Frequently Asked Questions for Copy 'Em (Mac)

Frequently Asked Questions for Copy 'Em (for Mac)

Q: How to sync my data in Copy ’Em for Mac with Copy ’Em for iPhone & iPad?
Please see here for instructions.

Q: I'm running Copy 'Em 3.0.0 (or later) on macOS 13 Ventura (or later). Copy 'Em is unable to paste items automatically. How to fix it?
To enable auto-paste, please do the following:

Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.
If Copy 'Em is in the list, enable it. If it's not in the list, add it and enable it.
If Copy 'Em Helper is in the list, enable it too. (If it's not in the list, don't add it.)
Test if auto-paste works now. If it still doesn't work, do the following extra steps.
In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, remove Copy 'Em and then add it back.
If Copy 'Em Helper is in the list, remove it and add it back. (If it's not in the list, don't add it.)

Q: I'm running an older version of Copy 'Em (2 or earlier) or using an older version of macOS (12 or earlier). Copy 'Em is unable to paste items automatically. How to fix it?
To enable auto-paste, please do the following:

On Ventura or later, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. On older macOS, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab > Accessibility.
Copy 'Em Helper should be listed. If not, add it to the list.
Enable Copy 'Em Helper in the list.

If the paste function works now, you're done! But if it still fails, do these extra steps:

Remove Copy 'Em Helper from the list.
Add Copy 'Em Helper back to the list, and enable it again.

If the paste function works now, you're done! But if not, continue with the following:

In Copy 'Em, go to the gear button and select Quit to properly quit the app. (Don't forcibly terminate the app in other ways.)
Open the Terminal app.
Copy the entire line starting with tccutil below, paste it into Terminal, and press RETURN:
tccutil reset All Copy-em-Paste-Helper
- Upon success, you'll see this message "successfully reset All approval status for Copy-em-Paste-Helper".
Relaunch Copy 'Em.
In Copy 'Em, click an item in order to trigger a paste operation. (Nothing is pasted at this time, but the OS will show you a dialog box.)
In the dialog box that asks whether you allow the helper app to control your computer, click the Open System Settings/Preferences button.
In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility (or System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab > Accessibility), enable Copy 'Em Helper in the list.

Q: I'm running Copy 'Em 3.0.0 (or later) on macOS 13 Ventura (or later). Windows are missing in the screenshots taken by Copy 'Em. How to fix it?
To resolve the issue, please do the following:

Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording.
If Copy 'Em is in the list, enable it. If it's not in the list, add it and enable it.
If Copy 'Em Helper is in the list, enable it too. (If it's not in the list, don't add it.)
Test if the issue is resolved now. If it still persists, do the following extra steps.
In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, remove Copy 'Em and then add it back.
If Copy 'Em Helper is in the list, remove it and add it back. (If it's not in the list, don't add it.)

Q: I'm running an older version of Copy 'Em (2 or earlier) or using an older version of macOS (12 or earlier). Windows are missing in the screenshots taken by Copy 'Em. How to fix it?
The new OS has disabled Copy 'Em's screenshot functionality unless you explicitly enable it. To re-enable it, please do the following:

On Ventura or later, go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording. On older macOS, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab > Screen Recording.
If Copy 'Em Helper is in the list, enable it. Otherwise, follow Troubleshooting 1 below to add the helper to the list.
If Copy 'Em is in the list, enable it. Otherwise, follow Troubleshooting 2 below to add the app to the list.

Troubleshooting 1: If Copy 'Em Helper isn't in the list, do the following to add it:

In Copy 'Em, click the camera button at the bottom, select Window, and take a snapshot of another application window (not Copy 'Em).
When prompted with a dialog box that asks you to allow the helper app to record your computer's screen, click the Open System Settings/Preferences button. (If you don't see the dialog box that prompts you, relaunch Copy 'Em and redo the step above.)
In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording (or System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab > Screen Recording), enable Copy 'Em Helper in the list.
When prompted to restart the helper app, click the “Quit Now” button.

Troubleshooting 2: If Copy 'Em isn't in the list, do the following to add it:

In Copy 'Em, click the camera button at the bottom, select Screen and take a snapshot of the entire screen.
When prompted with a dialog box that asks you to allow the app to record your computer's screen, click the Open System Settings/Preferences button. (If you don't see the dialog box that prompts you, relaunch Copy 'Em and redo the step above.)
In System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording (or System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab > Screen Recording), enable Copy 'Em in the list.
When prompted to restart the app, click the “Quit Now” button.

Q: Some keyboard shortcuts that use letters 'C' or 'V' have stopped working. Why?
This is due to a bug introduced in a recent app update. To fix it, please install the latest version of the Copy 'Em Helper app, and then relaunch Copy 'Em (the main app).

Q: After I turn on the plain-text transformation (the 'T' button), Copy 'Em changes the data I paste from the clipboard. Why?
Copy 'Em applies the plain-text transformation in two separate cases:

Whenever you copy rich text to the clipboard: The rich text on the clipboard is automatically converted to its plain-text version, which you can then paste using regular paste commands such as ⌘V.
Whenever you paste rich text from Copy 'Em: The rich text will be pasted as plain text.

If you're unable to copy and paste formatted data in apps such as Excel and InDesign, it's due to the plain-text transformation stripping formatting information away from your clipboard data. To resolve that, you can either (i) turn off the 'T' button, or (ii) go to the gear button > Preferences, and turn on Stop Auto-Transforming Clipboard Data (after that, the transformation will be applied only when you paste from the Copy 'Em UI).

Q: How can I change the number of clippings that the app can save?
By default, Copy 'Em saves 1000 of the most recent unstarred items. To lower or raise that limit, do the following:

Click the gear button at the bottom-left corner of the app window.
Select Preferences > Auto-Delete Unstarred Items > Auto-Delete Oldest...
Change the number there to a lower or higher number, such as 100, 10000, or 100000.

Note that starred items (i.e., those you added to your favorite lists) have no upper limit. The limit above is only for unstarred items.

Q: After enabling Preferences > Auto-Delete Unstarred Clippings > Auto-Delete When App Quits, how can I disable it?
Please click Auto-Delete When App Quits again to toggle its setting. So if you have enabled it before, you can click it again to disable it.

Q: Copy 'Em is unable to switch its theme automatically, even after its Automatically Switch Theme setting is turned on. How to fix it?
This is likely caused by a previous abrupt shutdown of your Mac, which left a system flag (that Copy 'Em uses for determining the current OS theme) in an incorrect state. To reset that system flag, please do the following:

Open the Terminal app.
Copy the entire line below that starts with defaults, paste it into Terminal, and press RETURN:
defaults delete NSGlobalDomain AppleInterfaceStyle
Relaunch Copy 'Em.

Q: The "running an unauthorized copy" error shows up when I run Copy'em Paste. How to fix it?
If you run an instance of Copy 'Em copied from a different machine, then this error will show up due to a license mismatch between the app instance and your current machine. To resolve the issue, please re-install Copy 'Em from the Mac App Store, as follows:

Go to your Applications folder.
Move Copy 'Em to trash. (This will not delete your existing Copy 'Em data.)
Re-install Copy 'Em from the Mac App Store. (If you purchased the app before, this download will be free of charge.)