by Kris Traughber
Text expansion is the ability to type shortcuts on your keyboard and have them automatically expand to much longer text if desired. For instance, you could type “billingemail” and it would expand to
“Dear so-and-so,
Your bill is ready to view. Please pay me by ….”
Text expansion apps work by running in the background on your computer. They can be used anywhere you can type on your computer.
Uses for Text Expansion
- Automatically type repetitive phrases.
- Enter canned email responses.
- Quickly sign emails. Use multiple email signatures easily.
- Easily enter addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and more.
- Enter common website addresses.
- Save code snippets.
- Auto correct. Some apps allow you to import the auto correct database from Microsoft Word, allowing your auto correct to be computer wide instead of just in Microsoft Word.
Text Expansion Apps
There are several applications out there for both Windows and Mac for doing text expansion. While most of them have many of the same features, some work better than others. Some are free and some are not. For the video demonstration above, I used Breevy. I was willing to pay for it because it had the features and stability I wanted. Here are some of the most common ones:
- PhraseExpress (Windows) (Free) http://www.phraseexpress.com/
- Texter (Windows) (Free) http://lifehacker.com/238306/lifehacker-code-texter-windows
- Breevy (Windows) ($34.95) http://www.16software.com/breevy/
- DashExpander (Mac) (Free) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dashexpander/id458867049?mt=12
- TextExpander (Mac) ($34.95) http://www.smilesoftware.com/TextExpander/
- TypeIt4Me (Mac) ($20) http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/typeit4me/id412141729?mt=12
If you’ve never tried expansion before, I suggest trying one of the free apps first. If you like it and it suits your needs, then you’re good to go. If you like the idea, but that particular app is quirky or doesn’t do everything you want, then try another one or even consider one of the paid apps.