TypeMate - AI-Powered Text Capture & Rewriting Tool

🚀 Instant text capture and AI-powered rewriting - Select any text, press Ctrl+Alt+R, and transform your writing with this lightweight Windows tray application. Perfect for writers, developers, and productivity enthusiasts.

Features

• System Tray Operation: Runs quietly in the background with a system tray icon
• Global Hotkey: Press Ctrl + Alt + R from any application to capture selected text
• Text Capture: Automatically copies selected text using simulated Ctrl+C
• Popup Editor: Shows a popup window where you can edit the captured text
• AI Text Rewriting: Uses OpenAI to rewrite captured text with a selection of styles (EasyRead, Witty, Formal, Summarise, Expand, LinkedInPost). Requires an OpenAI API key configured in the app.
• Text Insertion: Click "Insert" to paste the modified text back to the original application

How to Use

1. Build and Run:

   dotnet build
   dotnet run

2. Using the Application:

   • The app will start and appear as a tray icon
   • Select any text in any application (Word, browser, email client, etc.)
   • Press Ctrl + Alt + R to capture the selected text
   • A popup window will appear with the captured text
   • Click "Rewrite" to modify the text (adds "[Rewritten] " prefix)
   • Click "Insert" to paste the modified text back to the original application
   • Click "Cancel" or press Escape to close the popup without changes

3. Tray Icon:

   • Double-click the tray icon to see usage instructions
   • Right-click the tray icon and select "Exit" to quit the application

Technical Details

• .NET 8: Built on .NET 8 with Windows-specific features
• WPF: Uses Windows Presentation Foundation for the popup UI
• System Tray: Uses System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon for tray functionality
• Global Hotkeys: Uses Windows API (RegisterHotKey) for system-wide hotkey capture
• Clipboard Operations: Uses Windows clipboard API for text capture and insertion
• Keystroke Simulation: Uses Windows API (keybd_event) for simulating Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V

Requirements

• Windows OS
• .NET 8 Runtime
• Administrator privileges may be required for global hotkey registration

Reliability Features

Long-Term Background Operation:

• Comprehensive exception handling prevents crashes
• Automatic resource cleanup and memory management
• Thread-safe clipboard operations with retry logic
• Robust hotkey registration with failure recovery
• Graceful degradation when components fail
• Built-in logging for troubleshooting (logs stored in %LocalAppData%\TypeMate\)

Error Recovery:

• Hotkey re-registration if lost during system events
• Tray icon restoration after Windows session changes
• Clipboard operation retries with fallback handling
• Background task exception handling without UI crashes

Monitoring & Debugging:

• Automatic log rotation to prevent disk space issues
• Detailed logging of all operations and errors
• Performance-optimized clipboard access patterns
• Memory leak prevention through proper resource disposal

Limitations (MVP)

• Fixed hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+R) - no customization UI
• Plain text only - no rich text formatting
• Windows only - no cross-platform support

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Topics

text-capture text-rewriting productivity-tool wpf-application system-tray global-hotkey clipboard-manager writing-assistant dotnet-8 c-sharp

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