A great little tool for saving time.
If you’re like me, you’re always trying to find ways to save time. I run four companies, teach workshops and seminars, have several personal projects, blog and have a wife that is constantly begging me for more of my time (and she should!). So when I come across a little gadget that can save me thousands of keystrokes a month, I give it a try.
About two months ago, I found this little application for Mac called, “Text Expander”. Now in version 3, this application allows you to type simple codes for common sentences, paragraphs or other details that you type regularly. Kind of like text messaging shorthand (i.e. bbl = be back later), only Text Expander sees that you wrote bbl and expands it to a proper form of “Be Back Later!”.
Text Expander can be used for boiler plate paragraphs or pieces of information. For example, I have “studioadr” programmed to expand to:
Our studio is located at 318 West 39th Street, 11th Floor (Between 8th & 9th Avenues), New York, New York 10018.
So I type 9 letters and Text Expander turns that into a full sentence.
Or if I type, “wresig” Text expander converts that into “Warm Regards, Kevin Michael Reed” followed by my full email signature. At this point, I have about 50 different codes programmed for standard sentences and paragraphs that I tend to type over and over again.
Just for fun, you can even see just how many characters text expander has saved you from typing and how many hours you have saved by using text expander.
Text Expander Statistics Window
It’s quick and easy to install and will start saving you time the second you program it. There’s a demo available online at www.smileonmymac.com, and it costs $34.95 once you get totally addicted to saving time.
Related articles on other sites:
- Automate the Easy Stuff (chrisbrogan.com)
- Essential utilities: text expanders (macworld.com)
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About the author
Kevin Michael Reed (Google+, Facebook) is a fashion & beauty photographer and producer/director based in New York City and Los Angeles, CA. He is the President/CEO of RedFOG Visual Media, a production company in New York City, and a partner in Passion of Photography, Inc, a company dedicated to teaching photographers and sharing our passion through charitable causes. Kevin has lectured and hosted workshops throughout the United States and the world teaching photographers the business and creative sides of photography. (Kevin's Fashion & Beauty Photography Portfolio can be seen here).
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