7 Best aText Tips Tricks and Hidden Features
One of the few apps I use frequently on my computer is atext expander app, aText. It lets you add text, images, and multimedia to abbreviations. So you don’t have to type the same thing (like your email or address) again and again, rather you can just use the abbreviation and let aText expand it for you. If you are already using aText, you’re probably having fun discovering new favorites. But if you’re looking to get the most out of the app, here are some helpful tips and tricks.
If you still haven’t installed it, here is a step by step guide onhow to get started with aText.
Table of Contents
aText Tips & Tricks
1. Image Insert
While there is no shortage ofChrome extensionsthat let you add email signatures on Gmail, I prefer aText for this.
I canadd a text, an image, and even a quoteas my signature. So if I love using a signature at the end of all my emails and I have a choice, why not getmore efficientwith theaText.
All you have to do iscreate a snippetand scroll to make the property as” Picture”. The simply upload a picture that you’d like to reflect as a signature. Do keep in mind to keep the resolution of the image to small as it’ll reflect the same on Gmail.
How efficient?
2. Password Protection (Windows only)
I often have to put my address and banking details on the web, and I use aText to store all that sensitive data. To restrict any misuse of the information I often put apasswordto access the app. It’s very simple to set up. There is ashield iconon thetop toolbarfrom where you canset a new password.
When you close the app, it still runs in the background so you’ll have to close the app running in the background as well. Now, whenever you open the app it’ll ask for a password. You must notice that you’re able to change the password by entering the old password.
In case youforget the passwordyou can still take a back up but that’ll still be encrypted, either try remembering your password or be ready to lose the data.
3. Add a HyperLink
I always wished I could find a way I couldcreate a hyperlinkso that I could eliminate the use of.com. Well here’s how to do it in aText. You might have done it already but for those who are alien to this, justcreate a snippet and choose Rich Text.Nextclick on the link icon.
You can choose the link you want to open and also the text you want to create a hyperlink on. Then choose if you want the link to be opened in a new window or not andclick insert link.This will create a hyperlink that you can add anywhere.
ForMac, it’s slightly different. Simply make a snippet write the text. Thenchange the format from plain text to formatted text, picture.Select the text that you want to make clickable through the hyperlink.Right-click, go to insert andselect add link. Now add the link you want the text to redirect to.And you’re done.
4. Dictionary (Windows only)
Another feature that is ignored by most of the users is Dictionary. aText provides you withdictionariesso you don’t have to keep correcting your spelling errors. It has alist of common errorsthat we make during typing and is used as snippets in aText.
While this dictionarycan’t be modifiedand isread-onlyyou can make another group of snippets as your personal dictionary filled with words that you mostly spell wrong.
You can find the dictionary in the aText menu underbuilt-in snippets.There are two built-in English dictionaries and more in other languages.
5. Sync with Google Drive
I don’t always carry around my laptop. When I’m using the office laptop, it gets really frustrating to import or manually put snippets again. An easy solution is to sync. aText gives you the option to sync with various drives likeOne Drive, DropBox, Google Drive etc.Further, you can link their respective folders to start syncing.
You have to select between the installed sync service on your computer or a shared network folder.
6. Hotkeys
These are basicallyshortcutsto let you cut through typing the entire thing. You canassign custom hotkeysfor selected operations. For example, you can assign a shortcut to enable or disable aText, make snippet from the clipboard, expand only after the hotkey is pressed, etc.
These Hotkeys are system-wide and will work with any application or browser that you’re using.
7. Prefix, Upper Lower Case Distinction
This is how I differentiate my work and I feel it saves time. I’ve segregated my work and personal abbreviation. So everything has a prefix. In myworkgroup abbreviations,all snippets start with a “w”. So say I’ve to save adraft reply email.I’d write“wreply”. If it would’ve been mypersonal mail replyit wound be“preply” (personal prefix is p)so rather than searching for an entirely different keyword I simply will make the distinction with the prefix.
Alternatively, aText gives the option toadd a prefix to the entire group. So, all you’ve to do is assign a prefix to the entire group rather than manually using it with every snippet.
You can also use upper/lower case for making the same distinction.
Closing Words
Text Expander Apps are already convenient and aText adds a bit more functionality with the use of password protection, dictionaries, hotkeys, etc. All these are some of the ways I try and make my workflow efficient. Try these out and let me know how it works for you
Vaibhav is a broadcast journalist with a keen interest in tech. He doesn’t believe in fanboying a specific product. He writes about things he believes are actually helpful in some way to the user.
