ClipboardResize

(Windows only)

Description

The purpose of the app is to reduce the size of a captured image inside the clipboard and possibly save it to a file.

It and can be used as an interface to the Tesseract OCR also.

After starting "clipboardresize.exe", it silently runs in the background looking for a new image in the clipboard.

If the clipboard content is changed, the app is activated and runs the selected operations, i.e. resize, save etc. *2)

To copy the screen content (or a part of it) to the clipboard,
use the Windows 10 builtin hotkeys:

Hotkey	Operation
[SHIFT] + [Printscreen]	capture the whole screen
[ALT] + [Printscreen]	capture the active window only
[CTRL] + [WIN] + [s]	capture a selectable screen area
[ALT] + [z]	the ClipboardResize capture hotkey

The ClipboardResize capture hotkey operates likewise:
if Config-file section [config] -> winHotkeyAliasEnable=1 -> as a simpler alias to [SHIFT] + [WIN] + [S] or
if Config-file section [config] -> winHotkeyAliasEnable=0 -> use the builtin "capture screen area"-operation. (the "builtin "capture screen area"-operation" is not usable at the moment!)

If Config-file section [operation] -> useActivator=1, the activator-button is shown, otherwise the ClipboardResize gui is activated.

If anything is copied to the clipboard, the soundfile "clipboard.mp3" *1) is played too.

(The optional start-paramter "showwindow" forces ClipboardResize to show its gui-window after startup.)
The download includes a batchfile "clipboardresize_startVisible.bat" to test it.

To start the app with Windows, use the batchfile (powershell) "create_clipboardresize_exe_link_in_autostartfolder.bat", or
take a look at the project startdelayed.

*1) Controlled by [config] -> clipboardBeepSound in the Config-file.
*2) The app can only distinguish between data (possibly an image) and text.

Config-file is "clipboardresize.ini".

Additional Hotkeys supplied by the app::

Hotkey	Action	Remarks
[ALT] + [y]	OCR	via Tesseract
[SHIFT] + [WIN] + [z]	show menu	operations are selectable
[WIN] + [ALT] + [z]	set resize-width and -height	settings are saved in the file "clipboardresize.ini"
[CTRL] + [WIN] + [z]	capture fullscreen, reduced size	to clipboard + save as a file *1)
[CTRL] + [ALT] + [WIN] + [z]]	kill the app (remove it from the memory)

1) Image file (.png format) is stored into the "._savedclips" folder,
filenames are:
"clpr_DATETIME_0.png" ("_0"-ending are resized) and
"clpr_DATETIME_1.png" ("_1"-ending are fullsize),
DATETIME is year_month_date_minute_second of the current time.

There is a preview (reduced size) in the center of the app-window too, and a [FullSizeView clipboard] image button in the menu.

Using a hotkey to capture does not close an open clipboardresize window (but is faster than using a button)!
Capture area: [SHIFT] + [WIN] + [s] hotkey is supplied by Windows 10, not by clipboardresize.
Other Windows capture hotkeys: [WIN] + [PRINT] (capture whole screen) and [ALT] + [WIN] + [PRINT] (capture active window)
do also not close an open clipboardresize window.

OCR integration

I use it to extract text from images (not complete documents with multible colums).
Default hotkey is: [ALT] + [y], Config-file section [hotkeys] -> ocrHotkey), press the hotkey then draw a rectangle all around the text.
Use a picture-viewer that does not scroll the image, otherwise it will difficult to draw a correct rectangular around the text.
I prefer Irfanview.
Uses Tesseract for Windows now, install it from:
https://digi.bib.uni-mannheim.de/tesseract

ClipboardResize just captures the selected area to the file "tmp.png" and call tesseract.exe with parameters:
lang="eng+deu", psm="6", tesseracOutputbase="tmp"
The file "tmp.txt" is generated and read back to the clipboard. Simple, but effectiv!
Parameters a configurable, Config-file section [tesseract]:
tesseractPath="C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR\tesseract.exe"
lang="eng+deu"
psm="6"
imagenameTmp="_tmp.png"
tesseracOutputbase="_tmp"
The two temporary files are not deleted, but overwritten on next ocr operation.
The file -> tesseracOutputbase gets the extension ".txt" by Tesseract.

