Text expander and clipboard enhancer tools

Posted by Dr Andus
Mar 19, 2014 at 09:54 PM

Jim,

PhraseExpander 4 was released today, you may want to check it out, as a lot of what you had suggested below might now be possible:

http://www.phraseexpander.com/tour/phraseexpander-4-new-features/

Personally I was pretty happy with v. 3 due to its agility, and was a bit reluctant to try v. 4, as I was worried of feature creep. But being able to add a new phrase to the database without having to bring up the main software window (it’s now done in a little pop-up box) won me over.

Another useful improvement for me is that the suggestion box (of the SmartComplete feature) can now be freely positioned in software that otherwise wouldn’t allow the pop-up by the cursor (such as most browsers). In those situations in the past the suggestion box would be displayed in a fixed position around the top middle, which could obscure one’s typing or be too far from the typing for the eye to follow.

I can’t comment on the other features (clipboard extension, application launcher etc.), as I don’t use those.

jimspoon wrote:
>I have an idea and would like to know what you think about it.
> >I think it would be useful to have a text expansion utility that would
>work as follows:
> >(1) to include a string of text as an “expansion”, simply highlight,
>right-click it, then select an option to put it in the database of
>expansions. no need to define an abbreviation.
> >(2) to insert an expansion, type in a defined keystroke or sequence to
>signal the expansion utility “I want you to enter a text expansion.
>Please monitor the following keystrokes by which I will indicate the
>expansion I want.” For example, I might use the string “///” to signal
>the utility that I want to select an expansion.
> >(3) start typing in characters that appear anywhere in the desired
>expansion. for example, to select the expansion “mary had a little
>lamb”, one might type in “lam mar lit”. As the characters are typed in,
>the expansion utility would search the database for all expansions that
>contain the all the space-delimited strings, until the desired expansion
>is found and selected.
> >(4) no list of expansions would be displayed until the number of
>matching expansions is below a certain number. (Until that point is
>reached, perhaps only the number of matching expansions could be
>displayed.) I suggest this in order to prevent a very large,
>flickering, and distracting display of matching expressions.
> >(5) in the list of matching expansions, the typed-in space-delimited
>strings should be highlighted as they appear in each matching expansion.
> This visual aid would aid the user in entering further strings to
>narrow down the list.
> >(6) when a small list of matching expansions is displayed, the user may
>select the desired expansion by typing a number, or by simply continuing
>to type in space-delimited strings that appear in the expansion. When
>there is only one matching expression, use the down-arrow to select it
>and press enter.
> >(7) this method would eliminate the need to define, memorize, and type
>in abbreviations. I find that I am reluctant to take the time to define
>an abbreviation-expansion pair. Also, as the number of
>abbreviation/expansion pairs increases, one quickly reaches the point
>where it is difficult to recall the appropriate expansion and to type it
>in accurately to invoke the desired expansion.
> >(8) the database of expansions would include only those specifically
>included by the user using the above method. This would prevent the
>utility from proposing unwanted expansions, and would make the search
>and selection process go faster.
> >(9) there would be no need to disrupt one’s typing by using the mouse or
>arrow keys to select a desired expansion. Simply continue to enter
>characters that appear in the expansion until there is only one left,
>then press enter.
> >What do you think?
> >jim