support

Help

TextExpander comes with extensive help resource. Look under Help for documentation and links to video tutorials. You can also view the latest Help online or download a PDF version—we frequently update the Help based on your feedback.
(TextExpander 2 Help is available here.)

FAQs

Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below. Your question might already be answered.

Can't Find Your Answer?

If you can't find the answer you need in the Help or the FAQs, send an email to TextExpander Support. SmileOnMyMac's responsive support team will answer your email as quickly as possible!

We try to answer all our support mail within 24 hours — and most of the time much sooner than that! If you've emailed us and have not had a response within 24 hours, your email may not have reached us for some reason. Please resend it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install TextExpander?

View the installation instructions.

How do I buy TextExpander?

Buy TextExpander now from our web store. To buy from within the product itself, or via fax or phone, click here for instructions.

I have more than one computer. Does a single license allow me to install on all of them?

Yes, if you are the only user of those computers. If you have multiple computers used by more than one person, you can purchase a Family Pack license, which covers 5 computers in the same household. (Click here for more information.)

What is new in TextExpander 3?

See this page for a description of the differences between TextExpander 2 and TextExpander 3. Note: TextExpander 3 requires OS X 10.6 or later

What if I don't have Mac OS X 10.6 or later?

For Mac OS X 10.4.x - 10.5.x, please download TextExpander 2.8.1.
For Mac OS X 10.3.9, please download TextExpander 1.3.1.
For PowerPC G3 support on Mac OS X 10.4.x - 10.5.x, please download TextExpander 2.5.

How do I choose an abbreviation for my snippet?

A good abbreviation is:
- short
- easy to remember
- unlikely to be typed by accident
- unique
Duplicating an abbreviations first character (ddate, ssig, zzip) is one way of creating abbreviations that meet these critieria.

Can I import my snippets and abbreviations from another text expansion software program?

Yes, TextExpander can import from Textpander and TypeIt4Me (v2 & 3), and SpellCatcher shorthand files (exported in XML format).

1. Choose File > Add Group from File... from the menu.
2. Find the snippet file that you want to import as a snippet group.
3. Click Open.

Typinator does not use an open standard format for its snippet files; it is therefore not possible to import Typinator snippets into TextExpander or any other program.

Is TextExpander a keylogger? Is TextExpander a safety risk? Are you spying on me?

While TextExpander does indeed log keystrokes, these keystrokes are never saved or sent anywhere. Moreover, TextExpander empties its cache whenever you type the spacebar. Thus, TextExpander hardly ever remembers more than 20 characters of what you most recently typed. Using TextExpander does not compromise your privacy.

Why does TextExpander force me to enable access for assistive devices?

For privacy reasons (see above), Mac OS X does not allow third-party applications (such as TextExpander) to log keystrokes, unless access for assistive devices is turned on.

How do I enable access for assistive devices?

Go to the System Preferences and activate the Universal Access preference pane, the one with the little person in front of a blue background. Once you're there, check the box "Enable for assistive devices."

I want TextExpander to expand when I type a specific delimiter character after my abbreviation. Which characters are delimiters?

Delimiters are [Space], [Tab], [Return], [Esc] as well as over 30 other characters such as period, comma, slash, backslash, brackets, and tilde. Go to Preferences > Expansion and click "Set Delimiters" to see all available delimiters.

What happens to the delimiter after the abbreviation is expanded?

In Preferences > Expansion, the menu "Expand abbreviations:" has two choices for delimiter behavior:
- at delimiter (keep delimiter)
- at delimiter (abandon delimiter)
(To override this setting for a specific snippet, add a "Keep delimiter" specifier ("%+", without the surrounding quotation marks) or an "Abandon delimiter" specifier ("%-") to the very end of your snippet.)

How do I prevent expansion of an abbreviation?

Type left arrow then right arrow in the middle of the abbreviation. The arrow keys clear the key log and thus prevent snippet expansion. Another option is to set a hotkey to disable TextExpander in Preferences > Hotkeys.

