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TextExpander has always been straddling the markets of "casual consumer with $20 to spend on an app that reduces pain" and "professional customer willing to spe

TextExpander has always been straddling the markets of "casual consumer with $20 to spend on an app that reduces pain" and "professional customer willing to spend $199 to reduce major time costs." It looks like they've decided to focus on their professional customers... I hope that this works out well for them. As someone who doesn't need $5/month of TextExpander services, this also leaves me in the market for a new solution.

LaSombra 11y ago
Yeah... that's how I discovered aText, http://www.trankynam.com/atext http://www.trankynam.com/atext, and I've been quite happy with it. It definitely scratches my itches.
- kstrauser 11y ago
  Likewise, and it imports TextExpander macros (although you still have to tweak them if you use things like fields). I have no affiliation with the aText guy except as a happy customer. I've been recommending it to my friends as a migration path off TextExpander because it works for me, but it may not work for you. It has a free time-limited demo, though, so it's easy enough to find out.
slantyyz 11y ago
>> As someone who doesn't need $5/month of TextExpander services, this also leaves me in the market for a new solution. But presumably you can continue to use the pre-SAAS version of the software, right? At least until it stops working because of OS changes, etc.
wlesieutre 11y ago
Try http://alternativeto.net/software/textexpander/?platform=mac http://alternativeto.net/software/textexpander/?platform=mac for potential options
steveax 11y ago
Give Keyboard Maestro [1] by Stairways Software (headed by Peter Lewis, author of Anarchie) a try. No connection, just a happy user. [1]: https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/ https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/
- jaymzcampbell 11y ago
  Just to chip in as another very happy user of Keyboard Maestro here - I have been using it for text expansion as well as more general macros and it has made switching to a Mac full time a pleasure. Combined with Alfred it takes 'power user' to another level. I use it for as much friviolous stuff as serious things (http://i.imgur.com/YgE82eP.png http://i.imgur.com/YgE82eP.png) - having never used TextExpander, I've not had any problems with the text replacements. It's possible to open dialogs and very quickly make UIs too for more involved stuff.
  - kstrauser 11y ago
    Does Keyboard Maestro support text fields where it prompts you for input before sending the completion? For instance, TextExpander and aText let you write something like: :foo expands to Dear [name], thank you for buying our stuff. We like you, [name]! Then, when you type ":foo", it prompts you for "name" and fills out the template with "name" inserted everywhere it's mentioned. This is enormously useful for form letter types of things, or even more esoteric uses like expanding HTML tags ("<[tag]>[content]</[tag]>").
    - bosie 11y ago
      You can use prompts in the macro, save it to a variable and use the variable in the text it pastes/types.
    - sirn 11y ago
      It's not as straightforward as TextExpander or aText, but it's possible to do so in Keyboard Maestro. The macro: http://imgur.com/1oIhtJm.png http://imgur.com/1oIhtJm.png The prompt: https://imgur.com/esJt4gM.png https://imgur.com/esJt4gM.png Keyboard Maestro macros consist of a trigger and an action. In the above example, I used the Typed String trigger to detect when "hhi" is typed then execute an action to create a prompt and paste the text with content from that prompt.
metafunctor 11y ago
I've heard good things about PhraseExpander [1]. Disclosure: built by a friend of mine. [1]: http://www.phraseexpander.com/ http://www.phraseexpander.com/
jpwgarrison 11y ago
> leaves me in the market for a new solution. Reluctantly, I will be looking too. We use linux at work and I have been using https://github.com/autokey/autokey https://github.com/autokey/autokey there, but it is a little abandoned. I have to restart it with a cron job every 10 minutes, but it is fine otherwise.

LaSombra 11y ago

Yeah... that's how I discovered aText, http://www.trankynam.com/atext http://www.trankynam.com/atext, and I've been quite happy with it. It definitely scratches my itches.

kstrauser 11y ago
Likewise, and it imports TextExpander macros (although you still have to tweak them if you use things like fields). I have no affiliation with the aText guy except as a happy customer. I've been recommending it to my friends as a migration path off TextExpander because it works for me, but it may not work for you. It has a free time-limited demo, though, so it's easy enough to find out.

slantyyz 11y ago

>> As someone who doesn't need $5/month of TextExpander services, this also leaves me in the market for a new solution. But presumably you can continue to use the pre-SAAS version of the software, right? At least until it stops working because of OS changes, etc.

wlesieutre 11y ago

Try http://alternativeto.net/software/textexpander/?platform=mac http://alternativeto.net/software/textexpander/?platform=mac for potential options

steveax 11y ago

Give Keyboard Maestro [1] by Stairways Software (headed by Peter Lewis, author of Anarchie) a try. No connection, just a happy user. [1]: https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/ https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/

jaymzcampbell 11y ago
Just to chip in as another very happy user of Keyboard Maestro here - I have been using it for text expansion as well as more general macros and it has made switching to a Mac full time a pleasure. Combined with Alfred it takes 'power user' to another level. I use it for as much friviolous stuff as serious things (http://i.imgur.com/YgE82eP.png http://i.imgur.com/YgE82eP.png) - having never used TextExpander, I've not had any problems with the text replacements. It's possible to open dialogs and very quickly make UIs too for more involved stuff.
- kstrauser 11y ago
  Does Keyboard Maestro support text fields where it prompts you for input before sending the completion? For instance, TextExpander and aText let you write something like: :foo expands to Dear [name], thank you for buying our stuff. We like you, [name]! Then, when you type ":foo", it prompts you for "name" and fills out the template with "name" inserted everywhere it's mentioned. This is enormously useful for form letter types of things, or even more esoteric uses like expanding HTML tags ("<[tag]>[content]</[tag]>").
  - bosie 11y ago
    You can use prompts in the macro, save it to a variable and use the variable in the text it pastes/types.
  - sirn 11y ago
    It's not as straightforward as TextExpander or aText, but it's possible to do so in Keyboard Maestro. The macro: http://imgur.com/1oIhtJm.png http://imgur.com/1oIhtJm.png The prompt: https://imgur.com/esJt4gM.png https://imgur.com/esJt4gM.png Keyboard Maestro macros consist of a trigger and an action. In the above example, I used the Typed String trigger to detect when "hhi" is typed then execute an action to create a prompt and paste the text with content from that prompt.

metafunctor 11y ago

I've heard good things about PhraseExpander [1]. Disclosure: built by a friend of mine. [1]: http://www.phraseexpander.com/ http://www.phraseexpander.com/

jpwgarrison 11y ago

> leaves me in the market for a new solution. Reluctantly, I will be looking too. We use linux at work and I have been using https://github.com/autokey/autokey https://github.com/autokey/autokey there, but it is a little abandoned. I have to restart it with a cron job every 10 minutes, but it is fine otherwise.