solved Clipboard histroy - Strange strings

[nano5]

Notice strange strings on Clipboard history, anyone aware what does it mean? (Alfred 4.8)

 

 

.2.|...|67.
...|.7.|..3
...|..9|.8.
---+---+---
3.6|...|..1
.9.|856|.3.
4..|...|8.2
---+---+---
.5.|1..|...
7..|.2.|...
.48|...|.5.

[Stephen_C]

At the bottom right when viewing the clipboard history you can see the date and time of the highlighted clipbpoard item. Does that help to track down the items? It may give you some idea of what you were doing at the appropriate time.

 

Stephen

[nano5]

Yes, it shows date/time of the string item, and the icon is Alfred default clipboard icon (from the Alfred Preference Menu)...so it is not from another app like Firefox or Safari

[Stephen_C]

2 hours ago, nano5 said:

the icon is Alfred default clipboard icon

Then suspect one of your workflows or something else you've been doing in Alfred. The point I was making about the time and date was meant to make you consider exactly what you'd been doing at the time the clipboard entries were added to the clipboard.

 

Stephen

[nano5]

Thank you Stephen. My usage with Alfred is very basic, actually I have no workflow added yet. I am also quite curious as how those strings appear automatically without user actions, and it seems generated by Alfred from the appearance of the icon.

 

I post it here, to see weither someone else has noticed such strings before, and if so, any particular meanings? 

[Stephen_C]

It looks to me as though you may have been copying a markdown table: is that possible?

 

Edit:…or some other kind of table!

 

Stephen

Edited March 1 by Stephen_C

[nano5]

Such strings appear several times, one or twice per day, and none is from my actions, and no I have no markdown table to edit previously.

 

Thanks for your previous suggestion, that I also notice icon for each item on the clipboard list, which shows where your copied item comes from, e.g. Firefox icon for copied items from webpages, or particular apps...and these strings share the same icon as from "Alfred Clipboard History"

 

[Vero]

@nano5 This data will be something you copied on another device, transferred to your Mac via Apple's own Universal Clipboard feature. Could be on another Mac or on your iPhone/iPad.

 

You can disable this in the preference by checking the "Ignore data from other Apple devices" box 

[nano5]

@Vero I have followed your suggestion and disable the preference, and hope this will solve the mystery.

 

In the meantime, I also seldom use Universal Clipboard, and when I do use, it merely a quote or a web link between my Mac and my iPhone...nothing will generate this unique strings matrix.

 

So apart from Alfred or clipboard, do you or anyone has ever seen such strings matrix before? as I mentioned before, it appeared every once or twice a day, with changed numbers and dots.

[nano5]

This is one from February 13/14

 

.9.|...|...

8.7|.1.|4..

164|...|.85

---+---+---

.4.|.35|6.8

.8.|...|.4.

5.6|49.|.7.

---+---+---

67.|...|954

..8|.4.|7.3

...|...|.2.

[nano5]

2 minutes ago, nano5 said:

This is one from February 13/14

 

.9.|...|...

8.7|.1.|4..

164|...|.85

---+---+---

.4.|.35|6.8

.8.|...|.4.

5.6|49.|.7.

---+---+---

67.|...|954

..8|.4.|7.3

...|...|.2.

 

I don't have a theory yet  but do hope there is another example to compare with

[nano5]

Adding to the information, because of these mystery strings, I fresh installed macOS Sonoma a couple days ago on Feb-27, and then reinstall all the apps including Alfred 4. The strings matrix appears again from yesterday, the one I posted at the beginning of this thread.

[Vero]

@nano5 That may be copied from a spreadsheet and formatted by the inputting app. Remember that apps can copy things to your clipboard without your direct knowledge or action.

 

When you see the Alfred icon like that, it can also indicate that Alfred doesn't know the source, or have been copied by Universal Clipboard  

[nano5]

@Vero Unfortunately I don't have spreadsheet installed on my Mac or my iPhone, no Apple Numbers or MS Excel. In fact, my iPhone settings have "Background Apps Running" closed always since I bought my 13 mini 3 years ago

 

So I guess for the moment, the mystery continues.

[Vero]

@nano5 To me, it looks like the contents of a Sudoku game being copied to clipboard. Are you playing Sudoku on any of your devices?

[nano5]

@Vero That's very interesting and acute observation😀

 

I do play Sodoku on my iPhone on a daily basis, :) Sudoku +, but have no idea it would do such clipboard copy/paste, this probably solve the case👍

[Vero]

@nano5 Glad the mystery is solved 🤣