Questions about Sigil INI

[GrannyGrump]

I am on Windows 8.1.
I am using an old PortableApps version 8.6, so I don't know if these issues are due to the PortableApps wrapper, or to the age of the Sigil app.

I have problems getting the INI to retain my setting for Code View Font-- although my preferred font Monaco is installed in the Windows font folder, it does not appear in the GUI font selection list (which I don't understand, as other "non-standard" fonts do appear in the list). So with Sigil closed, I edit the INI manually. But it would frequently revert to default Courier. I discovered several months ago, that any changes to preferences in the GUI, such as changing the Pretty Print settings, or selecting a different spell-check dictionary, would reset the Code View Font automatically. So now I just manually edit again.

But last night I had a new experience --- Notepad froze while loading the INI, and no wonder! It had grown to over 6 MB! When I finally got it open, it seems that it was storing a ton of clipboard history. This history looked like several sessions worth of info. I deleted manually, opened Sigil again, and did some more editing. When I shut down, yup, new clipboard history was stored in the INI, which stood at 1.6 MB.

I don't know if the INI has always stored clipboard history this way, or if I have something strange going on with my portable app.

Any advice for granny?

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by GrannyGrump

I don't know if the INI has always stored clipboard history this way, or if I have something strange going on with my portable app.

Unfortunately, Sigil has been saving the clipboard history in sigil.ini for quite some time. This is one of my least favorite Sigil features, because it can bloat up sigil.ini and it's also a privacy issue.

IMHO, the built-in clipboard manager should be an opt-in feature that can be be disabled via a preference setting and the clipboard history should be saved in a separate .ini file, preferably obfuscated or encrypted.

[KevinH]

Or in newer versions of Sigil simply delete your clipboard history you do not want using the delete key in the gui

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Unfortunately, Sigil has been saving the clipboard history in sigil.ini for quite some time. This is one of my least favorite Sigil features, because it can bloat up sigil.ini and it's also a privacy issue.

IMHO, the built-in clipboard manager should be an opt-in feature that can be be disabled via a preference setting and the clipboard history should be saved in a separate .ini file, preferably obfuscated or encrypted.

- I would opt-out of it in a heartbeat.

IIRC I raised this back in 2011/12-ish, the response must have been -ve because the issue remains. I have a set of global clipboard tools that work in all the applications I use. The only application specific clipboard tool I value is the Autocopy browser extension.

I've also noticed that Sigil puts things that I copy in other applications into its clipboard history, this exacerbates the privacy issue.

BR

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by KevinH

Or in newer versions of Sigil simply delete your clipboard history you do not want using the delete key in the gui

Which menu item shows Sigil's clipboard history ?

BR

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Which menu item shows Sigil's clipboard history ?

Edit > Edit/Paste From Clipboard History...

[DiapDealer]

Ctrl+Alt+V
Edit->Edit/Paste From Clipboard History

You can highlight entries and hit the delete key and then save your changes.

That is why the clipboard history is being saved to the INI in the first place: the ability to paste previous clipboard contents into documents across Sigil Sessions.

I'm neither supporting the feature nor condemning it ... merely explaining it.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Edit > Edit/Paste From Clipboard History...

Ah-ah - looked there but...

If I have NOT copied anything to the clipboard since I started Sigil, I don't see anything, only after I copy something when Sigil is running do I see anything.

That is, if I start Sigil and go to Edit->Edit/Paste From Clipboard History... I see nothing at all (i.e. no dialogue box - no message, no anything).

If I then go into another application such a Firefox and select some text and copy it. And now I go back to Sigil and select Edit->Edit/Paste From Clipboard History... then I see all the history, including the whatever I just copied in Firefox and whatever else found its way into the ini file in the past.

If an opt-out is hard to do, how about an empty clipboard history on exit setting?

BR

[KevinH]

FYI, due to a horrible bug in how Qt works on Linux's with its strange clipboard, when something is active on the clipboard copied from outside Sigil, we have had to add a workaround for Linux that gives Sigil ownership of that clipboard. This will impact the history but only on Linux.

So editing your clipboard history is now be easier, at least in newer versions of Sigil (not sure which version I added that feature to).

KevinH

[KevinH]

Are you using Windows or Linux? On a Mac, that dialog is always properly populated. I can add something to make sure the ini file clipboard history is read fully if that dialog is ever opened specific to your platform. If users want to clean it on exit then do so manually. I want to keep my history around and usable.

[BetterRed]

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit v 1703 and Sigil 64 bit 0.9.8

I don't particularly want to edit the history manually within Sigil. As it is, my monthly computer housekeeping check-list already has as one of its items - Remove Sigil clipboard history (I edit sigil.ini)

If we can't have an opt-out, or a clear on exit setting, is there somewhere we can set Sigil's clipboard ring size to zero ?

BR

[DiapDealer]

I'd be happy to look into the feasibility of a user opt-out (for saving the clipboard to the INI file). No guarantees it's within my abilities, though. I certainly don't want to break the current functionality for those who DO find it useful.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'd be happy to look into the feasibility of a user opt-out (for saving the clipboard to the INI file). No guarantees it's within my abilities, though.

Thanks for looking into this!

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I certainly don't want to break the current functionality for those who DO find it useful.

IMHO, many Sigil users probably don't even know that this feature exists.
While you're at it, could you also remove the monospaced fonts filter from the Code View default font drop-down box?
This would save GrannyGrump (and others) the hassle of having to edit sigil.ini to change the default Code View font.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

While you're at it, could you also remove the monospaced fonts filter from the Code View default font drop-down box?
This would save GrannyGrump (and others) the hassle of having to edit sigil.ini to change the default Code View font.

I'll look at it after I suss the ramifications of the clipboard-saving opt-out. But with all due respect to Granny, I would think the number of people who might voluntarily choose a variable-width font for a code editor is even smaller than the number of people who see saving the clipboard contents to the INI file as a problem that needs fixing. *shrug*

[KevinH]

Yes, monospaced fonts are very standard for Code editors and required for indentation/line numbers/prettyprint to generate anything reasonable. So I am not in favour of changing that filter. There are now a large number of good monospaced fonts to choose from. There must be one GrannyGrump could use.