Major Issues
Privacy Issues
Other
If your question isn't answered below please check out the frequently asked questions on the web. E-mail us if you still need help after that.
Q: I have entered an abbreviation. Why is it not replaced by the corresponding snippet?
A: Let me ask you a few questions...
•
|
Could TextExpander be waiting for a delimiter character? The Expand automatically when... setting in the Preferences section of TextExpander's preference pane will tell you. (Click here to learn more about this setting.)
|
•
|
Did you move your mouse while typing the abbreviation? TextExpander starts checking for an abbreviation from the beginning again as soon as you move your mouse.
|
•
|
Does the snippets list in TextExpander's preference pane display the abbreviation in question with a red background? If so, then there's something wrong with it.
|
•
|
Are you trying to use TextExpander from within System Preferences? To ensure trouble-free abbreviation editing, TextExpander ignores your keystrokes when System Preferences is the frontmost application.
|
•
|
Is access for assistive devices enabled? (See below for information on access for assistive devices.)
|
•
|
Is TextExpander enabled? Check the Enable TextExpander switch in the upper left corner of TextExpander's preference pane.
If TextExpander appears to have crashed, please e-mail us your crash log, which is located in your home folder under Library/Logs/CrashReporter/textexpanderd.crash.log.
|
If you still cannot get TextExpander to work, then please contact us via e-mail.
Q: TextExpander keeps overwriting snippets (at least partially) when I enter two abbreviations consecutively. What can I do?
A: Follow these steps:
1.
|
Go to TextExpander's preference pane and disable TextExpander.
|
2.
|
Quit System Preferences.
|
3.
|
Open TextExpander's settings file at "/Users/(your user account)/Library/Application Support/TextExpander/Settings.TextExpander". You'll be confronted with a standard XML file.
|
4.
|
Search for the first <dict> tag.
|
5.
|
Enter the following two lines just below that <dict> tag:
<key>Always Select By Character</key>
<true/>
|
6.
|
Compare the first lines of your settings file with the following lines. They should be the same:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
"http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Always Select By Character</key>
<true/>
...
|
7.
|
Save TextExpander's settings file.
|
8.
|
Go to TextExpander's preference pane and enable TextExpander.
|
Background info: this is not the default behavior because selecting the whole word is much faster. The longer your abbreviations are, the more you'll notice the difference.
Q: Using TextExpander crashes the application I'm currently working in. What can I do?
A: Try switching the Restore clipboard after inserting snippets setting off in the Preferences section of TextExpander's preference pane. Please contact us via e-mail if this happens, and let us know which application it happened in.
Q: Is TextExpander a keylogger? / Is TextExpander a safety risk? / Are you spying on me?
A: While TextExpander does indeed log keystrokes, these keystrokes are never saved or sent anywhere. Moreover, TextExpander empties its cache whenever you type white-space. Thus, TextExpander hardly ever remembers more than 20 characters of what you most recently typed.
Using TextExpander does not compromise your privacy.
Q: How does using TextExpander affect my system's stability?
A: Not at all. In contrast to competing products, TextExpander is just another application that runs in the background and listens (see above) to what you type. TextExpander is simply not capable of taking down your system.
Q: Why does TextExpander force me to enable access for assistive devices?
A: 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.
Q: How do I enable access for assistive devices?
A: Go to the System Preferences and activate the Unversal Access preference pane the one with the figure in a white white ring in front of a blue background. Once you're there, check the checkbox at the very bottom of that pane.
Q: While TextExpander is active, my keyboard shortcut for showing/hiding the dock doesn't work. Why is that?
A: The dock is supposed to respond to your releasing the command-option-d key combination (or whatever you've changed that to in System Preferences), but when TextExpander is running, the dock responds to both the key down event and the key up event, resulting in an unchanged dock status.
This is a known bug, and it's probably a bug in the OS, rather than TextExpander. The system-level functionality TextExpander uses for listening to your input seems to break this particular keyboard shortcut.
Q: If I configure TextExpander to Expand automatically when... a delimiter is typed after an abbreviation, which characters are delimiters?
A: Delimiters are [Space], [Tab], and [Return].
Q: If I configure TextExpander to Expand automatically when... a delimiter is typed after an abbreviation, how can I determine what happens to the delimiter that triggers the expansion?
A: You can do so by choosing between the Expand automatically when... a delimiter is typed after an abbreviation (keep delimiter) and Expand automatically when... a delimiter is typed after an abbreviation (abandon delimiter) expansion modes in the Preferences section of TextExpander's preference pane. 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.
Q: How can I backup my snippets?
A: There are two basic ways of doing so...
- Automatic
Add TextExpander's Application Support folder (located at "/Users/your user directory/Library/Application Support/TextExpander") to your favorite backup software's list of items to backup.
- Manual
Tell TextExpander to Save a Copy... by selecting the corresponding menu item from the pin-wheel pop-up menu just below your snippets list in TextExpander's preference pane.
Q: How can I uninstall TextExpander?
A: Follow these steps:
Go to TextExpander's preference pane in System Preferences and disable TextExpander.
Choose Show All in System Preferences.
Hold down the control key and click on the TextExpander icon. Select Remove "TextExpander" Preference Pane from the resulting contextual menu.