How do I synchronize my snippets on multiple computers?

If you use MobileMe or Dropbox, you can sync your snippets. Go to Preferences > Sync and choose the online storage service you are using.

Where are my TextExpander settings stored?

[Home]/Library/Application Support/TextExpander/Settings.textexpander

How do I restore my TextExpander settings with Time Machine?

Search for the Settings.textexpander file in Time Machine, and then you can restore it.

How do I reset TextExpander?

Just trash the Settings.textexpander file.

Can TextExpander insert math symbols?

If you use math symbols a lot, and rely on the Edit->Special Character... palette, you can save time by setting up TextExpander for the commonly used symbols. So, for example:
llar to →
llla to λ
llGa to Γ
llth to ⊢
(ll stands for latex. Thanks to Alan Schmitt for this suggestion).

Why do percentage signs (%) in my snippet text not appear when it is expanded?

The percentage sign (%) is a special character to TextExpander. It is used to indicate that date, time, or other information should be substituted at that point in your snippet.

How can I use a percentage sign (%) in my snippet?

Simply double-up on percentage signs which appear in your snippet. For example, if you want your snippet text to be "50% discount", enter it as "50%% discount".

What are the special symbols recognized by TextExpander?

%Y Date: Year: 4 digits (2006)
%y Date: Year: 2 digits (06)
%B Date: Month: long name (January)
%b Date: Month: short name (Jan)
%m Date: Month: 2 digits (01)
%1m Date: Month: 1-2 digits (1)
%A Date: Day: long name (Monday)
%a Date: Day: short name (Mon)
%d Date: Day: 2 digits (01)
%e Date: Day: 1 digit (1)

%H Time: Hour: 24 hour clock, 2 digits (14)
%I Time: Hour: (capital letter i) 12 hour clock, 2 digits (09)
%1H Time: Hour: 24 hour clock, 1-2 digits (9)
%1I Time: Hour: (capital letter i) 12 hour clock, 1-2 digits (5)
%M Time: Minute: 2 digits (09)
%1M Time: Minute: 1-2 digits (9)
%S Time: Second: 2 digits (05)
%1S Time: Second: 1-2 digits (5)

%snippet:% : insert abbreviation here

%clipboard : insert clipboard contents here

%| : (shift-\) position cursor here once snippet is pasted
%> : cursor right
%< : cursor left
%^ : (shift-6) cursor up
%v : (letter v) cursor down
%+ : keep delimiter
%- : abandon delimiter

I started using Quicken and now TextExpander snippets don't expand. Why not?

There is a conflict between the Quicken Scheduler and all keylogger programs, including TextExpander. When the Quicken Scheduler is running, expansions can't be triggered via the keyboard, but can still be accessed via the TextExpander menu.

Does TextExpander work with Java, X11, and/or Parallels?

Not at this time. Mac OS X's assistive devices key logging does not support these environments. TextExpander relies on assistive devices key logging to capture keystrokes and so does not work in these environments. We continue to explore ways we might support these environments in a future version of TextExpander.

Will TextExpander run on my PowerPC G3 machine, such as a white iBook?

TextExpander 2.5 is the last version of TextExpander which will run on the PowerPC G3. This is because TextExpander 2.5.1 and later include 64-bit support, and such support cannot live in an executable package which also runs on the PowerPC G3.

How do I uninstall TextExpander?

TextExpander 3.x
1) Delete the TextExpander application from the Applications folder.
2) Delete the TextExpander settings file here:
[Home]/Library/Application Support/TextExpander/Settings.textexpander

TextExpander 2.x
1) Go to TextExpander's preference pane in System Preferences and uncheck "Enable TextExpander" in the Preferences tab.
2) Choose "Show All" in System Preferences.
3) Control-click on the TextExpander icon and select "Remove TextExpander Preference Pane" from the resulting contextual menu.

I've lost my serial number. How can I get it again?

Use the handy online serial number lookup.