Save time, effort and typing on your Apple Mac using a text expander

Text expanders are very useful tools for people that spend a lot of time on their Mac typing the same words and phrases in emails and documents. PhraseExpress is a great time saver.

What is a text expander for?

A text expander is a utility that stores snippets of text like email responses, email and document signatures, commonly used phrases and blocks of text used in documents, your name and address, contact information and so on. Anything your regularly type in.

In a text expander each block of text can be associated with an abbreviation, usually two to five letters, or a key combination.

The text expander monitors what is typed into documents, web pages, emails and so on, and when the abbreviation is entered, it is replaced by the associated text, or when the key combination is pressed, the associated text is entered.

You could, for example, define 'ty' as 'Thank you for your order, it is being processed. You will receive an update via email when it is shipped. Bob Smith, Wonderful Widgets Inc.' All you need to do is type 'ty' into an email and the full text is entered for you automatically, saving you time and typing.

Install PhraseExpress

PhraseExpress is a typical example of a text expander and it works well on the Apple Mac. Go to www.phraseexpress.com/mac.htm scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Download button under the Freeware App heading.

The app is free but is limited to storing 10 phrases. However, there are paid upgrades available if you need to store more than this but I will be using the free version here.

The first time the app is run you must authorise it:

1. Open System Preferences
2. Click Security & Privacy
3. Select the Privacy tab
4. Select Accessibility in the list on the left
5. Tick the checkbox next to PhraseExpress on the right

Define common phrases

You need to add the text phrases, abbreviations and keyboard shortcuts before PhraseExpress can be used. The app adds a speech bubble icon to the menu bar at the top of the screen. Ctlr+click it to open the alternate menu and select Edit Phrases.

This opens the main PhraseExpress window. Select PhraseExpress in the list on the left and then click the New Phrase icon in the toolbar at the top. There is now a simple form to fill in. (If text is on the clipboard, you may find it automatically filled in, or partly filled in).

Phrase description: This is used for the menu when the PhraseExpress button in the menu bar is clicked. As you add phrases, they are added to the menu bar icon.

Phrase content: This is the full expanded text that will be entered.

Hotkey: This is optional. If you use it, make sure it does not clash with the dozens of other macOS keyboard shortcuts!

Autotext abbreviation: This is the shortcut you type. Whenever this appears, PhraseExpress replaces it with the full text.

The text body can be formatted and there are many options, such as bold, italic, font selection, tables, images, and links. There is even a collection of macros for inserting advanced features into the replacement text.

The phrase descriptions on the left can also be coloured and this can help with organising phrases, not so much with the free version which is limited to 10 phrases, but if you have the full version you can colour code groups of phrases. The colour appears in the menu too.

A lot can be done with the text and if you need enter formatted text, the app can handle it.

Replace text with PhraseExpress

Using PhraseExpress is very easy and there is nothing to it. As you type, whenever you want to use a phrase that you have created and stored, just type the abbreviation.

It can be used almost anywhere that text is typed, such as a word processor, email, in a web form and so on. Here is an example using the Mail app and ty is typed.

This is replaced almost instantaneously by the replacement text from PhraseExpress.

The only thing you have to watch out for is not to use an abbreviation that is based on a real word because every time it is typed it is replaced. Also, to recognise the abbreviation there must be a space before and after. This is not usually an issue, but you can't start a new email with an abbreviation - type a space before and after.