textBEAST Professional
Reviewed November 2009
| What’s It Do?
textBEAST Pro is a combined clipboard and image viewer with screen capture for copying, collecting, and pasting information, whether text or image. It copies images, captures parts of images, retrieves them, views them, and pastes them into Windows documents. It allows categorizing and organizing photos and images and adding meaningful descriptions paired with the pictures. Anti-aliasing keeps image quality at a maximum level even when images are resized. Does it do what it promises? Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request: textBEAST is essentially a hierarchical storage and retrieval tool that allows saving and inserting text and images into other programs. Some of the claims for this program are a bit of a stretch. For example, they claim that textBEAST increases accuracy. It doesn't spell check or have any function to verify that one is using the correct information in the proper context; accuracy is increased only if it is carefully checked before it is copied, otherwise, it will be just as accurate when pasted. Developer's response: The user must of course decide where to paste any saved material. What textBEAST will do is allow the user to quickly access and paste text blocks or images previously saved, exactly as they were saved, every time. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: Yes, textBEAST is basically an improved clipboard application with several extra features that make it more useful than the default Windows clipboard. It adds the ability to store essentially an unlimited number of both text and image clips. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: The version of textBEAST being reviewed here allows the user to capture and store both text and images from various sources. These can be manipulated in various ways, and organized so as to be easily available when needed later. I found that some of the features worked well, but others were not so intuitive, particularly in getting started. Thus for me textBEAST was only a partial success, but I began to appreciate it more as I used it over time. Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: Yes and more. The Web site describes the program as "a clipboard manager that allows you to copy, organize, and paste huge numbers of text and image items." It does this perfectly but it also serves as an image viewer and image resizer as well as a basic screen capture tool. Was it easy to install? Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request: Installation was fast and simple. The license permits installation on two computers provided that only one version of the program is running at any point in time. The first time TextBEAST is run, a registration box pops up asking, in addition to the registration code, for first name, last name, and e-mail address No privacy policy nor any opt-out option is given. In these days, when my spam e-mail often exceeds my desired email, I consider such heavy-handed collection of contact information to be intrusive. Developer's response: Our privacy policy will be added to this window. Of course, we do not share any personal information. The only required field for registration is the license key. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: Yes, it was a typical Windows install routine. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: Installation was quite normal, except that to place the program in the folder of my choice was somewhat cumbersome. I had to be sure that the folder I wanted to use was defined prior to beginning the installation, so that I would be able to browse to it using the Explorer Tree in "My Computer." In order to do this, I had to quit the installation and restart from the beginning for my folder choice to be accepted. Registration is a simple copy-and-paste operation, but one must be connected to the Internet while doing so. When I was updating the program, the installer wanted to default to the "normal" Program Files folder. It would be much better if the textBEAST update installer could find where the program currently resides and place itself there without the need for user intervention. Developer's response: Good point and very easy to fix! This will be adjusted. Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: Yes. It is a relatively small 4.69MB file that downloads in approximately 35 seconds on a somewhat fast broadband connection but does occupy 11.1MB on one's hard drive. It installs easily and quickly using a standard set-up wizard, and integrates seamlessly with the Windows operating system and is up and running in a matter of minutes. Registration of the program was equally seamless and fast. There is little need for initial configuration and the default settings seemed most appropriate; however, there are a variety of configuration options available for the user if wanted to further personalize/customize the program. There were some odd warnings given in an Information applet during installation such as: If you are informed that a newer version of a file exists on your computer you should keep the existing newer file. I have no idea what this could mean. Developer's response: Our setup is very cautious. We don't want to by default overwrite any files that may already exist on the user's computer. If a newer version of a system file that textBEAST is installing already exists, it's best to keep that version rather than overwrite it with our version. If our version is newer, it should be installed, but the user should still know this is happening. I was also given a choice (thank you!) as to whether I wished desktop or quick launch icons. The EULA (End User License Agreement) is equally as simple and streamlined with very little legalese. Unfortunately, it allows for the use of the program on only a single machine-something I find problematic and a bit penurious in this day and age when most people have both a desktop and laptop. The program uninstalls smoothly and cleanly leaving only those Registry fragments that Windows creates. This is a mark of a well-written program. Developer's response: For personal use, textBEAST may be installed on 2 computers. For business licenses, a separate license is required for each computer. Good points. Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request: textBEAST provides a matrix to permit one to organize, store, and retrieve text and image items that will be repeatedly pasted into other programs. It also has a screen capture function. The pages, representing up to ten items, can have their labels easily changed to provide a clear description of the type of items contained therein. