcut you want to change: Open Picker or Save Selection as Snippet. It changes to Type Shortcut….
3. Press the new combination, all keys together, for example ⌃⌥V.

That's it: the new shortcut works right away. Press Esc while it says Type Shortcut… to cancel and keep the old one. To go back to ⌥⌘V for the picker, click the round arrow next to its shortcut.

While you're recording, HandyPaste's own shortcuts are paused, so pressing the current one doesn't open the picker.

Which combinations work

A shortcut needs ⌥ Option or ⌃ Control, or ⌘ Command together with ⇧ Shift, plus one other key. That rule keeps it from taking over keys you type or shortcuts every app relies on. If you press a combination that doesn't qualify, the Mac beeps and keeps listening.

You press	Works?	Why
⌥⌘V, ⌃⌥V, ⌃⌥Space	✓	Uses ⌥ or ⌃
⇧⌘Space, ⇧⌘8	✓	⌘ together with ⇧
⌥F5	✓	Function keys work too, with a modifier
⌘V, ⌘K	✗	⌘ alone would take a shortcut away from every app
⇧V	✗	That's just a capital V; you couldn't type it any more
V	✗	A single key needs a modifier

The two shortcuts must also be different from each other.

If HandyPaste doesn't accept it

When a shortcut can't be used, a red message appears under Keyboard Shortcuts and the previous shortcut stays in place, so you're never left without one.

Message	What to do
Another app is already using this shortcut. Choose a different one.	Another app registered it first. Pick another combination, or change it in that app.
This shortcut already opens the picker. Choose a different one.	You gave Save Selection the picker's shortcut. Pick something else.
This shortcut already saves the selection. Choose a different one.	You gave the picker Save Selection's shortcut. Pick something else.
The shortcut couldn't be registered. Choose a different one.	macOS refused it, usually because the system reserves it. Pick another.

Shortcuts other apps use

While HandyPaste is running, its shortcuts win over the same keys in other apps. With the defaults, that includes, for example:

• Finder: ⌥⌘V Move Item Here and ⌥⌘C Copy as Pathname
• Safari: ⌥⌘C Show JavaScript Console (with the Develop menu on)
• Chrome: ⌥⌘C Inspect elements in the developer tools

If you use one of those every day, change HandyPaste's shortcut. ⌃⌥V and ⌃⌥C are rarely taken by other apps. If you use VoiceOver, avoid ⌃⌥, because that's the VoiceOver key.

In the picker

Key	What it does
Type	Search titles, text and keywords
↑ ↓	Move through the results
Return	Paste the selected snippet (or copy it, when pasting is off)
⌘Return	Copy it instead of pasting
⌘1 – ⌘9	Paste the first to ninth result without moving to it
⌘Y	Show or hide the preview of exactly what will be pasted
⌘O	Open the library
Esc	Close the picker

The numbers ⌘1–⌘9 are shown next to each result, and they work on any keyboard layout, including AZERTY.

When the picker asks questions

Key	What it does
Tab / ⇧Tab	Next / previous field
Return	Paste with your answers (or copy, if you started with ⌘Return)
Return in a multi-line answer	Start a new line
⌘Return in a multi-line answer	Finish and paste
Esc	Back to the list, without pasting

When a snippet uses Pro placeholders and Pro isn't unlocked, Return means Paste Without Filling and ⌘U opens Unlock Pro….

In the Save as Snippet panel

Key	What it does
Return	Save the snippet
Esc	Cancel; nothing is saved

While a snippet fills in a form

A snippet with {{tab}} or {{enter}} types in several steps. Press Esc to stop it; switching to another app stops it too.

In the library

Key	What it does
⌘N	New snippet, in the selected folder
⇧⌘N	New folder
⌘F	Search
⌘D	Duplicate the snippet
⇧⌘C	Copy the snippet, with its placeholders filled in
⌫	Delete the selected snippet or folder (asks first)
⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z	Undo / redo
⌘,	Settings

In the editor

Key	What it does
Type {{	Show the list of placeholders
Return or Tab	Insert the chosen placeholder
Esc	Keep what you typed as plain text
⌘Z right after a chip appears	Turn it back into plain text
Double-click a chip	Edit its code