What is a TEXTCLIPPING file?
A .TEXTCLIPPING file is a Mac OS X Text Clipping File. It stores text snippets on Apple computers. When a user highlights text in a document or a web page and drags it to the desktop, the Apple macOS Finder creates this file automatically to save the selection.
How to open TEXTCLIPPING files?
On a Mac, you can double-click a .TEXTCLIPPING file to read it. You can also drag the file into Apple Notes, Microsoft Word, or TextEdit to insert the stored text. On Windows or Linux, these files do not open natively. You can open them in a code editor like Notepad++ or Visual Studio Code, but you will see raw code instead of clean text.
Software and tools
.TEXTCLIPPING files are not plain text files. They use the macOS plist (Property List) format. This means the text is wrapped in XML code or binary data. To read the text clearly on non-Apple systems, you need a tool that parses the plist structure and extracts the raw content.
Viewer.online analysis
The web tool viewer.online/textclipping analyzes .TEXTCLIPPING files to identify their exact format and creator software. It shows which programs can open the file and usually previews the extracted text directly in your browser.
Summary
Because .TEXTCLIPPING files use the known plist format, viewer.online/textclipping can safely open and display them online, eliminating compatibility problems. You can easily view your text snippets from any operating system without needing a Mac.