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: textBEAST was fairly flexible and allowed me to save and catalog many clips of text and/or images for later use. It functions very well for the most part and was easy to use. The "Peek" button allows one to see thumbnails of all the images on that page of the clipboard with a right click on the button. Mousing over the > symbol at the right of the text clips expands that clip so all of the clip (or most of it, for a large one) is visible. textBEAST has effectively unlimited storage ability. Clips and images are arranged in databases that contain "Libraries" (nine total) with each library having 10 slots for text and image clips. All pages or libraries can be named for identification. One can create as many new data files as needed and each holds 10 libraries. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: It is well known that the Windows clipboard is severely limited, as it will keep only one block of text or one image at a time and the next one that comes along replaces what is currently there. Many tools have been developed to overcome this limitation and allow users to store their clipboard collections for later use. textBEAST fits somewhat into this category; however, not only can textBEAST store, organize and later reuse clipboard items, yet can be used to capture either the full screen, or the most recently active window. The capture then appears on a screen that is actually outside the main textBEAST GUI (Graphical User Interface), which allows one to crop it and keep only the part of the screen or window-capture that is needed and to store it in one of the image slots for future use. Unlike many other programs, textBEAST uses only one GUI (with a few exceptions, such as the one just described above) inside which all of its activities are carried out. There are two main panels on each side of the window, with ten slots on each side. The left panel is for text and the right panel is for images. This arrangement allows one to use the text slots to name or describe an image to its right. textBEAST provides several ways of displaying this text-image connection if desired, or to keep a series of text items on the left and unrelated text or images on the right. An interesting feature is the ability of textBEAST to be able to "shoot" a text item or an image from the program into another application with a single mouse click. For example, I have set up a list of text items that include my name, street address, city, phone number, email address, etc. When I need to fill in forms on the Web, I can open textBEAST and click with my mouse beside each of the appropriate items to send each line into the Web form. textBEAST also includes Tab and Enter keys that allow me to move around on the Web page from inside textBEAST. I also tried sending images from textBEAST to Open Office Write and Draw as well as MSWord. In all three cases, this technique worked very quickly and easily. When the images "arrive" in the receiving application, one can handle them as is normally done. Since textBEAST works almost entirely from its one main window, the easiest way to get information about any part of that window is to click on the Help Menu item; however, instead of opening up a Help File in the traditional way, an interactive window pops up beside the textBEAST window. When the cursor is moved over the different parts of the Main Window, the Help screen changes, and a description of the functions and how-to's of that part of the screen appear. Although I have seen this approach in other programs, I have never seen it so well implemented and very helpful as in textBEAST. I would recommend that the developers highlight this feature in any way that they can, both in the program itself and on the Web site. It is far more effective than the Web site video (please see comment below in "Weak Points"). It is true that it is mentioned in the first screen of the Quick Start Guide, but I regret that I did not use it immediately in place of both the Web Demo and the Quick Start Guide. The only disadvantage of this, and all the help, in fact, is there is no way to search for any particular item or feature. I found the support staff to be very responsive and helpful. I did not send any questions concerning my use of the program; rather, they were related to technical issues. textBEAST support responded the same day -- actually within the hour -- very rare! The explanation they gave not only resolved the question I had asked, but included some explanatory additional information. I noticed too that the question I had raised was dealt with in the next update. Although I cannot know that I personally provoked this particular improvement, it is clear that the textBEAST people take the feedback from users seriously. Developer's response: Yes, your question brought our attention to an issue with the installation process and prompted us to make a modification to improve it. Thank you! Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: For years Windows users have grown used to the need to treat text, images, and screen captures each uniquely as far as copying and pasting. For text and images we have been confined to the antiquated and single function Windows clipboard where we could only place items one at a time. Screen captures were even more complicated. The result was that if one is putting together a report or presentation incorporating multiple images of text or graphics, he could spend hours copying and pasting one item at a time. textBEAST Pro changes all of that by providing a way to not only copy and store, but store, label, and organize an unlimited number of text or image or screen captures for immediate or later use. Think of it as a permanent library for anything copied for later pasting. textBEAST can be used as boilerplate text to store personal information for use in filling out forms, thus saving repetitive typing with endless possibilities. While text Beast offers several ways to accomplish all of the above and a variety ways to customize the process to fit one's personal needs, the features I found most attractive were: 
The ability to drag and drop items to the "clipboard." The right
mouse click can still be used as well as the standard Window
keyboard shortcuts, but dragging and dropping items to the
clipboard is fast.
