Introduction

This post is for Mac users.

As I mentioned a bit in my previous post, I recently got a new Mac. While I was setting it up, I decided to switch my clipboard manager from Flycut, which I had been using for a while, to Maccy.

A clipboard manager is an app that keeps a history of what you copy, so you can pull it up and paste it later. The first time I used one, I thought, “Wow, this is so convenient!” It’s one of those tools that you can’t live without once you start using it.

By the way, I didn’t really have any complaints about Flycut’s features. If I had to name one, it would be that Flycut occasionally crashed, and that’s about it (this may have been a problem with my computer, though). So why did I switch? When I was migrating my data to the new Mac, I looked into clipboard managers again and realized there were several options. I was simply curious how the others felt to use, so I wanted to give one a try. That’s really all there is to it.

Since both apps do more or less the same thing, I assumed switching wouldn’t make much of a difference. But once I started using Maccy, I noticed some subtle differences, and I found that kind of interesting, so I’ll write a little about it here.

What I Liked (and Didn’t) About Flycut

First, about Flycut, which I had been using. What I liked about it was that you could hold down the shortcut key and go through the history one item at a time. You keep the key pressed, step through to the item you want, and when you let go, it gets pasted right away. Once you get used to it, you can use it almost without thinking.

Being able to drop text directly into a text field was also handy. For example, I use Adobe Lightroom a lot, and even in input fields like the Caption field, the text goes right where the cursor is, so there’s no need to paste it again. As I’ll explain later, things are a little different with Maccy on this point.

That said, I was aware of its weak point, which was that it would occasionally crash while I was using it. I’d suddenly notice it had disappeared from the menu bar and my whole history was gone. That happened a few times, and honestly, it was a small but real source of stress. Still, it didn’t happen too often, so it wasn’t a big problem. Besides, my computer was getting old, especially toward the end, so the trouble may have been caused by the machine itself. If you asked me whether it was a problem with the app, I couldn’t really say.

Switching to Maccy

Maccy is basically the same kind of clipboard manager, but the first thing that’s different is the UI. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the design of either tool, so I can’t say which one is better. That said, Maccy’s UI is especially polished and easy to read, that’s for sure. It also shows supplementary information such as where something was copied from, how many times, and when, which makes it easy to get an overall view of your copy history.

As for holding down the shortcut key and going through the history in order, it feels a bit different, but you can still step through the history like with Flycut, and I have no problems with how it handles.

Also, the crashing issue I had with Flycut hasn’t happened even once so far. It’s lightweight and stable, and I’m quite satisfied in that respect.

On the other hand, dropping text directly into a text field doesn’t always work, depending on the app. Maccy also has a setting that pastes the selected item right away, and in a web browser, for example, it pastes just fine. But in Lightroom’s Caption field, when I select an item, I just hear the Mac’s alert sound and nothing gets pasted, so I have to press ⌘V again afterward. Since this was something Flycut could do, it’s a small extra step, but I do find it a little inconvenient (there may be a way to fix this, so if anyone knows, please let me know!).

Either way, I’ve been getting used to Maccy’s way of doing things as I use it, and so far I haven’t felt any major inconvenience.

Conclusion

At first, I thought that since both are clipboard managers and the core idea of the tool is simple, there probably wouldn’t be much difference in how they feel to use. But when I actually tried it, I found differences in very small details, and I realized these tiny differences are probably what decide whether people choose one service or another. It’s less about which one is better and more about what you prioritize. The differences are subtle, but it’s interesting that there are things you only notice after switching.

Do you use a clipboard manager? If you’ve never used one, I’d recommend trying one of these tools first.

Thanks for reading!