How it works
- Set the abbreviation, up to 40 characters with no spaces, and the replacement text; leave the replacement empty to keep what you typed and just run the routine.
- By default it fires after a space, Enter, Tab or punctuation, or you can make it fire as soon as the last character is typed.
- The replacement follows your capitals, so Btw gives "By the way" and BTW gives "BY THE WAY"; advanced options control case sensitivity, matching inside longer words, and which characters end an abbreviation.
- Nothing happens in password fields, and only the last few characters are kept in memory to spot a match; nothing else you type is stored or passed on.
Routines that use it
Email sign-off
Typing @@sig replaces itself with your full name, title and phone number in any app.
Today's date
Typing @@date with no replacement runs a routine where Format date and Type text insert today's date.
Start a routine by typing
Typing @@focus in any window runs Show desktop and turns on Quiet mode, no hotkey to remember.
Settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | What you type, for example btw. Up to 40 characters, no spaces. |
| Replacement | Text typed in its place. Leave empty to keep what you typed and just run the routine. |
| Ending | Run after a space, Enter or punctuation, or as soon as the last letter is typed. |
| Case sensitiveadvanced | Only when the capitals match exactly (BTW is different from btw). |
| Match caseadvanced | Type the replacement with the capitals you used: Btw gives By the way, BTW gives BY THE WAY. |
| Inside wordsadvanced | Also when it ends a longer word. |
| Keep ending characteradvanced | Put the space or punctuation you ended with back after the replacement. |
| Ending charactersadvanced | The characters that end an abbreviation. Leave empty for space, Enter, Tab and punctuation. |
Good to know
- It pauses while a protected game is running.
- Clicking somewhere else in the same window doesn't reset what it has seen, so an abbreviation split across a click can still match.
Questions
- How do I set up text expansion on Windows 11?
- With KeyRoutines Pro, make a routine with the Typed text trigger, enter the abbreviation and the replacement text. It works in any app where you type.
- Can text expansion read my passwords?
- No. Typed text does nothing in password fields, keeps only the last few characters in memory, and never stores or sends anything else you type.