Windows tool to paste markdown and JSON from clipboard

#1

Microsoft PowerToys has a feature that may help TiddlyWIki and talk.tiddlywiki users

I needed to reinstall Microsoft PowerToys on my windows 11, mostly so I can remap Caps Lock to Shift to stop me SHOUTING. However a new feature called “Advanced Paste” allows alternate past formats and connection to OpenAPI.

  • To demonstrate the following content was a html copy pasted here as markdown. You can see its not perfect but it could save a lot of time both here and into markdown tiddlers.
    • especially with tables?
    • And images
  • You could also copy the output of a tiddler and past it in another markdown tiddler.
  • It may be a way to quickly obtain data in a JSON format.

The remainder of this post is an example and the documentation for this feature.

Advanced Paste

  • Article
  • 29/05/2024
  • 4 contributors

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In this article

  1. Getting started
  2. Settings
  3. Advanced text paste
  4. Install PowerToys
PowerToys **Advanced Paste** is a tool that enables you to paste the text from your clipboard into any format needed. It can paste as plain text, markdown, or JSON directly with the UX or with a direct keystroke invoke. These actions are executed entirely on your local machine. Additionally, the tool has an AI-powered option that is 100% opt-in and requires entering an OpenAI key in settings.

Getting started

Enabling

To start using Advanced Paste, enable it in the PowerToys Settings.

Activating

Open the Advanced Paste window with the activation shortcut (default: Win+Shift+V). See the Settings section for more information on customizing the activation shortcut and additional shortcut actions.

Settings

From the Settings menu, the following options can be configured:

Expand table

Setting Description
Enable Paste with AI Enables the AI-powered paste feature. An OpenAI API key is required (requires an account on platform.openai.com).
Custom format preview Enable to preview the output of the custom format before pasting.
Clipboard history Enable to automatically save clipboard history.
Open Advanced Paste shortcut The customizable keyboard command to open the Advanced Paste window.
Paste as plain text directly shortcut The customizable keyboard command to paste as plain text without opening the Advanced Paste window.
Paste as Markdown directly shortcut The customizable keyboard command to paste as Markdown without opening the Advanced Paste window.
Paste as JSON directly shortcut The customizable keyboard command to paste as JSON without opening the Advanced Paste window.

Important

It’s possible to set Ctrl+V as an activation shortcut. This is not recommended, as overriding this shortcut may have unintended consequences.

Advanced text paste

Advanced Paste includes several text-based paste options. These options are available in the Advanced Paste window, which can be opened using the activation shortcut. You can also paste as plain text, markdown, or JSON directly using the customizable keyboard commands.

Advanced Paste screenshot

Paste as Plain Text

Paste as Plain Text enables you to paste text stored in your clipboard, excluding any text-formatting, using a quick key shortcut. Any formatting included with the clipboard text will be replaced with an unformatted version of the text.

Paste as Plain Text screenshot

Note

Paste as Plain Text is a feature that runs locally and doesn’t use AI.

Paste as JSON

Paste as JSON enables you to paste text stored in your clipboard, updating any text-formatting to JSON, using a quick key shortcut. Any formatting included with the clipboard text will be replaced with a JSON formatted version of the text.

Sample input:

XMLCopy

<note> <to>Mr. Smith</to> <from>Ms. Nguyen</from> <body>Do you like PowerToys?</body></note>

JSON output:

JSONCopy

{ "note": { "to": "Mr. Smith", "from": "Ms. Nguyen", "body": "Do you like PowerToys?" }}

Note

Paste as JSON is a feature that runs locally and doesn’t use AI.

Paste as Markdown

Paste as Markdown enables you to paste text stored in your clipboard, updating any text-formatting to markdown, using a quick key shortcut. Any formatting included with the clipboard text will be replaced with a markdown formatted version of the text.

Sample input:

HTMLCopy

<b>Paste</b> <i>as</i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown">Markdown</a>

Markdown output:

MarkdownCopy

**Paste** *as* [Markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown)

Note

Paste as Markdown is a feature that runs locally and doesn’t use AI.

Paste text with AI