A powerful Chrome extension that allows you to save selected text from any webpage with customizable keyboard shortcuts.
- Quick Text Capture: Select any text on a webpage and save it with a customizable keyboard shortcut (default: Ctrl+Shift+C or Command+Shift+C on Mac).
- Organized Storage: Saved text snippets are organized chronologically with timestamps and source URLs.
- Easy Access: View all your saved snippets through the popup interface.
- Search Functionality: Quickly find specific text entries with the built-in search feature.
- Categories: Organize your text snippets with customizable categories (Work, Personal, Important, Reference).
- Category Filters: Filter your entries by category to quickly find what you need.
- Dark Mode Support: Choose between light and dark themes based on your preference.
- Export/Import: Export your collection of text snippets as JSON files and import them later or on another device.
- Customizable Settings: Configure storage limits and keyboard shortcuts to tailor the extension to your needs.
- Cross-platform Compatibility: Works on Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of Chrome.
- Navigate to the TextCatcher Chrome Web Store page (search for "TextCatcher").
- Click "Add to Chrome" and confirm the installation.
- The TextCatcher icon will appear in your Chrome toolbar.
- Download or clone this repository to your local machine.
- Open Chrome and navigate to
chrome://extensions/. - Enable "Developer mode" by toggling the switch in the top-right corner.
- Click on "Load unpacked" and select the directory containing the TextCatcher files.
- The TextCatcher icon will appear in your Chrome toolbar.
- Select any text on a webpage.
- Press the keyboard shortcut (default: Ctrl+Shift+C or Command+Shift+C on Mac).
- The selected text will be saved to TextCatcher's storage.
- A badge counter on the TextCatcher icon will show the number of saved entries.
- Click on the TextCatcher icon in your Chrome toolbar.
- A popup will open showing all your saved text entries.
- Entries are displayed in reverse chronological order (newest first).
- Each entry shows the text, capture date/time, and source URL.
From the popup, you can:
- Search for specific text using the search bar at the top.
- Filter entries by category using the filter buttons.
- Categorize entries by selecting a category from the dropdown for each entry.
- Copy an entry back to your clipboard by clicking the "Copy" button.
- Delete an individual entry by clicking the "Delete" button.
- Clear All entries by clicking the "Clear All" button at the top.
- Export all entries to a JSON file by clicking "Export".
- Click on the TextCatcher icon in your Chrome toolbar.
- Click the "Settings" button.
- In the settings page, you can:
- Change the keyboard shortcut for capturing text.
- Toggle dark mode on/off to match your preference.
- Adjust the maximum number of entries to store (10-500).
- Import or export your data.
- Clear all saved data.
TextCatcher respects your privacy:
- Local Storage Only: All data is stored locally in your browser using Chrome's storage API.
- No Data Collection: We do not collect, transmit, or share any of your personal data or saved text entries.
- No External Servers: No data is sent to external servers or third parties.
- Minimal Permissions: The extension only requests permissions necessary for its core functionality.
- Text selections you save are stored only in your browser's local storage.
- Source URLs are saved with your text selections to help you identify where the text came from.
- You can export your data at any time in JSON format, which is under your complete control.
- You can delete individual entries or all data at any time through the extension interface.
- storage: To save your text entries locally in your browser's storage.
- contextMenus: To provide right-click functionality for text selection.
- tabs: To access tab information for capturing the source URL of selected text.
- clipboardWrite: To copy text to your clipboard when using the Copy feature.
- commands: To support keyboard shortcuts for quick text capture.
- activeTab and scripting: To access the selected text on the current webpage.
- Keyboard shortcut not working: Make sure no other extension or application is using the same shortcut. You can change the shortcut in the extension settings.
- No text being captured: Ensure TextCatcher has permission to access the webpage content. Some websites may restrict content selection.
- Extension icon not showing badge count: Restart Chrome and try again. If the issue persists, check if you have other extensions that might interfere.
- Text formatting is lost: TextCatcher currently saves plain text only, so formatting (bold, italic, etc.) is not preserved.
If you have questions, suggestions, or issues with TextCatcher, please:
- Open an issue on our GitHub repository.
- Email us at your-email@example.com for support.
- Leave a review on the Chrome Web Store page.
MIT License - Feel free to use, modify, and distribute this extension according to the terms of the license.
TextCatcher is built using vanilla JavaScript with Chrome's Extension API. The codebase is organized as follows:
- manifest.json: Extension configuration and permissions.
- background.js: Background service worker handling main functionality.
- content.js: Content script injected into webpages to access selected text.
- popup/: Contains the popup UI files (HTML, CSS, JS).
- options/: Contains the settings page files (HTML, CSS, JS).
- icons/: Contains extension icons in various sizes.
To contribute to TextCatcher:
- Fork the repository.
- Make your changes.
- Test thoroughly using Chrome's developer mode.
- Submit a pull request with a clear description of your changes.