A few months ago we provided some instructions for how to setup Dropbox to sync with your TextExpander snippets. The instructions have been used by many of you, but we have a better, less geeky way to accomplish the same thing going forward.
With the rise in popularity of “cloud computing,” third-party syncing services such as Dropbox have come on the scene, and with a bit of work, you can sync your snippets using it as a MobileMe alternative.
Dropbox is a free online storage service that synchronizes the data of a folder in your home directory with any other Mac you have the service installed on. When you make a change to a file or add something new to your Dropbox, their agent application will automatically push the changes to the cloud in the background and notify your other Macs of the change so they pull the update.
This works great for TextExpander because each time you create or modify a snippet, it saves the Settings.textexpander file that contains your settings and snippets. If we store this file in Dropbox, it will automatically update on each of your Macs. Dropbox can even deal with your Mac being offline temporarily.
To enable support for Dropbox, we’ll make use of Automator. TextExpander 2.5.1 or later is required for proper synchronization with Dropbox. It’s a free update:
http://www.smileonmymac.com/textexpander/download.html
On your primary machine:
- Disable TextExpander via the TextExpander prference pane.
(Hold the Option key and click “Enable TextExpander” to kill TextExpander’s background process.) - Install Dropbox (https://www.getdropbox.com/)
- Download Junecloud’s “Create Symbolic Link” automator action.
- Drag the [Home Folder]/Library/Application Support/TextExpander folder to your Dropbox folder. Your TextExpander settings and snippets are now stored on Dropbox, but we still need to let TextExpander know about it.
- Mount the Junecloud Automator Actions disk image you downloaded in step 3 and double-click the “Create Symbolic Link” automator action to install the action in Automator.
- Jump into Automator and create a new Workflow.
- Drag the TextExpander folder from your Dropbox into the Automator window’s drop zone.
- Drag the “Create Symbolic Link” automator action from the Automator library. Set it’s “Where:” value to be [Home Folder]/Library/Application Support/.
- The Create Symlink window will appear. In this window set the location to [Home Folder]/Library/Application Support/.
- Press “Run” in the Automator window. You should hear a sound when the operation completes successfully.
The symlink will then redirect TextExpander to your Dropbox folder to grab the snippet information. You can confirm it by going to [Home Folder]/Library/Application Support and checking to see if the TextExpander folder is an alias now.
Repeat steps 1-10 on subsequent machines that you want to take advantage of syncing with your Dropbox instance of TextExpander.
Thanks to Michael Harahan for the Automator tip!
I installed this flawlessly on my iMac. I am following the steps on my Macbook and, yikes, there is no “Automator” file in my Home>Library folder. Where else this might this folder be?
Thanks in advance!
I decided to simply create an Automator folder (per some instructions I saw from the Junecloud developer on the web). But now, when I try to move my TextExpander folder from Macbook to Dropbox (step 6), it is telling me that the folder is already there (because I put it there per these same instructions via my iMac).
Can you tell me what I need to do from here?
Thanks so much.
Well, I got it working on my own.
I created my own Automator folder.
I let my Macbook TE folder overwrite the one I put there from my iMac.
Otherwise followed all the steps above.
Seems to be working on both! Phew! Thanks!
Yes, you need to create the Automator folder if it doesn’t exist. I should have been more explicit about that. Updated the post for anyone who runs into it in the future.
This worked great, thanks for posting the instructions to a much appreciated tool for text expander and folks with multiple computers!
[...] Smile on my Mac Blog Entry [...]
Anyway to get Texter (for Windows) to use my TextExpander snippets and vice verse? I keep hitting my TE shortcuts in parallels and sigh each time.
Can Texter and TextExpander get along?
I did this and it wiped out my Text Expander snippets on my Mac. How do I tell TE where the snippets are now located? I did the Automator thing, but the second window never opened…
My old snippets are now in DropBox though — which is great, since I can use them on the iPhone.