Tesseract docs

Automode

If the "Automode" checkbox is checked, an automatic resize operation is executed in the background if a new clipboard-image is detected.

Checkboxes

Auto-Resize
If not checked the captured image is not resized.
The original version of the captured image is written to the disk ("_1"-ending), if Auto-Save (fullsize) is checked.
Auto-Save
If not checked the resized version of the captured image is not written to the disk.
Auto-Save (fullsize)
If not checked the original version of the captured image is not written to the disk.
Activator-Button
After an image is captured, instead of the Clipboardresize-Window the Activator button is shown only.
Autohide
After an image is captured, the Clipboardresize-Window is closed after 2 seconds,
which is usefull to capture multible images in series.
Otherwise the Clipboardresize-Window is closed only, if it loses the focus (besides clicking the close-cross or killing the app).

Download via Updater (preferred method)

Portable, run from any directory, but running from a subdirectory of the windows programm-directories
(C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86) etc.)
requires admin-rights and is not recommended!
Directory must be writable by the app!

Create a directory, example: "C:\jvrks\clipboardresize".

Download Updater from Github to the previously created directory:
clipboardresize.exe 64 bit Windows use:
updater.exe 64bit
or
clipboardresize32.exe 32 bit Windows use:
updater.exe 32bit

Install only one version of clipboardresize!
Unpredictable behavior may occure otherwise.

Updater viruscheck see Updater repository

From time to time there are some false positiv virus detections Virusscan at Virustotal see below.

Be shure to use only one of the *.exe at a time!

Auto-Resize, Auto-Save, Fullsize, Use-Activator, Auto-hide:

As the name says ...

Use Activator-button
If an image is captured to the clipboard the Activator-button is shown only (instead of the gui-window).
Auto-hide
The app window hides itself after 4 seconds (hides only if focus lost otherwise).
If capturing a series of images a approbiate setup is:
Auto-Resize off/on, Auto-Save on, Use-Activator off, Auto-hide on.

** An activated CAPSLOCK always prevents a resize!**
Use it, to temporary disable any resize operation.

Requirements

Windows 10 or later only.
Directory must be writable.

Generated files in running directory:

"_savedclips\*.png".
"clipboardresize.ini"

Hotkeys

Overview of all default Hotkeys used by my Autohotkey "tools"
Only "simple" hotkeys are allowed, i.e. a word character like "a", "b", "c" and preceding modifiers "#!^+~".

Sourcecode

GitHub URL

Autohotkey format

Used Libraries:

Gdip_All.ahk based on Gdip standard library v1.45 by tic (Tariq Porter) 07/09/11

Modified by Rseding91 using fincs 64 bit compatible Gdip library 5/1/2013
Modified by jvr 2020
Supports: Basic, _L ANSi, _L Unicode x86 and _L Unicode x64

Latest changes

Version (>=)	Change
0.168	Default ocr filenames changed to "_tmp.*", ocr: using own area-capture mechanism, OCR-Hotkey default changed to Alt + y
0.164	A32 version removed
0.160	clipboard text modification removed, an activated CAPSLOCK prevents a resize
0.156	Removed Virtual-Key Codes from the configuration file, using autoconversion from "normal" keys now
0.155	Using Virtual-Key Codes in the configuration file
0.154	OCR integration (changed) to Tesseract
0.152	Saved-clips preview latest clips are shown first
0.145	Saved-clips preview, Click on image to load it back to the clipboard
0.144	Gdip_All_patched.ahk removed variable-name duplicates
0.143	Updater integration
0.142	Gui "enhanced", Github repo default branch changed to "main"
0.141	Autohide improved and enabled
0.140	On a Clipboard-change (content = image) a small activation-button "ClipboardResize" is shown at the top/center of the screen only (Dissappeares after 10 seconds)!

License: MIT

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sub license, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Virusscan at Virustotal

Virusscan at Virustotal, clipboardresize.exe 64bit-exe, Check here
Virusscan at Virustotal, clipboardresize32.exe 32bit-exe, Check here

jvr-ks/clipboardresize