TextExpander logo TextExpander Smile logo
 

Help: Guided Tour: Menu Bar Item

The TextExpander icon appears in the menu bar by default. Clicking the icon provides a convenient way to:

  • Search Snippets
    Type a few letters into the search field and all the matching snippets are presented.

    Click on a snippet to insert it. If you prefer not to use a mouse, press return or tab to move into the results list. Once there, use up and down arrow keys to navigate the list. Press return to insert the selected snippet.

  • Open TextExpander
    Reveal TextExpander's main window.
    (If you choose to hide TextExpander in the Dock (see Preferences: Appearance), TextExpander's Main Window is also hidden.)

  • Enable/Disable Expansion
    Useful when you want to temporarily disable TextExpander so that you can type without any expansions being triggered.

  • Create New Snippet...
    Opens the Create Snippet window. Enter the snippet content and abbreviation, choose a snippet group to assign it to, and click Create.

  • Create Snippet from Selection...
    Opens the Create Snippet window with the currently selected text as the snippet content. Create an abbreviation, choose a snippet group to assign it to, and click Create.

  • Create Snippet from Clipboard...
    Opens the Create Snippet window with the current content of the Clipboard as the snippet content. Create an abbreviation, choose a snippet group to assign it to, and click Create.

  • Edit Last Expanded Snippet...
    Opens the snippet you expanded last so that you can edit it. After you make the desired changes, click Save.

  • View all your snippets
    All your snippet groups are accessible from the TextExpander menu bar item.

Many of these menu items can be used with hotkeys.

The appearance of the TextExpander icon varies to indicate expansion status. If the icon is gray, expansion is disabled.

If a yellow triangle appears on top of the icon, expansion is blocked by some other application which has enabled Secure Event Input. Click on the TextExpander icon in the menubar and examine the Enable/Disable Expansion menu item to see which application appears to have enabled Secure Input. You can read more about Secure Event Input and TextExpander on this web page.

 

 
 
© 2006-2014 SmileOnMyMac, LLC, dba Smile. All rights reserved.
TextExpander is a registered trademark, Smile and the Smile logo are trademarks of SmileOnMyMac, LLC, dba Smile.