The TextExpander settings file is standard XML, so if the Texter developers wanted to offer import functionality, I’m sure they could decipher the file. You might contact them and let them know you’d like that functionality.
Works like a charm.
One extra little hint. For those faint at heart in working in terminal, you CAN copy/paste the command line instructions (from this webpage) into Terminal.
Way to go SmileOnMyMac & Dropbox!
Just contacted them, thanks! Wondering if there is any way to get this working in Windows through Parallels?
Ok, I’m trying to follow the instructions, but I’m apparently having a bad brain day.
Automator wants me to choose from a template. Do I choose service?
Do I drag the create symbolic link into the dropzone under the textexpander dialog?
The “where setting” in the directions ends with “Application Support/”. I just choose the application support folder, right? Not the Automator folder within it?
Here’s the problem. What Create Symlink window is created? I see nothing… so I’m stuck here. Where does it appear?
Any help would be much appreciated.
@Susanna – If you contact us at support@smileonmymac.com I can help you out there. It’s probably something system specific we can iron out with a bit of troubleshooting.
@Geoff: You want to create a Workflow. You then want to drag the TextExpander folder from your Finder into the drop zone of your new Automator workflow. Then drag the “Create Symbolic Link” action underneath it and set its location to be [Home]/Library/Application Support/. If you need a bit more clarification, feel free to contact me at support@smileonmymac.com and I’ll do my best to help.
Hm.. and how do you guys solve the problem of text expander starting up before dropbox starts up / has had the time to synchronize new snippets created on another machine? With text expander starting up, its preference files get a current time stamp leading dropbox to sync the wrong way around.
@Frank: Jump into System Preferences -> Accounts -> [Your Account] -> Login Items and rearrange the items list so that textexpanderd starts before Dropbox.
I think the instructions are wrong; should’t the second and subsequent machines be from step 7-10?
@Graham: Assuming you don’t already have the JuneCloud automator actions installed on your secondary machines, you still need to go through the process of installing those and creating the symlink from your Dropbox to [Home]/Library/Application Support/TextExpander/
This works perfectly, however, it would be nice if a built-in solution was supported that you could just enable for DropBox syncing. In fact, why not add Webdav support as well
Is this fudge an implicit admission that syncing via MobileMe doesn’t actually work?
@nev: Some users have had MobileMe issues, and have found Dropbox to be a reliable alternative. For others, MobileMe works fine. – Jean/SmileOnMyMac
“Is this fudge an implicit admission that syncing via MobileMe doesn’t actually work?”
Nope, just admission that charging $99 doesn’t work. I don’t have MobileMe, so I am not sure if it does/does not sync well.
The real issue is that Texter and TextExpander provide a very similar solution – expand text – but they cannot (AFAIK) sync with each other.
I want to have the same snippets between OS X and Windows when I have to use Windows. I have TextExpander for Mac OSX and Texter for Windows, but I do not want to maintain two different sets of snippets. I am looking to have the same text shortcuts on both platforms.
@Jean: Well, OK, but I just wonder what distinguishes between people who have had “issues” with MM and those who haven’t. Is it one’s sun sign or something? I’m sure I tried everything that “they” did.
@nev That’s a good question. It sounds like you’ve tried using MobileMe to sync your snippets and the results have not been good… have you already contact TextExpander support to see if they can help? (textexpander@smileonmymac.com)
Automator asked to save the file. Does it make any difference where to save the workflow file? Also, I don’t have an automator folder. Can I make on in the home directory?
Last, how would I reverse the process I I decided I wanted to go back to normal defaults?
Thanks
Joe
@Joe: You don’t really need to save the Automator workflow. Just run it and discard it. If you want to reverse the process, just follow the directions in reverse. Disable TextExpander, delete the TextExpander symlink in [Home]/Library/Application Support/ and put the TextExpander folder in your Dropbox back in [Home]/Library/Application Support/