Images are handled exceptionally well by textBEAST. Just like
text, one can drag and drop images to the clipboard; but this is
only the beginning. Once they are stored in textBEAST they can
be labeled, annotated, moused-over to see a thumbnail, clicked
for a larger view, or view3ed and edited at full size using the
integrated Image Viewer.
The application itself can be labeled for more personalized
identification, and one can change or set separate colors for
labels, texts, buttons, etc, to further organize materials and
the program.
The Express Resizer that resizes images automatically without
the need to enter size or percentage parameters.
The program automatically changes the formatting to match that
of the target application when pasting, a real time saver.
Support was simply tremendous. After initially working through
an email problem that may as easily been the fault of my email
carrier as theirs, "Al" at textBEAST not only took full
ownership of the problem I had but stayed with me on a daily
basis until he was sure that the problem had been solved.
Response times were often almost instantaneous and replies were
always professional and courteous, easy to understand, and
correct in their analysis. And for the record, the problem I had
was a missing folder, which I may have deleted, so the problem
may well have been one I caused and not one with the program.
In addition to support, there is an excellent video demo on the
Web site as well as a Quick Start Guide built into the program
that is rather a "textBEAST for Dummies" approach (which I mean
as a compliment)!Weak points. Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request: This program stores pasted "clips" in a hierarchal data structure that goes from high to low as: Library --> Page --> Item. However, the way this is presented is awkward. In order to select which Library to work from, one must go to the menu bar and click on Library. The individual items that have been copied are shown at the top of the TextBEAST window and the pages representing groups of up to 10 individual items are displayed at the bottom of the display. It would seem more logical and intuitive if the hierarchy was fully displayed on the primary screen and this would allow the user to select the Library first, then the pages, and finally the items within the pages. This order of presentation would allow the user to proceed logically down the hierarchy from the broadest grouping to the narrowest. There are no "rollover pop-ups" on the "action buttons" which would provide interactive information about the functions that can be performed. Developer's response: Actually, there are pop-up help bubbles on nearly every button, to assist the new user but these are by default in the "off" setting on the purchased version. It is assumed that the user has first evaluated the trial version, in which the pop-up help bubbles are enabled by default. These can be enabled/disabled in the Options menu item "PopUp Help" so that once the user is familiar with the program, they will not get it the way. There are weird functions associated with right clicking on buttons. For example, right clicking on the "Tab" button inserts the present time into text. Why this should be associated with the Tab function is obscure and I had to memorize that it is there because there are no other visual cues to its presence. It is also unclear why there should even be a "Tab" button on the program's primary display since all it does is to insert the equivalent of a "Tab" key press into the text body. Developer's response: Right-click functions were added to nearly every button to pack maximum functionality into the small interface. One of our favorites: right-clicking the peek button will show thumbnails of all the images on the current page, and right-clicking any of the other page buttons will show thumbnails of all the images on the corresponding page. The tab button is mainly intended to jump to the next field of forms on web sites. Right-clicking any paste button accomplishes this even better, helping the user quickly fill out web forms. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: In Vista, textBEAST Pro tended to insert doubles of images for some reason. textBEAST needs to be visible on the screen, taking up space in order to be used. It can be "rolled up" out of the way but then must be rolled back down to select another clip, then rolled up again. I did not find a "sequential paste" or "concatenate" function that would have enabled stringing a series of clips together or pasting them sequentially, one after the other without manually mousing to each clip in the list and clicking to paste it. I missed having this handy feature. Developer's response: The double-paste issue in Vista has not been previously reported and will be investigated. A sequential paste feature is a great idea and will be added. