I use the system expansion as much as I can, since that works on all platforms.
On the mac I’ve recently moved all snippets from TE to Keyboard Maestro.
My “non-system” snippets mainly deal with data math, creating UID’s and work related templates.
Also: For my work using KM is essential since our Citrix implementation does not allow pasting text, but it does allow typing, so I use the “paste by typing” option a lot.
I use RocketTypist and have collected a large amount of text blocks with longer replies to my freelance clients in multiple languages. Most of them use smart inserts. The most common ones are dates (“in 14 days (20th of July 2021)”, the date is calculated) or the recipient’s names (usually from my clipboard). RocketTypist will ask me a bunch of questions in pop-up form and then paste the compiled text accordingly. For mails it is useful that I can use rich text to beautify links and occasionally bolden/italicize a world in my text.
At my jobby-job a lot of long mail addresses and URLs are used for our internal services. If I need to refer someone to a colleague or point them to a specific site, I will also use text expansion by filtering the results box of RocketTypist’s search. It works similarly to Alfred’s fuzzy search. I have both full textual reply blocks with brief explainers, as well as individual shortcuts that only expand the mail address/URL. Those also work as short command phrases that replace my typed text in-line in the editor without any pop-up (similar to the macOS built-in text exp. feature). Those usually start with the prefix ;... like ;mailxyz for a mail address of person xyz). I keep various mail addresses (my own and common colleagues or functional addresses), as well as URLs and also email signatures and closing salutations in it. I manage them in RocketTypist to have a GUI to comfortably edit them and also have the option to browse if I can’t remember the in-line text command. Examples:
;bestb (b for brief: would be expanded to a brief “Best + my name” salutation);bests (s for signature: would do the same + an added signature, which is required at the work place)But I also use RocketTypist to expand note and journal entry templates (markdown syntax).
However, I also use the macOS built-in text replacement engine if I do not need to use the search feature of RocketTypist. I split the two, because those common phrases would clutter my search results in RocketTypist. Typing those commands instead of words and phrases has become muscle memory. There are a few common and workplace-specific abbreviations. Acronyms like asap or imo, but also workplace lingo (with the ; prefix) for example or ;pc for “profit center”, as well as common English words like nec. to “necessary”, prev./prevly. to “previous”/“previously” etc. The same goes for phrases like “thanks a lot in advance” (talia). It essentially is my own shorthand.
Never heard of kitty before - looks pretty cool, and the name is (of course) fantastic, especially that the “plugins” are called “kittens”. As a long time iTerm user, I am not sure I could switch, but I will be checking this out! Thanks for the link!
I use +sun for next Sunday’s date in this format: 2021-07-11
and +SUN for: July 11th, 2021
and -sun for 2021-07-04
and -SUN for July 4th, 2021
I also use a signature which is multi-line and Markdown formatted.
I have them for home and work addresses as a block, and I have them for phone numbers which insert them emulating typing with [tab] after the area code and then after the prefix.
I also sync them using Keyboard Maestro and Typinator, so I have them instantly the same on all my computers. I have found macOS and iOS’ built-in expansion to be not great at syncing, and not even great at deleting. I have replace ‘omw’ as ‘On my way’ about 1,000 times, but iOS still wants to make it “On my way!” and I don’t need or want that exclamation point.
If I can’t trust text expansion in a little thing like a ! how can I trust it with anything more significant?
Interesting… I’ve been impressed by how it has synced nicely between all my Apple devices.
So you’re using Typinator as your main expansion app?
I use Typinator for:
Stephen
Nice and interesting list! 
Could you explain this further? Syncing what/how? Includes your iOS computers? