Quickstart (require 'simpleclip) (simpleclip-mode 1) ;; Press super-c to copy without affecting the kill ring. ;; Press super-x or super-v to cut or paste. ;; On OS X, use ⌘-c, ⌘-v, ⌘-x. Explanation By default, Emacs orchestrates a subtle interaction between the internal kill ring and the external system clipboard. `simpleclip-mode' radically simplifies clipboard handling: the system clipboard and the Emacs kill ring are made completely independent, and never influence each other. `simpleclip-mode' also enables support for accessing the system clipboard from a TTY where possible. You will likely need to set up custom keybindings if you want to take advantage of that. To use simpleclip, place the simpleclip.el library somewhere Emacs can find it, and add the following to your ~/.emacs file: (require 'simpleclip) (simpleclip-mode 1) Keybindings Turning on `simpleclip-mode' activates clipboard-oriented key bindings which are modifiable in customize. The default bindings override keystrokes which may be bound as alternatives for kill/yank commands on your system. "Traditional" kill/yank keys (control-k, control-y, meta-y) are unaffected. The default keybindings are super-c simpleclip-copy super-x simpleclip-cut super-v simpleclip-paste control- simpleclip-copy shift- simpleclip-cut shift- simpleclip-paste The "super" keybindings are friendly for OS X. The "insert"/"delete" keybindings are better suited for Unix and MS Windows. See Also M-x customize-group RET simpleclip RET Notes `simpleclip-mode' does not affect `x-select-enable-primary' or `select-enable-primary'. Access to the system clipboard from a TTY is provided for those cases where a literal paste is needed -- for example, where autopair interferes with pasted input which is interpreted as keystrokes. If you are already happy with the copy/paste provided by your terminal emulator, then you don't need to set up simpleclip's TTY support. The following functions may be useful to call from Lisp: `simpleclip-get-contents' `simpleclip-set-contents' Compatibility and Requirements No external dependencies Tested on OS X, X11, and MS Windows Bugs Assumes that transient-mark-mode is on. Menu items under Edit are rebound successfully, but the visible menu text does not change. cua-mode does this correctly -- because of remap? because of emulation-mode-map-alists? Key bindings do not work out-of-the-box with Aquamacs. TODO TTY-friendly key bindings. Keep kill-ring commands in Edit menu under modified names. Support non-string data types. ; License Simplified BSD License: Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. This software is provided by Roland Walker "AS IS" and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall Roland Walker or contributors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage. The views and conclusions contained in the software and documentation are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing official policies, either expressed or implied, of Roland Walker.