How do I choose an abbreviation for my snippet?
A good abbreviation is:
- short
- easy to remember
- unlikely to be typed by accident
- unique
Duplicating an abbreviations first character (ddate, ssig, zzip) is one way of creating abbreviations that meet these critieria.
Can I import my snippets and abbreviations from another typing automation utility?
Yes, TextExpander can import from Textpander, TypeIt4Me (v2 & 3), and Typinator (v1). In the Snippets tab of the TextExpander system preferences pane, click and hold the plus icon
under the list of snippets. Choose "Add Group from File..." Select your current snippets file. It will be imported as a new group in TextExpander.
Is TextExpander a keylogger? Is TextExpander a safety risk? Are you spying on me?
While TextExpander does indeed log keystrokes, these keystrokes are never saved or sent anywhere. Moreover, TextExpander empties its cache whenever you type the spacebar. Thus, TextExpander hardly ever remembers more than 20 characters of what you most recently typed. Using TextExpander does not compromise your privacy.
Why does TextExpander force me to enable access for assistive devices?
For privacy reasons (see above), Mac OS X does not allow third-party applications (such as TextExpander) to log keystrokes — unless access for assistive devices is turned on.
How do I enable access for assistive devices?
Go to the System Preferences and activate the Universal Access preference pane — the one with the little person in front of a blue background. Once you're there, check the checkbox at the very bottom of that pane.
I want TextExpander to expand automatically when I type a specific delimiter character after my abbreviation. Which characters are delimiters?
Delimiters are [Space], [Tab], [Return], [Esc] as well as over 30 other characters such as period, comma, slash, backslash, brackets, and tilde. Click "Set Delimiters" in TextExpander Preferences to see all available delimiters.
What happens to the delimiter after the abbreviation is expanded?
In TextExpander Preferences, the menu "Expand abbreviations:" has two choices:
- at delimiter (keep delimiter)
- at delimiter (abandon delimiter)
To override this setting for a specific snippet, add a "Keep delimiter" specifier ("%+", without the surrounding quotation marks) or an "Abandon delimiter" specifier ("%-") to the very end of your snippet.
Why do percentage signs (%) in my snippet text not appear when it is expanded?
The percentage sign (%) is a special character to TextExpander. It is used to indicate date, time, or other information should be substituted at that point in your snippet.
How can I use a percentage sign (%) in my snippet?
Simply double-up on percentage signs which appear in your snippet. For example, if you want your snippet text to be "50% discount", enter it as "50%% discount".
What are the special symbols recognized by TextExpander?
%Y Date: Year: 4 digits (2006)
%y Date: Year: 2 digits (06)
%B Date: Month: long name (January)
%b Date: Month: short name (Jan)
%m Date: Month: 2 digits (01)
%1m Date: Month: 1-2 digits (1)
%A Date: Day: long name (Monday)
%a Date: Day: short name (Mon)
%d Date: Day: 2 digits (01)
%e Date: Day: 1 digit (1)
%H Time: Hour: 24 hour clock, 2 digits (14)
%I Time: Hour: (capital letter i) 12 hour clock, 2 digits (09)
%1H Time: Hour: 24 hour clock, 1-2 digits (9)
%1I Time: Hour: (capital letter i) 12 hour clock, 1-2 digits (5)
%M Time: Minute: 2 digits (09)
%1M Time: Minute: 1-2 digits (9)
%S Time: Second: 2 digits (05)
%1S Time: Second: 1-2 digits (5)
%snippet:% : insert abbreviation here
%clipboard : insert clipboard contents here
%| : (shift-\) position cursor here once snippet is pasted
% : cursor right
%^ : (shift-6) cursor up
%v : (letter v) cursor down
%+ : keep delimiter
%- : abandon delimiter
My Dock won't hide when I use the Cmd + Opt + D shortcut. What happened?
The problem described here is a known bug in Mac OS X with Universal Access Keyloggers. When keyloggers are enabled, there is a problem with hiding and showing the Dock using cmd+option+D. This affects all keylogging programs, including TextExpander.
One of our users submitted a clever workaround. In the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences, under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, under "Dock, Exposé, and Dashboard", next to "Automatically hide and show the Dock", if you double-click the shortcut and change it to something other than cmd+option+D, you'll find that the dock will hide and show properly.
Rest assured, we have reported this bug to Apple, and we expect they'll fix it in a future release of Mac OS X.
I started using Quicken and now TextExpander snippets don't expand. Why not?
There is a conflict between the Quicken Scheduler and all keylogger programs, including TextExpander. When the Quicken Scheduler is running, expansions can't be triggered via the keyboard, but can still be accessed via the TextExpander menu.
Does TextExpander work with Java, X11, and/or Parallels?
Not at this time. Mac OS X's assistive devices key logging does not support these environments. TextExpander relies on assistive devices key logging to capture keystrokes and so does not work in these environments. We continue to explore ways we might support these environments in a future version of TextExpander.
How do I uninstall TextExpander?
1) Go to TextExpander's preference pane in System Preferences and uncheck "Enable TextExpander" in the Preferences tab.
2) Choose "Show All" in System Preferences.
3) Control-click on the TextExpander icon and select "Remove TextExpander Preference Pane" from the resulting contextual menu.
in the lower right corner.