28.02.2011

Quick Cursor 2.0 Review

If you're a online often these days you're probably either regularly filling out forms, or typing into various text boxes (Twitter, Facebook, GMail etc) - or both. An app from Hog Bay Software called QuickCursor aims to make life easier by allowing you to use the text editor of your choice to do all this.

How QuickCursor works 

The app is accessed via a small icon on the menubar. Any time you are typing online, clicking this icon allows you to select the text editor you want to use (you can also set them up as keyboard shortcuts). Once the selection is made, the app opens the editor and all your text is pasted into it automatically. If you want to only work on part of the text, then just highlight your chosen section before activating the app.

Once you have the text the way you want it, just 'Save and Close' the document (Command=S, Command+W). The document is automatically deleted and your text is automatically pasted back into the web page.

And QuickCursor isn't solely for online use; you can also use it with word processor programs like MS Word too.

Supported Text Editors

QuickCursor currently works with any of the following text editors: BBEdit, Espresso, MacVim, Smultron, SubEthaEdit, TextMate, TextWrangler and WriteRoom. You can use more than one editor (especially useful for developers who will need to edit code as well as text) and set your own keyboard shortcuts for each one. Not only that, you can even have multiple programs open and the app will correctly identify what text needs to go where - so long as the original program is left alone. There are two exceptions to this...

How to avoid any problems 

First, tabbed web browsers. If you switch tabs before you get to the 'Save and Close' stage then the paste back in from QuickCursor will fail - although all your text will be safe in the clipboard and can be pasted manually when you cick back to the correct tab.

Second, if you have more than one document open in an application you're using and switch from one to the other, or switch to a different text field within a web page, then your edited text will be pasted in the wrong place.

When you think about it, both of these are perfectly logical and perfectly avoidable.

New and Improved

This is not a new app, but the new version (2.0) is a big step up in that it requires no hacks to work with any program that handles Mac OSX's standard COPY + PASTE. It's only £2.99 from the Mac App Store.

back to Software