If you use another text expansion app like if you are an existing Textexpander customer but wants to make a switch because of its heavy price, there’s a good chance aText imports its data. I personally like the manner in which the snippets and all of my other stuff can be arranged. If you or someone you know owns a Mac and could benefit from apps like 1Password or TextExpander, you’re going to want to check out this promotion from the folks at Parallels. It’s called the Black Friday Mac App Bundle, and it can save you up to 90% on 8 top-shelf Mac apps and services.
I have been using macOS for quite some time and was looking out for a tool that would help me out with repetitive copy paste work. And the problem was that I didn’t know what such software was called. A little research and a few Google queries later I figured out these amazing little utilities called “Text Expanders.”
Text Expanders are an advanced form of the clipboard, one that does the duty of filling in tedious lines and phrases in a repetitive manner. The Text Expanders will often help you shave off a remarkable amount of time for the work. For instance, someone working in chat support can write ‘hru‘ everytime a new query comes in, and text expansion app will automatically expand it to “hello, how are you“. Texting software for mac.
In my research for best text expansion apps for macOS, I came across heaps of text expanders on App Store; While almost every text expander app for macOS is paid, they do vary a lot in terms of features, ease of use and cross-platform support. Overall, after trying and testing dozens of text expanders, I shortlisted some of the best one in this article. So, let’s check them out, shall we?
Read: Best Text Expander Apps for Windows (Free and Paid)
Best Text Expander apps for MacOS
1. Textexpander
Well, the Text Expander is often regarded as a classic text Automator and is arguably one of the best names in this business. Despite its soaring popularity, the Text Expander users were baffled when the makers moved to a subscription service and offered the same at an annual rate of $40. Other cheaper alternatives offered similar experiences at a much lower price. TextExpander lets users insert snippets of text from emails, boilerplate and other content whilst writing. The tool also lets you personalize with custom fields and powerful automation.
Pros– The features work as advertised
Cons– No more a good value for money option. Easily outrun by cheaper alternatives
Verdict- If you are looking for a text expander app that’s cross-platform, go for TextExpander. It also has an iOS app. But I feel the subscription model makes it insanely expensive.
Download TextExpander ($40/year)
2. aText
aText is marketed as a text accelerator by its makers. The aText lacks the TextExpanders interface but it does make it up when it comes to other aspects. With aText you can preset a slew of texts and other stuff that you can use as and when you want. Setting it up is effortless and thanks to the labelled fields you can easily manage your workflow. One can also setup aText to store certain phrases which will expand whenever the abbreviation that is related to them is used. Meanwhile, the auto-correction tools will help in keeping the spelling errors at bay.
Another thing I like about aText is the import and export features. If you use another text expansion app like if you are an existing Textexpander customer but wants to make a switch because of its heavy price, there’s a good chance aText imports its data
I personally like the manner in which the snippets and all of my other stuff can be arranged. Furthermore, the Snippets can be easily edited and can be synced across Mac, Dropbox and Google Drive.
Playstation 4 mac app. Pros-Easy setup
Option to organize your Snippets
Textexpander Snippet
Comprehensive automation options
Cons-Nothing
Verdict– If you are looking for an affordable text expansion app for Android with all the advanced feature, aText is you choice. But on the downside, it’s only available for macOS.
Download aText (Free 21 Days Trial/ $4.99)
3. Dash
It is always useful to take help from tools to do your repetitive tasks. Not only does this relieve you of the monotonous work but it will also help you complete work before the deadline. In a nutshell, Text Expander Apps will help you increase your efficiency.
Dash offers one of the most simplistic ways to start adding your own snippets. Dash 3 offers a set of language documentation at the side and this is something that will help you with rules and references. The tool allows you to create snippets by simply copying the phrase. Alternatively, you can also create custom snippets using keyboard commands. Dash allows users to setup variable placeholders, cursor positioning and data and time.
Dash will cost you $29.49/License each licensee is valid for one single user across multiple Macs
Pros– Archived Docsets
Tab Restoration
Sync settings across Macs
Use your iPad or iPhone as a secondary display
Dark Mode
Cons– A Steep learning curve
Verdict– If you are a developer, Dash is better suited for you.
Download Dash ($29.49/License)
4. System Preferences
Well, what if you don’t want to install a third-party app and use a native Mac text expander feature? Don’t worry the System Preferences covers it up. Apple has been offering native text expanding abilities since the Mountain Lion.
In order to set it up, go to System Preferences>Keyboard Palette and click on the Text Tab. It is here that you will be able to create expandable snippets. That being said the Text Expansion options are very basic in nature but if you want to shave some time off your writing this is a good bet. Interestingly the System Preferences also offers a Spelling check mode along with smart quotes and dashes features.
Pros– Free of cost and requires no installation.
Cons– Unlike third-party text expander like aText, which works anywhere you can type, the built-in text expansion in macOS, doesn’t work in every text input field. For example, in my testing, it didn’t work in Google Drive, but aText worked fine.
Also, don’t expect any advanced option from this build in text expansion app.
