| # Help: Guided Tour: Preferences Expansion ' Options ' Appearance ' Sync ' Hotkeys ' Update ' Backup # Expansion ### Expand abbreviations TextExpander expansions can be triggered three ways: immediately when typed When you type an abbreviation, the expansion occurs immediately (depending on Group Settings for "Expand after:") at delimiter (keep delimiter) You must type a "delimiter" key (such as space or tab) to trigger the expansion; the delimiter remains after the expansion at delimiter (abandon delimiter) As with the previous option, a delimiter must be typed to trigger the expansion, but the delimiter does not remain in place after the expansion. If you choose to use one of the delimiter options, click the button Set Delimiters... to select the desired delimiter key. There are over 30 delimiters to choose from, including most punctuation keys, as well as space, return, tab and esc. ### When expanding You can specify what happens when a snippet expands in TextExpander by checking the boxes in this section. Play sound You can choose the default sound that TextExpander makes when an expansion is triggered. (You can also specify a sound for individual snippet groups in the Snippets pane; see "Grouping Snippets and Importing Groups.") Use cross-platform compatible images (PNGs) If you use images in your snippets, TextExpander always pastes the image in PNG format when the snippet is expanded. Some programs, like Microsoft Entourage, work much better with PNGs. Other programs, like Microsoft Word and Excel, may have problems with PNGs. Uncheck this option if you want your images to be pasted in their original file format, such as JPG or GIF. Include HTML data This allows TextExpander to paste formatted text and images into web-based tools, such as Gmail. Depending on the application you are expanding your snippets in, you may notice a formatted snippet does not expand as expected. It could be that the enhanced data allowed by this menu option is not being interpreted well, and turning off this option will allow a formatted snippet to expand properly again. Restore clipboard In cases where TextExpander must use the clipboard, (e.g. in Carbon applications), TextExpander restores the Clipboard to the contents it had prior to the expansion. ### Default Snippet Format You can set the default to one of these formats: Plain Text When expanded, the snippet content conforms to the current text style. Formatted Text, Pictures Color, size, font and alignment can be specified for text. Images can be used. AppleScript and Shell Script These two formats are available only on a per snippet basis (See "AppleScript Snippets and Shell Script Snippets.") The default snippet format is applied to newly-created snippets. Changing the default does not affect the snippets you have already created. You can change the format on a per snippet basis in the main window. (See "Creating Snippets: Format.") ### Default Case Sensitivity You can set the default case sensitivity to one of these options: Case Sensitive (aB, Ab, ab, AB differ) Example: "YT" expands to "Yours Truly", "yt" does not. Ignore Case (aB, Ab, ab, AB same) Example: either "YT" or "yt" expands to "Yours Truly" Adapt Snippet to Case of Abbreviation Example: "Yt" expands to "Yours truly", "yt" expands to "yours truly" The default case sensitivity is applied to newly-created snippets. Changing the default does not affect the snippets you have already created. You can change the case sensitivity on a per snippet basis in the main window. (See "Creating Snippets: Setting Case Sensitivity") ### Default is to expand snippet groups in You can customize which applications work with TextExpander. all applications By default, TextExpander is enabled for all applications. all applications except... Excludes specified applications from working with TextExpander. only these applications... Specifies which applications work with TextExpander exclusively. You can change this default on a per group basis in the main window. (See "Snippet Groups: Group Settings") # Options ### Capitalize new sentences The first letter after a period and a space is capitalized automatically. ### Double capitals If two capital letters are typed at the beginning of a word and a third lower case letter is typed, the second letter will be converted to lower case automatically (unless Caps Lock is on). Eliminate at sentence start Corrects double capitals at the start of a new sentence (after a period and a space.) Eliminate at word start Corrects double capitals at the start of a new word. Do not correct Turns off this feature, all double capitals are left as is. ### Correct capitalization in You can customize which applications capitalization correction works within. all applications By default, capitalization correction is enabled for all applications. all applications except... Excludes specified applications from capitalization correction. only these applications... Specifies to only correct capitalization in checked applications. # Appearance ### Show TextExpander in menu bar Here you