Overlay Keyboard Navigation

Jump through results, load more, and paste — without touching the mouse.

Open the overlay, type a few characters, then navigate the list entirely with your keyboard. Matching characters are highlighted in the accent color as you search.

How to use it

  1. Open the overlay with Ctrl+Space.
  2. Type your search — results update instantly, matched characters are highlighted.
  3. Navigate:
    • ↑ / ↓ — move one row at a time
    • Ctrl+↓ / Ctrl+↑ — jump 5 rows at a time
    • Page Down / Page Up — jump 10 rows
    • Home / End — jump to first / last result
  4. Preview inline:
    • F3 — expand the selected item in-place to see its full content. Press F3 again to collapse.
  5. Select:
    • Enter — copy the selected item to the clipboard
    • Ctrl+Enter — copy and paste directly into the previous window
  6. Load more — if there are more matches than the visible limit, a +N more button appears at the bottom. Press Ctrl+Alt+↓ or click it to load the next batch.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key Action
↑ / ↓ Move one row
Ctrl+↓ Jump 5 rows down
Ctrl+↑ Jump 5 rows up
Page Down / Page Up Jump 10 rows
Home / End Jump to first / last result
F3 Toggle inline preview of selected item
Ctrl+Alt+↓ Load more results
Enter Copy selected item to clipboard
Ctrl+Enter Copy and paste into previous app
Esc Close overlay

Tips & gotchas

  • When you open the overlay without typing (empty query), it shows the 20 most recent items — regardless of the Max Results setting. This keeps the empty-open instant.
  • F3 inline preview shows the full content of the selected item without leaving the overlay. For images and screenshots it renders the image; for triggers it shows the YAML. For AES-256 encrypted clips, F3 only works when the vault is unlocked.
  • Pinned clips are always visible. During a free-text search, any pinned clip that doesn’t match your query is still appended at the bottom of the results — so starred items are always one keypress away. Exception: when you use a star-filter (e.g. *source=Chrome), the filter defines the full visible set and pinned clips are not injected.
  • Keyword highlight applies to the clip content. If the title was the better match, the title may not show highlight marks.
  • Ctrl+Enter simulates Ctrl+V in the window that was active before you opened the overlay — make sure your cursor is in a text field first.

Configuration

Setting Default Description
Max Results 50 Maximum results shown per search. Raise it if you frequently need to scroll past the limit.
Keyword Highlight On Highlight matched characters in accent color. Turn off if you find it distracting.
Content Autocomplete On Show ghost-text completion in the search box as you type. Turn off to prevent automatic suggestions.
Last Column Time What to show in the right column of each result row: Time (relative, e.g. 2m, 1h, 3d) or Source App (app that copied the clip).

Find these under Settings → Overlay.

See also

  • Type Filter — filter results to clips, triggers, or captures only
  • Overlay Position — choose where on screen the overlay opens
  • Search — full search syntax for deeper searches in the Clips workspace