TextExpander is one of the best time-saving tools ever. I love it and could not work without it. This slide show explores the basics.

1. TEXTEXPANDER
A fabulous text expansion app
Miranda Castro:
mirandacastro@cox.net

2. What is TextExpander?
 Expandable abbreviations galore!
 Use short abbreviations to insert “snippets” of
any length into any field of any application
 Brilliantly helpful app
 Saves a ton of time
 Makes mundane/routine typing tasks fun & fast
 Add personal touches with the greatest of ease
 I love it – couldn’t work without it

3. What are Snippets?
 Words or phrases
 Simple or formatted text
 Fully formatted documents of any length
 Graphics including animated gifs
 Coded snippets (dates and times)
 Auto-corrections (common misspellings)
 Snippets within snippets, and way way more

4. Web link
TEXTEXPANDER BY SMILE SOFTWARE
http://smilesoftware.com/TextExpander/index.html
I have been using it since March of 2010!

5. Persuasive Statistics!
My stats for
the past 4
years – see
how much
time I have
saved!

6. Here’s How It Looks

7. Here’s a Snippet

8. Getting Set Up
 It can take a bit of time to get it set up and
working like you want it to.
 You will want to revisit the preferences from
time to time to tweak it.
 You need to go into Systems Preferences at the
outset to give TextExpander access to your
whole computer so it can do its work in any
program you are working in!

9. Mavericks
> System Preferences
> Security & Privacy
> Unlock to change
> Click Privacy tab
> Click Accessibility
(left)
> Scroll to TextExpander
(right) and check
> Restart TextExpander

10. Snow Leopard
> System Preferences
> Universal Access
> Enable access for
assistive devices
> Restart TextExpander

11. TextExpander Preferences
 Expansion
 Options
 Appearance
 Sync
 Hotkeys
 Update
 Backup
Go through each section
customizing it to suit you and
the way you work.
Here are mine FYI …

14. HotKeys
I resisted Hotkeys until I watched Don McAllister’s
(free) ScreenCast. I learned to save yet more
time by configuring these to pop up on command

16. Let’s do it!
 Create a New Snippet
 Click the New Snippet icon (above)
 Cmd + N
 Click the + (bottom left)
 Select Plain Text or Formatted Text, Pictures

17. That’s all there is to it!
 The basics really are that simple
 You need to give some thought to the
Label – it should be consistent with other
similar labels in the same group
 You need to give a lot of thought to the
abbreviation

18. Abbreviations
 Logical (at least to your way of thinking)
 Easy to remember
 Easy to type and quick to type
 Easy to expand on (to create other similar
snippets in a group)
 Not something you type ordinarily – you’ll soon
find out if you made a mistake and used an
abbreviation you use in a different situation

19. Abbreviations
 Make the letters easy to find on the keyboard
and easier still to remember
 Use double letters at the outset
 Use one or two spaces at the end
 Create a naming convention: sg for signatures,
dd for date, ddtt for date and time, tt for
time, em for emails, ref and initials for a
referral
 Forget about numbers and caps unless you are
a killer typist

20. Remembering Snippets
 It is easy to forget the snippets you have
created if you don’t use them often
 Make sure Suggest Abbreviations is checked for
each group
 Set and use the Hotkey for Suggest Matching
Abbreviations
 This is where your naming convention comes in
handy

21. Formatted Snippets

22. Advanced Snippets: Macros
 For Days/Dates/Times and all kinds of other
neat things as well
 You don’t have to be a
programming genius
 About Date, Time and Math Macros
 About Macros and More
 David Sparks Date & Time Snippets

23. Delimiters
 Delimiters are Space, Tab, Return, Esc as well
as over 30 other characters such as period,
comma, slash, backslash, brackets, and tilde.
 Go to Preferences > Expansion and click "Set
Delimiters" to see all available delimiters.
 Use them to determine when a snippet gets
expanded.

24. Automatic Backups
 Set up in Preferences > Backup icon
 Select automatic backup frequency
 Select another folder by clicking on the
Library icon

25. Manual Backup
 Know which folder
your Backups go to
 File > Click Backup
TextExpander Data
 NOTE: upgrades use
the backup file to
restore data

26. Menu Bar Icon
Use the TextExpander icon
to search for snippets, to
create a new one or to
open or disable the program

27. Competition
LifeHacker Article
comparing text expansion apps
aText ($5)
LifeHacker’s fave (price/value/function)
TypeIt4Me ($5)
Doesn't offer as many options as aText Typinator
(24.99€)
Similar features but doesn't work as well as
TextExpander
TextExpander ($35)
Offers more features than aText and a mobile
app as well

28. Details
 OS: Snow Leopard or 10.6
 Single License: $34.95
 Family Pack: $44.95 (5 computers/1 house)
 90-day money back guarantee
“TextExpander is completely and utterly indispensable - I
probably use it a couple of times every working hour”
Don McAllister

29. Extras
 TextExpander on Twitter
 Don McAllisters free ScreenCast Online from
March 2010 of TextExpander 3 is brilliant.
There aren’t a lot of changes between
versions 3 and 4.
 Take Control of TextExpander eBook