Autotext on Steroids

Enclose text with quotation marks

Michael — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:56:01 +0000

The text inserter PhraseExpress can also modify existing text. This video tutorial shows, how to create macro that enclose any text with quotation marks by pressing a single hotkey:

The manual contains additional information about the macro {#clipboard} that is used in this tutorial.

Insert a date stamp with a hotkey

Michael — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:39:55 +0000

The text insertion program PhraseExpress can not only manage frequently used text templates but also insert the current date or time stamp with a single keypress.

This video illustrates how to configure PhraseExpress in just a few easy steps:

Learn more about the date and time stamp feature in the manual.

Avoiding unwanted Autotext replacements

Michael — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:38 +0000

The text replacement utility PhraseExpress has several options to avoid unwanted text insertions caused by the Autotext function.

This video will show you some tricks to get the most out of Autotext:

Please learn more in the chapter Autotext of the PhraseExpress manual.

Boilerplate templates with multiple choice text

Michael — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:11:10 +0000

The Boilerplate template software PhraseExpress cannot only manage static text templates but also allows you to create multiple choice phrases. You can then choose the desired phrase or partial sentences from a handy popup menu that appears next to the cursor.

This video demo shows you how to configure multiple choice phrases. Please turn on your speakers:

Additional information can be found in the manual at http://manual.phraseexpress.com#insert.

Caps-Sensitive Autotext

Michael — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:33:46 +0000

If you enter an Autotext in MS Office, it does not recognize upper and lower case letters and always insert the phrase with upper/lower case as you originally stored it.

The problem is, that sometimes you enter an Autotext in the beginning of a sentence and need the inserted text starting with upper case. And if pasted within a sentence, you rather need lower caps text insertions.

The Autotext utility PhraseExpress now can dynamically choose the suitable upper or lower case automatically.

See the video demonstration here (turn on your speakers):

Additional information can be found in the manual.

Transfer AutoCorrect settings to a new PC

Michael — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:29:57 +0000

Dennis O’Reilly explains a way to export your Word AutoCorrect items for use on another PC.

This may work nicely but it may get tedious if you want to have your AutoCorrect settings synchronized on all your computers.

PhraseExpress allows you to not only to share your AutoCorrect settings among multiple computers in a network but also to use them in any program, not just in Outlook or Word.

Here is a step-by-step video tutorial that shows you how to import your AutoCorrect data:

You can either share the AutoCorrect data by importing and exporting the phrase file or alternatively use the PhraseExpress Network Edition that allows sharing phrases, signatures and Autotext items with a sophisticated Client-/Server architecture.

Add a random quote to your Email Signature

Michael — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:09:45 +0000

The Text snippets organizer “PhraseExpress” can also store email signatures for use with any email client or web based email application.

The are many benefits of using PhraseExpress for this task instead of the signature feature built-in most email clients:

You can manage your signatures centrally with the Network Edition
Signatures can be used in any program not just the one email client you are currently using.
PhraseExpress makes it easier to select from multiple signatures; e.g. if you have separate signatures for personal vs. business purposes or if you have signatures in different languages.
Your signature templates can be enriched with dynamic contents such as a random quote or additional text automatically scheduled by time-/date, such as a seasonal promotional offer.

Here is a video tutorial how to create a signature with your written signature and a random “Idiom of the day”:

Auto-fill forms in any program

Michael — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:14:20 +0000

Filling forms again and over again is a quite tedious task. There are Firefox add-ons to cover this job but the downside is that such proprietary addon is limited to one particular program. Any stored abbreviation would not be available anywhere else (e.g. if you switch to another browser or if you work in another program).

The text expander PhraseExpress works system-wide in any Windows program and allows you to quickly fill in forms in your favorite web browser as well as in any other application such as a PDF form, etc.

Video demonstratin (turn on speakers):

Web based Search in any program

Michael — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 09:17:13 +0000

Imagine, you could highlight any text in any program and search for that term e.g. in Google, Wikipedia, Translate.com, etc., with a single keystroke.

The text expander “PhraseExpress” offers that: For example, mark an address in Word, Messenger, Excel, dBase or Dreamweaver, hit the customizable keyboard shortcut CTRL-F8 and select the desired webpage for the query in a handy popup menu.

Here is video demonstration (turn on speakers):

If this feature should not work out-of-the-box in your configuration, update to the latest PhraseExpress version and download the free add-on that offers the “Smart Search” feature.

You can also add other websites of your choice. We will show you how to do this in another video tutorial soon.

Launch programs with text shortcuts

Michael — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:44:30 +0000

Program Launchers have become a popular software utility category.

Personally, I have never understood this idea for a simple reason: Why install an extra utility for a task that can be done in Windows already?!

Ever hit the WIN-key on your keyboard? Just try and then begin to type the application’s name you want to launch. As you can see, Vista already comes with a “Program Launcher”!

Anyway, PhraseExpress can also launch programs by entering a text shortcut if you want:

Benefits of using PhraseExpress as a Program Launcher:

You do not need to install yet another application for that task.
You can also open file folders or websites by shortcuts
You can share your program launch shortcuts with others with the PhraseExpress Network Edition
The program launch feature can be combined with any other PhraseExpress macro function.
PhraseExpress is free-of-charge for personal use.