Text Editor

Edit text and code clips directly within mahpastes. Modify content, fix typos, or update code snippets without leaving the app.

Opening the Editor

1. Click the menu button (three dots) on any text-based clip and select Edit
2. The editor opens full-screen with a dark theme (dark background, light text)
3. Make your changes
4. Click Save to overwrite the original, or Save As to create a new clip with the changes

note

Clicking a text preview in the gallery also opens the editor directly.

Text-based clips include:

• Plain text
• Code (any language)
• JSON
• HTML
• Markdown (.md and .markdown, case-insensitive)

Markdown Preview

Markdown clips open in Preview by default. Use the Preview and Edit tabs—or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P—to switch modes. Preview always renders the current editor text, including unsaved changes. A recovered unsaved draft opens in Edit so it cannot be mistaken for saved content.

Preview supports sanitized GitHub-Flavored Markdown: headings, lists, read-only task lists, tables, fenced code, strikethrough, and autolinks. Embedded HTML is restricted to safe semantic markup; scripts, forms, iframes, styles, event handlers, and author-supplied classes or IDs are removed. Mermaid, math, footnotes, and syntax highlighting are not included.

Links and images

• Web and email links open with the operating system's default handler. Unsafe URL schemes are blocked.
• Relative links resolve to clips through the Markdown clip's exact tags and descendant tag paths. Parent (..) traversal is not supported. Ambiguous matches let you choose a clip.
• Valid PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP clips referenced through the same tag paths render inline. SVG is not rendered inline.
• HTTPS images show their full URL and a Load Image button before the first download. HTTP images remain external links only.
• Approved remote images are cached by exact URL for up to one hour. A valid cache hit may display automatically. Clear the cache from Maintenance → Markdown Image Cache.

Images are limited to 15 MB each, 100 MB per Preview, and 256 image references, with additional dimension, decoded-pixel, and GIF-frame limits. Markdown source above 2 MB remains editable but is not rendered. Invalid UTF-8 Markdown retains its original bytes but cannot be previewed or edited in-app.

Raw content is unchanged

Markdown rendering is a desktop viewing feature. Downloads, REST responses, public links, tag servers, and mp clip data return the original Markdown bytes.

Editor Features

Monospace Font

All text displays in IBM Plex Mono for:

• Consistent character width
• Easy code reading
• Proper alignment of structured data

Full Content View

Unlike the gallery preview (limited to 500 characters), the editor shows the complete content.

Preserved Formatting

• Whitespace is preserved exactly
• Indentation remains intact
• Line breaks are maintained

Editing Text

Basic Operations

Standard text editing operations work as expected:

• Type to insert text
• Backspace/Delete to remove
• Select text with mouse or keyboard
• Cut, copy, paste with standard shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl + A	Select all
Cmd/Ctrl + C	Copy
Cmd/Ctrl + V	Paste
Cmd/Ctrl + X	Cut
Cmd/Ctrl + Z	Undo
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z	Redo
Cmd/Ctrl + Y	Redo (alternative)
Cmd/Ctrl + S	Save as new clip
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P	Toggle Markdown Preview/Edit
Esc	Close editor

Working with Different Content Types

Plain Text

Edit notes, messages, or any plain text content.

Example uses:

• Fix typos in saved notes
• Update copied messages
• Modify text before re-copying

Code

Edit code snippets of any programming language.

Tips:

• Indentation is preserved
• Syntax is not highlighted (plain text view)
• Great for quick edits to snippets

JSON

Edit JSON content with proper formatting.

Tips:

• Validate JSON after editing
• Keep proper bracket matching
• Maintain correct quote usage

{
  "name": "example",
  "value": 42
}

HTML

Edit HTML source code directly.

Tips:

• Tags display as source (not rendered)
• Good for fixing markup issues
• Check syntax before saving

Saving Changes

Save (Overwrite)

Click Save to overwrite the original clip with your edits. The filename remains the same and the content type is preserved.

Save as New Clip

Click Save As (or press Cmd/Ctrl + S) to create a new clip with your edits. The original clip is preserved unchanged, and the new clip is saved with _edited appended to the filename.

Content Type

The content type (text/plain, application/json, etc.) is preserved when saving with either method.

Cancel

Click the close button (X) or press Esc to close the editor. If the content has changed since you opened it, mahpastes asks you to confirm before discarding the unsaved changes.

Use Cases

Fix Typos

1. Open clip in editor
2. Find and fix the typo
3. Save
4. Copy the corrected content

Modify Code Snippets

1. Store frequently-used code as clips
2. Open and edit for different contexts
3. Copy the modified version
4. Original stays intact in archive (if archived)

Update Configuration

1. Paste a config file (JSON, YAML, etc.)
2. Edit values as needed
3. Save the updated version
4. Copy path or content for use

Combine Text

1. Open a text clip
2. Paste additional content from clipboard
3. Arrange as needed
4. Save the combined result

Tips

For Code

• Archive important snippets
• Use descriptive filenames when possible
• Edit copies, not originals (archive first)

For Long Text

• The editor scrolls for long content
• Use search (in your browser) to find text if needed
• Consider splitting very long content

For Structured Data

• Be careful with JSON/YAML syntax
• Preserve proper indentation
• Validate after editing if critical

Limitations

• No syntax highlighting (plain textarea, not a code editor)
• No code completion
• No line numbers
• Single-file editing only
• Spellcheck is disabled

For complex code editing, use a dedicated code editor and paste the result into mahpastes.