Take Control of TextExpander

📖 The Scoop

Join expert Mac writer Michael E. Cohen as he helps you enjoy the power of TextExpander 4, the award-winning text expansion utility from Smile. If you're a TextExpander newbie, you'll learn how to create "snippets" of text (like your address) that you can insert into any text by typing a short abbreviation (for example, addd). Once you're comfortable with TextExpander's core controls and options, it's time to learn the more sophisticated options for inserting a snippet. You'll also discover how to add optional snippet groups created by Smile and others, create and share your own groups, move groups between Macs using Dropbox, and get the basics on integrating TextExpander with AppleScript and even with the command line. The ebook also explain how to share your snippets with your iOS devices and access them using Smile's TextExpander touch app. Running TextExpander is like embedding a superhero typist in your Mac. Read Take Control of TextExpander to learn how to: Reply faster: If you frequently send similar bits of text--directions, chunks of legal writing, bios, product descriptions, company names, addresses, URLs, and so forth--let TextExpander quickly type all that text for you, making it a snap to respond quickly to customer questions or requests from colleagues, and a breeze to send other routine correspondence ("Dear Mom, I'm still not pregnant. Love, Me"). You can even create fill-in snippets that ask you for details and fill in all the rest of the text automatically. Make typing more exciting: Discover how to grab and insert the URL in your browser's frontmost window into whatever you're writing, to insert HTML or CSS tags in a flash, to automagically add the date to filenames as you save, and more. It's like having another set of fingers. Type more accurately: Find out how to add the auto-correct dictionary groups from Smile and to create your own auto-correction options, so you'll spend less time fixing common typing mistakes or going red-faced when you spot an egregious error too late. Enjoy life more: When you let TextExpander handle your routine typing, your brain will be free to think more creatively about the rest of what you type. And you just might knock off work a little sooner some days. Specific questions answered in this ebook include: How do I register my demo copy of TextExpander and buy a family pack? What are some common uses of TextExpander that I can try as I learn? How do I use TextExpander to timestamp my text automatically? How can I put the clipboard contents into an expanded snippet? How can I make a TextExpander snippet that expands into a fill-in form? How do I work with formatted text and pictures in snippets? How do I handle capitalization and snippet expansions? How can I get to TextExpander quickly, and hide it when I don't need it? What do I do if I can't remember a snippet's expansion abbreviation? How can I edit my snippets quickly? How can I quickly insert special characters like smileys and stars? How do I insert a snippet and move the insertion point into the middle of it? How do I insert a snippet immediately after a quotation mark or bracket? I do a lot of CSS coding. TextExpander sounds great, but how can I leverage someone else's work and not have to create my own set of CSS expansions? How can I invoke an AppleScript from within a TextExpander snippet expansion, and use the result in my snippet?

Genre: No Category (fancy, right?)