TextExpander 3 saves even more time

If I’m writing, then I’m using TextExpander:

A TextExpander snippet.

Save time and effort with TextExpander! Whether it’s a simple email signature or several paragraphs of a standard response, you’ll love how easy it is to use TextExpander to avoid typing the same thing over and over.

I use this so much that I almost can’t type without it. If I find myself using someone else’s computer I keep stumbling over things ‘not happening’: my most frequent typos remain unchanged; my 3-letter abbreviation for my email address doesn’t expand to its 21 character full version; and I can’t write any HTML at all.

The other day version 3 of TextExpander appeared, and a few things have changed.

Where TextExpander used to be a System Preference Pane, it’s now an application in its own right. It also has new fill-in-the-blank snippets that ask for text. This allows you to enter text that changes, while leaving the cursor after the snippet.

A TextExpander fill-in-the-blank snippet.

For example, in writing the previous paragraph I typed the trigger text ,em after the word cursor. That expanded to the HTML code: <em> </em>, with the cursor placed between the tags. Then I typed the word after at the cursor. Next I had to move the insertion point after the tags to continue typing.

With the new fill-in-the-blank approach I can set the cursor to appear after the tags. Before the trigger is fully expanded though, a dialog box invites me to enter the text that will appear between the tags.

This will be a big time saver.

I do a lot, if not most, of my writing in HTML. I have dozens of snippets set up for the most common tags I use, along with common phrases and typos. If you do any kind of writing on a Mac, I suggest you give TextExpander a try. I can’t do without it.