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: It took me quite a long time to figure out how to load items into the textBEAST panels. The usual copy-and-paste worked as would be expected, but unfortunately, I chose to look at the Demo video on the Web site after not quite "getting it" with the Quick Start Tutorial. Here, I was treated to an interesting sales-oriented demonstration of textBEAST, complete with the sounds of many mouse-clicks. In fact, the mouse-clicks were the only sound in the video, and somehow I was led to believe that clicking on one thing outside textBEAST, then clicking some more inside various parts of the text and image panels would induce textBEAST to inhale the text or image that I wanted it to capture. I wasted much time on this useless activity, and, if I had not been required to write this review, I would have abandoned the program and banished it from my computer. If I am the only person in the world to be misled this way, then it is not particularly important. However, if others are led down the same path of false expectations, this demo is doing very little to promote the program. Developer's response: I think we need to improve the video…sorry for the frustration! textBEAST can do everything shown in the demo video. Just select/highlight desired text outside of textBEAST then press one of textBEAST's copy buttons and it will indeed "inhale" the text! For images, just drag and drop into the image boxes. In my own work, I store hundreds of documents from year-to-year in pdf format. Most serious business programs can now save documents as pdf files. Unfortunately, textBEAST can only handle text -- even "rich text" -- and two or three types of image files. The program would be much more useful if it could handle pdf files as well. Developer's response: PDF support is in development. Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: I really found no glaring weaknesses in the program. Are there things I would like to see improved? Of course. No program is perfect. Among those suggestions:
There is a file folder (see above) labeled ASBware, which is
placed in the My Documents folder and is critical for the
operation of textBEAST. This file really needs to be renamed
textBEAST to identify it better. I would also question whether
My Documents is the best place for it to reside.
Resource use is very high for this type of application. It uses
13MB of ram just sitting in the system tray. This really needs
to be brought under control. This is twice the amount of RAM
that my firewall is using and more even than Windows Explorer!Developer's response: We certainly agree that lower RAM usage is desirable and we will be working to optimize this. However, none of our users have had any problems with system resource use, especially with the ample amounts of RAM on modern computers. Because textBEAST uses database management methods to ensure integrity of its data, there is a lot going on under the simple interface.
The Information applets at install need to be re-examined. They
are really quite unclear and tend to cause unnecessary anxiety
than offer any potential help.Developer's response: We will examine and address this.
There needs to be some indication of turn around time for
support. My experience is that it is superb, so why not let
people know? When I see no turn around time indicated I usually
interpret this to mean that support is slow and unresponsive, at
best.Developer's response: We respond to all support requests within 24 hours, and usually much faster than that. We will disclose this on the support page.
A small thing but many customers appreciate having the EULA (End
User License Agreement) available on the Web site for reading
before downloading and/or for being able to print out.Developer's response: We will add this to the web site.
I might quibble a bit about whether the screen capture tool is
really ready for prime time. It will do basic screen captures,
but for most of what I needed, I had to use a more professional
screen capture program than what was provided with textBEAST. In
fact, I would hope that adding a more feature-rich screen
capture tool might be in the future plans as this would really
make the program unbeatable and complete.Developer's response: This is also on our development agenda. Developer's Web site. Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request. The TextBEAST Web site does a reasonable job of describing the capabilities of this program without being overly commercial. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: The textBEAST Web site offers two programs; textBEAST Clipboard+, a clipboard manager with text-only capabilities and the textBEAST clipboard+image+capture Pro version that handles both text and images. Both are available with reduced functionality in a 30-day trial version. Both versions were listed at $24.99 which seemed a bit odd. Overall, the site was fairly straightforward without a lot of flashy graphics and it was easy to navigate. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: Like textBEAST itself, the Web site is very simple in its presentation. There is a line of Buttons across the top, many of them quite familiar: Home, Quick Tour, Download, Buy Now, FAQ, etc. But again, textBEAST surprises: When you click on Quick Tour, Download and Buy now, the screen remains almost exactly the same, except for a couple of words contained in the first sentence on the page: " Select the textBEAST version you wish to (and here is the change) tour / download / purchase" Very economical. I like it. We are also spared the flashing Buy! Sale! Special! Awards! and all that gimmickry present on so many other sites. Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: The Web site is clean and as simple and straightforward as the product it offers. I was happy to see no exaggerations or hyperbole and a general lack of promotion via testimonials and snippets of favorable reviews taking the place of needed information to make a reasoned decision about the software program. Overall, the site is laid out well and easy to read. It is not flashy but then, this developer seems more interested in how well his product performs than how flashy he can make his Web site. Other comments. Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request. The TextBEAST interface is "clunky", harkening back to the earliest days of Windows when there were no widely used standards and each user interface had to be custom designed. Developer's response: We custom designed the textBEAST interface to optimize function. For the intended use of textBEAST - storage and rapid access to saved material for pasting - most users have found the current layout to be highly effective. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: I have been using another clipboard manager for many years and have grown used to it and the additional functionality it provides. While textBEAST is an improvement over the basic Windows offering, it left me wanting the functionality of my regular "ultra" clipboard. I also found it cumbersome to use. The "Help" system was handled via a "quick start" guide available on the Help menu, a mouse over function that pops up a help window that is context sensitive, some online "Quick Tour" pages, and email to the publishers via the Web site. At best, it was minimally useful, with no search function or actual written documentation. I found it wanting. Developer's response: We are working on adding a searchable Help file. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: The textBEAST logo, and even its name, seems strangely at odds with the functions, use and the intended user base for the program. The "Contact Us" section of the Web site suggests that an important segment of the clients "include physicians, professors, engineers, corporate professionals, computer programmers, and medical transcriptionists." Most of these use the program for keeping oft-used blocks of text available to paste into documents or fill in forms that they have to fill in with boiler-plate text. Somehow, the name of the program and its logo did not lead me to expect such an almost prosaic set of uses. Perhaps it is to help the program to stand out among the other icons on the desktop, not bad -- just unexpected. The way textBEAST handles the images it receives is quite impressive. Great importance is given to maintaining the quality of the images, so that the copies that are sent back to other applications will be as good as the source images. There is a free version of textBEAST that allows storing and reusing 10 blocks of text and 10 images. Of course, one could change any of those twenty items if there were some that became useless, but not add to them indefinitely, as with the paid versions of the program. The trial versions are 30 days, so those who are interested can try them out, then keep with the free version if that suits them. I have a different program that I have been using for a long time to store and recall oft-used text items, so that the features of textBEAST are not particularly important to me. The idea of storing images that I am likely to reuse from time to time is interesting, but to date, I have not had a great need for this capability. Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: This appears to be one of those small companies that has dedicated itself primarily to developing a single software program and in making it as good as it can possibly be. While a version 2.0.38 might indicate an early stage of development, a quick look at the change log shows that the program is in constant development with continual updates. The last part of that version number, 38, indicates that there have already been 38 "fixes" or minor improvements just since version 2 arrived. Based on this, as well as my experience with support, leads me to believe this is a software developer who can be trusted and who has the customer as the focus of his business. textBEAST is not the flashiest program and there is no talking squirrel, bouncing animations, "aero-glass" effects or other such eye candy to waste resources. What there is, is an application that does what it promises and does it darned near perfectly. You can't ask for much more than that. There are a lot of so-called clipboard managers on the market but I have seen none that offers the flexibility and feature set of textBEAST. At $24.99, this program is fairly priced, especially since it really has no serious competition. I have been using it almost daily over the past several months and can't imagine what I did without it. Well, yes I can-I went crazy at times copying and pasting text one item at a time. I recommend this program highly. Will you continue to use it? Reviewer 1 - Name withheld by request. No. Reviewer 2 - Dana Bostick: No. This application, while much more useful than the basic Windows clipboard, was too cumbersome to use and lacked some key features that I am accustomed to. Reviewer 3 - Peter Royle: Yes, sometimes. I will keep it available, but only for occasional use, until it is able to handle pdf files as well as its current set of text and images. Reviewer 4 - Mark Snyder: Yes. Developer's response: Thanks for evaluating textBEAST. We appreciate your interest and comments |
OPERATING SYSTEMS USED IN THIS REVIEW
Windows XP Pro, XP Home Premium, Vista Home Premium
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