can specify the width of the list of snippets that appears when you click on the TextExpander icon in the menu bar. You can also choose the style of the TextExpander icon itself. ### Hide TextExpander icon in Dock Check this option if you don't want TextExpander to appear in the Dock or in the task switcher. Note: If you opt to hide the TextExpander icon in the Dock, that will also hide the TextExpander main menu from view. You can still access TextExpander by choosing Open TextExpander from the TextExpander menubar icon, using the Open TextExpander hotkey, or double-clicking the TextExpander application icon in the Finder. ### Launch at Login Check this option if you want TextExpander to start up automatically when you login to your computer. ### Show main window at launch By default, TextExpander opens its main window when the application launches. If you wish the main TextExpander window to remain closed upon startup, uncheck this option. ### Display font for plain text snippets Set the font of your plain text snippets in the TextExpander window. When the snippet expands, it will take on the formatting of the text around it, regardless. ### Display font for formatted text snippets Set the font of your formatted text snippets start with. This is the font the snippet will expand with. Edit the format in the Fonts window by going to Format > Font > Show Fonts (Command +T) or by clicking on the Formatted Text button located below the Content box. # Sync If you want to sync your snippets between two or more Macs, you can do so via remote online storage using Dropbox (www.dropbox.com). For more information on setting up sync with TextExpander, see Syncing Snippets. Share groups on a local network You can share your snippets with other devices on your local network, including another Mac, iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. The device must have TextExpander installed. Note: When groups are shared, they are not synchronized, but rather copied to the other device. For more information on setting up a transfer, see Syncing Snippets. # Hotkeys To set a hotkey, click the "Push to set Hotkey" button, then press the desired hotkey combination (for example, Control + 1, Option + S). Hotkey combinations must include Control, Option, Shift and/or Command. Open TextExpander Displays the main TextExpander window. Especially useful if you have the Dock icon hidden and do not have the menubar icon displayed. Enable/Disable Expansion Useful when you want to temporarily disable TextExpander so that you can type without any expansions being triggered. Create New Snippet Opens the Create Snippet window. Enter the snippet content and abbreviation, choose a snippet group to assign it to, and click Create. Create Snippet from Selection Opens the Create Snippet window with the currently selected text as the snippet content. Create an abbreviation, choose a snippet group to assign it to, and click Create. Create Snippet from Clipboard Opens the Create Snippet window with the current content of the Clipboard as the snippet content. Create an abbreviation, choose a snippet group to assign it to, and click Create. Edit Last Expanded Snippet Opens the snippet you expanded last so that you can edit it. After you make the desired changes, click Save. Suggest Matching Abbreviations Type a couple letters of an abbreviation, and the press this hotkey combination for TextExpander to suggest possible abbreviations. This is useful if you have a large snippet library or have trouble remembering all your abbreviations. (See Expanding Snippets: Sugggest Matching Abbreviations.) Search Snippets Opens the Search Snippets window near the menu bar. # Update TextExpander uses an automatic updating service to alert you when new releases of TextExpander are available. By default, TextExpander will check daily for updates, but you can modify that to hourly, weekly or monthly. The update service also collects anonymous system profile information, which helps us better plan the ongoing development of TextExpander. If you do not wish to share this information, uncheck the box. # Backup ### Perform automatic backups of TextExpander data TextExpander can automatically create backup copies of your snippets and settings. The backups are created at the frequency you select from the accompanying popup menu (if you have made changes). If you choose not to have periodic automatic backups, TextExpander updates a single backup each time it starts up. ### Backup to folder By default TextExpander's automatic backup creates a folder called Backups inside the TextExpander folder within your [home]/Library/Application Support folder. You can specify a different location by dragging a folder to the path control, or by double-clicking the path control. ### Maximum number of backup files The oldest backup files will be deleted when the number of backup files exceeds this limit during an automatic backup. Specify "No Maximum" if you don't want any backup files automatically deleted. |
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