MacLife UK – August 2019

All image rights: Apple, Holdr.

There are lots of screenshot managers for the

Mac and there are lots of clipboard managers

for the Mac. But Holdr is diļerent in that it

combines both.

When you take a screenshot or copy

anything to the clipboard, it’s added to

Holdr’s library, ready for you when you

need it. Likewise, when you copy anything to

the clipboard, it’s added to Holdr in its

clipboard section. There’s an option that

allows you to tell Holdr to ignore passwords

you copy, although it relies on Holdr

detecting that what you’ve copied is actually

a password. Moreover, you can specify an

upper limit on the number of clipboard items

that are held.

There’s a third section to Holdr, too, called

Drops. This acts as a “dropzone” where you

can drag any Ľle to temporarily store it

before dragging it to a new location. As with

the other two functions, there are separate

apps that do this, but none that combine all

three features.

So far, then, so good. Unfortunately,

Holdr’s limitations become apparent as

soon as you start to use it. The screenshot

manager, for example, isn’t really a

manager at all; you can’t edit screenshots

Holdr

A handy, but limited, management tool

$14.99 From Holdr, holdrapp.com

Needs macOS 10.12 or later; 64–bit processor

HOLDR

Password detection

Can store multiple

clipboard items

Occupies lots of

screen space

Support for screen

shots limited to

dragging them out

SOLID

in it. And while you can share them, that

feature relies on previewing them with

macOS’ own Quick Look. The same applies

to the clipboard contents and Ľles.

Indeed, the Finder’s support for tabs renders

a “holding zone” for Ľles almost redundant.

Having multiple clipboard items visible is

useful due to macOS’ limit of allowing only

one item on the clipboard at a time.

The other limitation in Holdr is the

amount of screen space it occupies. When we

triggered it using the keyboard shortcut,

Holdr occupied more than a third of the

screen on our 13-inch MacBook Pro. That

makes dragging Ľles to and from it less

convenient than it should be. Its keyboard

shortcut isn’t the only way to invoke

Holdr; you can also do it from its menu

bar item. Sadly, there’s no way to switch

that item oļ, so if you use Holdr, you will

need to accept another occupant in your

menu bar.

Holdr is Ľne as far as it goes. Sadly, that’s

not actually very far, and while buying

separate apps for each task is more

expensive, it also ultimately provides a more

rewarding experience.

THE BOTTOM LINE. Holdr combines three

diļerent roles, but has only limited features

for each. KENNY HEMPHILL

Holdr houses screenshots,

files, and clipboard items,

but occupies lots of

screen space.

You can specify how many items you want the clipboard

to hold and tell Holdr to ignore passwords.

Reviews

44 AUG 2019 maclife.com