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Keyboard shortcuts aren’t just for menu items. TextExpander lets you make “snippets” that expand into larger chunks of text or an image–anything you find yourself typing again and again, you can shorten. TextExpander 4 is $34.95 at www.smilesoftware.com, and users of TextExpander 3 can upgrade for just $15.
1. Create a Snippet
Click the New Snippet button. Start simple, with something you type a lot: an email signature, your home address, your primary email address. Type or paste the full text into the Content pane, and then add a case-sensitive abbreviation in the Abbreviation pane. It’s saved automatically. Now just type the abbreviation in any text-entry field and it’ll expand to the full text.
2. Find More Snippets
Smile includes some sample snippets, and there’s a huge community online of people sharing snippets they use. You can find some pre-rolled sets in File > Add Predefined Group (the TidBITS AutoCorrect Dictionary is priceless), follow @TextExpander on Twitter for great tips, or check out a giant repository with lots more tips at www.te-snippets.com.
3. Sync Your Snippets
If you use Dropbox, you can sync your snippets to any of your Macs–go to TextExpander > Preferences > Sync. You can also sync your snippets to TextExpander touch ($4.99) for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. The iOS version works a little differently–you compose your text in that app, then send the text to a compatible app, like Byword, Day One, and Simplenote (see a full list at www.smilesoftware.com).
4. Keep Going
Set up hotkeys in the preferences. Use an image (your signature, perhaps) instead of text. Click the cursor button right above the Abbreviation box for special options like current date/time, fill-in options, or even nest snippets inside of each other.
