Favorite text-expansion tricks

#1 Macworld

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 05:01 AM

Post your comments for Favorite text-expansion tricks here

#2 d00d

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 06:40 AM

I'm a little surprised by the site search trick. I know Dan is a LaunchBar fan (still personal favorite of mine as well) and it seems to me that it would be easier/better to create a LaunchBar custom search to do the same. I know this is a piece on text expansion utilities, but I somehow didn't expect Dan to use it this way.

I'm also curious about the need for Plain Clip. I can't test at the moment, but wouldn't "pbpaste | pbcopy" strip the formatting from the clipboard?

TypeIt4Me is also only $19.99 now.

#3 fudfud

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 06:58 AM

Don't forget the built-in text substitution System Preference in the Language & Text pane. I find it works well. Thanks for all the tips!

#4 leicaman

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 07:04 AM

QuicKeys is good for this kind of thing too. It does a lot of things in addition as far as controlling your computer and applications that are quite sophisticated. It takes a bit of time to get your mind around what it does, and how to utilize it, and it costs a lot more. But It does all sorts of amazing things for me that reduce the number of Applescripts I need to write to automate my workflows.

(Insert: no connection boilerplate statement here.)

Eric

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

#5 jazzace

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 07:50 AM

d00d, on 24 August 2011 - 06:40 AM, said:

TypeIt4Me is also only $19.99 now.

It's $27 direct from the developer, $20 in the Mac App Store. Since sometimes developers have to take some functionality out to be in the App Store, potential purchasers might want to check carefully before choosing one over the other.

#6 FrankCDN

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 08:01 AM

Thanks for the clipboard tips..Been using T4Me for the longest time and still sure I'm not using it to its full potential.

#7 Dan Frakes

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 08:56 AM

d00d, on 24 August 2011 - 06:40 AM, said:

The main reason is context: When I want to search the Macworld site or Apple's support site using Google (because I find it gives better results than each site's own search feature), I'm usually already in Safari, so it's easier for me to just press Command+L, Tab to get to the Google Search field, then mws [search string] or kbs [search string].

For non-Google searches, though, I do use LaunchBar

Dan Frakes / Senior Editor, Macworld

#8 Fiorentino

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 10:13 AM

Thanks for this article. I use Typinator, a program with similar functionality, and you pointed out several ways I could be using it more efficiently.

And, Dan, command-option-F will take you straight to the Safari search field if you don't want to have to worry about the sequential steps of command-L then tab. Not much of a timesaver, I admit, but every second counts…the same principle behind these text replacement programs.

#9 crap33

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 10:18 AM

I use Texpet Expander to quickly go to a commonly used directory {~/Library/Scripts"} by typing “~s”
Interestingly on Snow Leopard, in an open dialog box, typing “~” opens the "Go To " pane. In a save as dialog box, the file navigation section of the box needs to be active to bring up the "Go To" pane.. (otherwise the file name gets the tilde)."

I use a combination of TextExander and Keyboard Maestro but I prefer TextExpander's interface for snippets etc.

#10 d00d

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 10:27 AM

Dan Frakes, on 24 August 2011 - 08:56 AM, said:

Ah, but here's the rub, there's nothing stopping you from making a custom search for Macworld that invokes a Google site specific search in LaunchBar. You simply replace only the part of the search URL after the site specific search. (A quick way is to search for "foo" with a Google site specific search, take that string, then replace "foo" with the wildcard character for the search.) There's nothing magical about the portion of the string you replace.

#11 d00d

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 10:28 AM

jazzace, on 24 August 2011 - 07:50 AM, said:

d00d, on 24 August 2011 - 06:40 AM, said:

TypeIt4Me is also only $19.99 now.

It is? I can't for the life of me find the $27 price on the product website:
http://www.ettoresof...ucts/typeit4me/
http://www.ettoresof.../typeit4me/buy/

#12 WarrenS

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 02:45 PM

My favorite keyword shortcut I use when ever I want to type Steve Ballmer is "The loud, rude and obnoxious head of the once proud computer software company Microsoft "

Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

#13 Mette101

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 03:10 PM

For a lot less than $19.99 you can do many of these tricks in the Language & Text panel of System Preferences. I just tested it with the example of apple's support site, and it worked so perfectly that I can't even type the three-letter shortcut here.

#14 ljmac

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Posted 24 August 2011 - 09:14 PM

I really wish this site would give Automaton a go:

http://www.tech.com.au/Site/Home.html

It replaces a few of the utilities promoted here, with IMHO a superior, cheaper, integrated solution. AutoTyper is IMHO the best of the text expanders, and is the cheapest when bought individually rather than as part of the suite ($13.99). However, I strongly recommend the entire suite, which is excellent value for $34.99. Try it out!