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Cairn 0.6.0
What's new
- Email attachments and zip contents. Drop attachments, or files and folders straight out of a zip. They have no place on disk, so Cairn saves its own copy, keeping names and dates.
- Pictures from web pages stay pictures, not addresses, so they still work after the page is closed.
- Link titles. A link dragged from Chrome, Edge or Firefox shows its page title, and "Copy as Markdown link" uses it. Right-click a link to rename it.
- Rich text. Text from a web page, Word or an email keeps its formatting and links. Apps that only take plain text get plain text, and "Copy as plain text" is on the right-click menu.
- Colors, code, email addresses and phone numbers get their own tiles. A color shows as a swatch you can copy as hex, RGB or HSL. Code shows in Cascadia Mono. An email address or phone number starts a message or a call on double-click.
- Take a closer look. Press Space on an item to see it larger beside the stack. The arrow keys move through the stack and the card follows.
- Send another form. Hold Alt as you start dragging out: a file goes as its path, an image as a picture, text as a .txt file, a link as a shortcut.
- Notes. Press Ctrl+Shift+N to type a short note right in the stack.
- Missing files. A file moved to another folder on the same drive is found again when you open it. If Cairn can't find it, the tile is dimmed and "Find file…" is on its right-click menu.
Good to know
The stack is saved in a new format. Earlier versions of Cairn can't read it, so going back to 0.5 starts with an empty stack.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: 34f23170d5e08f55f384b1484a36667db52281edcf675f887eb1c50e2e129a3b
Cairn 0.5.1
What's fixed
- Fewer antivirus false alarms. A few scanners flagged 0.5.0 by guesswork, with no named threat. Cairn.exe now names itself in its file details, states that it needs no admin rights, and is built by GitHub Actions with Microsoft's toolchain.
- "Save as zip" writes the zip itself instead of running Windows' tar.exe in the background. Folders keep everything inside them, and files keep their dates.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: fdbb07dd150f80f6f9e563a88958bd0448f4b760106c00c32562dc80fd3ae487
Cairn 0.5.0
What's new
- See what you're dragging. Dragging out of the stack shows the tile under the cursor, with the rest of the selection stacked behind it and a count when there are several. The tiles you picked up fade in the stack until the drag ends.
- Your drag stays visible over Cairn. Dragging a file onto the edge tab or the stack keeps its picture under the cursor, labelled "Add to" and the stack's name.
- Smoother motion. The stack fades and slides out from the edge tab, its drop highlight fades in and out, and a drop flashes once while new tiles settle into place. With Windows animations turned off, all of this happens without transitions.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: f49432d091908e05a36daa19d22f55a9140514fb39c2afa1573a331ff9a01b39
Cairn 0.4.2
What's new
- A new Cairn mark. The stones now look like stones, and the top one is tilted, as if just set down. You'll see it on the drop zone, the app icon and the website.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: 2d9e4aa1d9f680482b2e4a95fe7456acb1b9b2f7135f2c0dda844f9279a3ea97
Cairn 0.4.1
What's new
- Drop straight into a stack. Hold a drag on the edge tab for half a second and the stack opens beside it. Point at a stack's name to switch to it, then let go anywhere over the stack. It closes by itself afterwards. A quick drop on the tab still adds to the current stack.
- The whole stack lights up when you drag something over it. The dashed "Drop here" tile is gone.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: 35ff14daede85a73bbaf5be512c78d8da1bec9dce34e587136a821f15ba843b9
Cairn 0.4.0
What's new
- Image copies. Drop an image that has no file behind it, such as a screenshot, or add one from the clipboard with Ctrl+Alt+V. Cairn saves its own copy.
- Keep copies of files from USB and network drives. Turn it on in the tray menu, and files dropped from those drives are copied in the background, so they are still there after the drive is unplugged.
- Shake to show a drop zone. Turn it on in the tray menu, then shake the mouse left and right while dragging, and a drop zone opens next to the cursor. Off by default.
Cairn's own copies are kept in %APPDATA%\Cairn\files and deleted once no stack holds them.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: b3108ec1849a3e2684816f8763d2b89d189077e43dd1268e2be084aa71db9016
Cairn 0.3.0
What's new
- Named stacks. Keep separate stacks for separate jobs, shown as tabs at the top of the stack. Add one with + or Ctrl+N, switch with a click or Ctrl+Tab, rename with a double-click or F2, and delete from the right-click menu.
- Right-click actions. Copy paths, copy as Markdown links, save as a zip, copy to a folder, or move items to another stack. The Menu key opens the same menu.
- Add the clipboard. Ctrl+Alt+V, or "Add clipboard to stack" in the tray menu, adds the files, link or text you just copied.
Your stack from 0.1 or 0.2 opens as one stack called "Stack".
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: ea9e29733c3ffbab4d79422024cad5830c4896550066d02193763777d590cd73
Cairn 0.2.0
What's new
- The edge tab appears on every monitor. Choose which monitors show it from "Show tab on" in the tray menu.
- Drag the tab up or down the edge to move it. "Center the tab" under "Screen edge" puts it back.
- Screen readers such as Narrator and NVDA read the stack: each item's name, kind, selection and focus, and the file path or link.
- A fullscreen game, video or presentation now hides the tab only on its own monitor, and the stack opens beside the tab on the monitor you are using.
Install
Download Cairn.exe below and open it. If Windows SmartScreen says "Windows protected your PC", choose More info, then Run anyway. Your stack and settings from 0.1 carry over.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: e023443df30ff0a047a4de1540a5872ada282510fb002585912994d2e7945460
Cairn 0.1.0
The first public version of Cairn, a drop shelf for Windows 10 and 11.
Get started
- Download Cairn.exe below and open it. There's nothing to install.
- Drag a file, some text or a link to the right edge of your screen and let go.
- Open your stack with a click on the edge, the tray icon, or Ctrl Alt C, then drag items into any app.
Cairn isn't signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". Choose More info, then Run anyway.
What it does
- Keeps files, folders, text and links at the edge of your screen until you remove them, even after a restart.
- Drag one item out, or select several with Ctrl or Shift and drag them all at once.
- Double-click or press Enter to open an item. Text pastes into the app you came from.
- Clear the whole stack from the tray menu, with 10 seconds to undo.
- Choose the left or right edge, the shortcut, and whether Cairn starts with Windows, from the tray icon.
- Your files stay where they are. Everything is stored on your PC; there's no account.
Known limits
- Works on your main monitor only for now.
- Windows doesn't allow dragging into or out of apps running as administrator.
To quit, right-click the Cairn icon in the system tray and choose Quit Cairn.
SHA-256 of Cairn.exe: 917077fed86f2eec9168ddf3caa5e13b2ce5c5f97be570b863d2f708406e5b80