5. Keyboard Maestro
The Keyboard Maestro is an offering that is more or less designed on the lines of Text Expander. In case you are looking out for a Text Expander alternative, the Keyboard Maestro should ideally pop up first on your list. The Keyboard Maestro focusses on text expanding needs and it does it rather well. All the features including the abbreviations and the actions are customizable on a character level. The snippets can be saved at multiple levels so that none of your previous entries is overwritten. One can also add Text Tokens for macros and this eventually helps in creating calculation tables, dates, and IP addresses.
Thanks to the comprehensive level of customization one can use the piggybacking options to expand the texts in several ways. This will help the Keyboard Maestro users automate words and sentences.
If you already a Keyboard Maestro user and wants to upgrade, you can do so by paying $26 or pay $36 for a new license
Pros– High Level of customization
High focus on core Text expanding features
Cons– Lack of web interactions
The interface is a bit bland and lacks in intuitiveness
Download Keyboard Maestro ($36)
6. Alfred
Earlier on I had heard a lot about Alfred, an award-winning Text expander app for the Mac. I tried it for a couple of days and I must say it does deserve the attention it is getting. Before we begin let me clear this up, the Alfred offers a ton of nontext expander features and yet it manages to deliver on its promise. With the Alfred, Mac users can search and browse applications. The algorithm will learn how you search and fine tune the results accordingly. Alfred offers hotkeys for accessing clipboard history and also allows users to create their own snippets and expand an abbreviation into a full-text snippet.
The clipboard history supports any type of files including text, image or even individual files that you had copied earlier. I personally loved Alfred for its multi-purpose approach and strongly believe that you should give it a try as well.
Pros-Hotkeys for accessing Keyboard History
Clipboard History supports multiple file types
Create automated workflows to perform repetitive tasks
iTunes controls
Cons-None
Pricing– Free limited trial/ $26 for Single License
Wrapping it up : Which is the Best Text Expander apps for MacOS
Text Expander apps are a true saviour when it comes to handling repetitive work. I have been using Text expander apps across both Windows and Mac. Truth be told, I cannot fathom my life without these nifty little tools. I would personally suggest you try the apps before you decide to purchase.
A shout-out to Ergonis for saving me – so far – nearly four entire months of 16-hour days of my life!
Bill Thayer
Chicago, IL, USA
Typinator is the best thing since sliced bread!
Michele DeFilippo
(Book designer) Typinator is the BEST utility I have purchased in a very long time. I tested a couple of other products before purchasing yours and only Typinator was 100% rock-solid.
Hugh Nagle, Ireland I love Typinator. I have tried the others, but Typinator is the easiest – by far. It is one of four essential productivity apps I could not live without.
Michael Hyatt,
www.michaelhyatt.com
Typinator is faster and less wonky than TextExpander. Looks like I have a new macro program.
Jon Stokes,
San Francisco, CA Typinator is a killer app to save time and increase productivity! I could not think of working on my Mac without it.
Fred Colantonio
Marketing and Internet Consultant By far, the best Mac text expander I've seen. I've tried others, and Typinator easily rises to 'best in class.'
Jim Cole, Jacksonville, FL One of the most useful programs for the Mac. I use this program hundreds of times a day. It's a HUGE time-saver.
Wilma Keppel, macupdate.com I'm here to say I'm totally loyal to Typinator! I've got a real speed up coding with it and consequently more spare time.
Erik Patrick,
web developer This product is brilliant. I got so spoiled within the first hour that I can't quite figure out how I got along without it so many years.
Mary van Bronkhorst
Online Game Designer
First Mac software ever that convinced me to register after a trial period of 5 minutes. Good job!
Hans Trygve Jensen
web designer
As usual with Ergonis's products, simplicity and reliability are the watchwords.
TidBITS
- Version:8.5
- Release Date:September 18, 2020
- System Req:Mac OS X 10.8 or newer
- Languages:EN, DE, FR
- Price: 24.99 €
Have you ever experienced the tedium and frustration of having to repeatedly type your name, e-mail address, home page url, or other words or phrases again, again and again? Do you frequently need to quickly insert images like your signature, location plan, or company logo into documents? Do you often misspell words when typing?
Typinator boosts your productivity by automating the process of inserting frequently used text and graphics and auto-correcting typing errors.
With thousands of predefined corrections for common typos and misspelled words for US and British English, German and French, Typinator is not only a typing assistant that speeds repetitive typing tasks, but also a system-wide auto-correction tool that automatically fixes typing errors and misspelled words.
Setup is easy: You just define an abbreviation along with its replacement text or picture.
Usage is even easier: Whenever you type one of your abbreviations in any application, Typinator inserts the corresponding replacement.
Words cannot describe the huge benefits Typinator offers to you.
Get an impression how Typinator can boost your productivity and save you a lot of time in only three minutes by watching our new short and sweet product videos..
.. and download a fully functional trial version.
Typinator versions older than 8.2 do not work with Catalina and will refuse to launch. Typinator 8.3 includes other important improvements for Catalina. To ensure smooth transition to macOS Catalina, we therefore strongly recommend updating Typinator to version 8.5 before https://dynamicsnew982.weebly.com/mac-completely-uninstall-app-terminal.html. you install macOS Catalina on your computer.
