Type Less, Automate More with Text Expanders

It is no longer a computer-based world where every bit of software that we spent significant time on is based on a downloaded application. I do not know about you, but more and more of my days (both work and personal time) are spent within the constraints of my browser app. Conveniently I can keep an identical setup of bookmarks and add-ons across any computer I log into - making the browser one of the most consistent OS systems we currently use.

Just to refresh your memory on a few of the applications you may use that are browser-based (or can be):

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Sales CRM Tools (Salesforce.com, Hubspot, Zoho)
• All Google-based applications (Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Sheets, Docs, and so many more)
• Video and TV Streaming Applications (Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, YouTube TV and Music, Disney+, HBOMax and so many more)
• Microsoft Office (there are both desktop and web-based versions of all applications)

With the advent of more and more software that is based within browsers, do you ever find yourself typing the same thing over and over? Do you maybe even have a notepad type application full of commonly repeated phrases, links to resources you share a lot, and that sort of thing? Or do you just agonizingly and with great frustration, manually type in the same things over and over, wishing there was a better way? After all, web browsers and many web pages have Autofill options remembering commonly used information. Why can this software hosted in browsers also not have such great features?

Well - there are actually a couple of different Auto Text Expanders available that you can train and then use later on to insert specific text (even formatted) into any browser-based program when you need to. I have tried both of them - and have ultimately chosen one victor for my personal toolkit. As of the time of writing of this post, both were absolutely free.

Please note - there are other text expanders out there and I would love to hear about any you use. These are just the ones I can personally speak to.

The start with, there is a Google Add-On called Free Auto Text Expander for Google Chrome. It is free and very simple to use. You can easily add a shortcut that you will remember and the text that will appear when you type that shortcut into any window (say for example in an email or on Facebook or LinkedIn as a response you use frequently). You can even test your shortcuts up to make sure they work well.

This is a great method to simplify a lot of your workflow, but there is a pretty significant limitation. If you want to include hyperlinks like clickable website URLs or email addresses, images, or text formatting - unfortunately, this is not supported, even with using HTML coding snippets. However, if your goal is simple text insertions, this is a great add-on to use.

If you want to get fancier, you can use this great service called FlyMSG. FlyMSG is a free service though you do need to create an account to use it. There is a website browser for adding in "FlyCuts", and a simple extension to use these anywhere by simply typing in your shortcut. FlyCuts are your shortcuts.

Additionally, you can actually create categories of snippets you want to use - a great way to keep organized. If you need to use different branding (font, colors) for each category because you volunteer for one organization, work for another, etc - you can help keep track of that with categories.

FlyMsg has a lot of templates you can use as well - either as they are or as a guideline in creating your own FlyCuts.

Creating a FlyCut is super easy - working much like the user interfaces you are used to in Word or Google Docs.

You need to select a Flycut that you will type into a browser window or field (for example in the body of an email) and you can create a Title for simple finding later. When you create a Flycut it automatically asks which category to create it in - so sorting and organizing is seamless. You can then type, format, add color, different fonts, bold, italics or underlining, as well as pictures and hyperlinks.

When you get the text to look the way you think it should simply save the FlyCut and you can go over to Test My Flycuts and see how it looks both under Simple Text Preview and Rich Text Preview. As a quick note - simple text is for devices or email programs or software where no formatting, hyperlinks, or pictures are allowed.

The rich text allows all of those glorious fun bits you spent time on. It is really important to ensure your Flycuts work and look good for both versions because not everyone allows rich text.

So - Flycuts has been a part of my toolkit for a while now. It has saved me a lot of time and energy across different websites and applications. Here are a few ways I use FlyCuts:

• I can have specific snippets to enable me to have different email signatures for the different organizations I volunteer for.
• I can have a branding correct work signature for those times I need to send out information outside of my work network.
• I keep long and short bios (a few different versions of each) available for quick send out when requested for speaking, volunteer profiles, etc.)
• Quick responses for LinkedIn networking, post responses, etc.
• Commonly used URLs to websites and resources that I sent out regularly

There are a lot of other things but you get the point. Honestly - to date I have not found anything that I really find limiting or troublesome with Flycuts - except that I cannot remember all of the Flycut names so I have to maintain a list printed out at my desk. I guess that tells you how much I actually use it!

Do you use a text expander? Which one? What do you like and don't like? I would love to hear from you!