Copying an Email Address Without the Extra Crufty Adornments (AddressesIncludeNameOnPasteboard)

2013-10-28 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Apple, Apple macOS, defaults write, Mavericks

OS X 9 Mavericks resets a preference which is a real bother: how an email address is put onto the clipboard. It can be copied with extra adornments which are a real hassle if searching or various things I need email for (I have to do such things many times a day).

Fred Flintstone <Fred.Flinstone@me.com> # syntactic mess for various
OR
Fred.Flintstone@me.com # YES

The solution is to change a hidden system preference, see Mail Addresses Adorned With Cruft. For whatever reason, OS X 9 Mavericks whacks this preference.

To use the simple form, open Terminal, then enter:

defaults write com.apple.mail AddressesIncludeNameOnPasteboard -bool no

It’s now broken

Well, the above is SUPPOSED to work. But Apple Mail in OS X 10.9 Mavericks now is entirely flaky: how and where the email is copied produces differing results:

• Copying out of an editable field (say you’ve started a Reply or Forward) yields the full (messy) form which then has to be edited down to just the email.
• Copying out of an email To or CC field yields the email-only form.

This inattention to usability details (“small potatoes” bug) is oddly inconsistent with the obsessive compulsive attention given to hardware details.