For more information, please see our compatibility page.
If you don't own a license for Typinator 8 yet, you may purchase a license update at 50% off the regular price. If you purchase a license update now, all further minor 8.x updates are included for free.
With a new statistics mode, magic keys, integrated menu bar and many more improvements, Typinator 8 is the best text expander in town.
Typinator 8 comes with a long list of new features and improvements, which make Typinator 8 the best text expander ever.
Typinator 8 offers a new statistics mode, where you can see the usage counts for abbreviations and sets, and how long ago an abbreviation has been used most recently. You can also sort your snippets by these values, to see which abbreviations you are using frequently and which ones you may have forgotten about.
Another great new feature of Typinator 8 are Magic Keys. You can now use the modifier keys Shift, Control, Option, and Command in abbreviations, as if they were real characters. This allows you to use them as special trigger characters and offers a simple way to avoid conflicts in abbreviations.
A very slick user interface enhancement is the new 'mini menu bar' right above the expansion field, where you can find all markers and editing functions in one central place. A nice side-effect of this improvement is that the expansion field is now wider and you have more space to enter your expansions.
New is also the integration with PopChar. With PopChar 8.2 or newer installed, you can now use Typinator to search for and insert arbitrary Unicode characters by their name or Unicode number. In combination with a hotkey for Typinator's quick search, this is a great way to type arbitrary Unicode characters without taking your hands off the keyboard.
See the features page on for a short description of the most important new features and improvements. For a complete list of all the improvements in Typinator 8, please see the version history.
During the past, we could welcome many former TextExpander customers who switched to Typinator because they were unsatisfied with TextExpander and wanted a more robust and speedier solution.
Since more and more TextExpander users are now switching to Typinator, we have create a special page with helpful information for seamless migration from TextExpander to Typinator.
With Typinator 8, migration from TextExpander became even easier, as Typinator now comes with an improved import function for existing TextExpander snippets.
Read testimonials about the switching experience of former TextExpander users.
Personal productivity
- Set up a list of often used e-mail phrases, addresses and other boilerplates.
- Insert the current date and/or time in a variety of formats with a few keystrokes.
- Auto-correct commonly misspelled words across all the applications you use.
- Insert pictures, such as signatures and smilies.
Business productivity
- Create standard customer service responses.
- Acknowledge customer orders and send shipping advisories (with the current date and time automatically inserted into your standard text).
- Insert logos, product schematics, and maps.
- Auto-correct your most frequent typing errors.
Development productivity
- Create templates for code fragments, code blocks, and templates.
- Implement documentation standards.
- Define shorthands for frequently used Unix commands.
- Use the built-in HTML snippets to simplify and speed up editing of web pages.
'Typinator is one of those apps that I talk about to my non-tech friends. All of us at MacUpdate use it without fail for coding, content editing, technical support, and internal and external communications. It is lightweight and reliable, and the new feature that allows users to share ‘.tysets’ has opened up even more possibilities for how we use this powerful utility at MacUpdate.
I cannot emphasize enough how different (and terrible) my work would be without this app!'
I cannot emphasize enough how different (and terrible) my work would be without this app!'
![Textexpander Textexpander](/uploads/1/3/4/1/134141131/900614394.jpg)
- Bryan, MacUpdate Editor and Consummate Nice Guy https://dynamicsnew982.weebly.com/blog/ulysses-app-for-mac.
For more information on how to type faster, visit the Features page
Main features
- Easy to configure - simply define your abbreviations, expansions, and boilerplates in a list.
- Simple to use - just type your abbreviation and Typinator will expand it.
- Integration with PopChar lets you easily find and insert arbitrary Unicode characters.
- Powerful predefined sets: Autocorrection for English, German, and French, DOuble CApitals correction, Auto-Capitalize Sentences, Inline Calculation, Clipboard conversion, Subscripts, Superscript, HTML snippets with over 100 abbreviations for elements of the HTML standard, and more.
- Synchronization support for Dropbox
Features marked with are new in Typinator 8.
Installation
To install Typinator, download it from our downloads page. Typinator is distributed as a macOS disk image disk image (DMG).
Once you have mounted the disk image, simply double-click the Typinator icon to install and launch Typinator.
As long as you do not have a license key, you can test Typinator in TextEdit as long and as often as you wish.
When you use Typinator in other applications, it will display a registration reminder after a couple of expansions.
Textexpander Mac
Requirements
- Typinator 8 requires Mac OS X 10.8 or newer.
- For Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.7 use Typinator 7.9
- For Mac OS X 10.5 use Typinator 6.2
- For Mac OS X 10.4 use Typinator 4.5
- Typinator 8.5 or newer is recommended for macOS Catalina (10.15). IMPORTANT: Versions before 8.2 fail to launch on Catalina.
- Typinator 8.5 or newer is ready for Big Sur (macOS 11).
- For further details, see our compatibility page.
Languages
Smile Textexpander
The current version of Typinator is available in English, German, and French.
Textexpander Iphone
See also the special topics covered on our Tips pages.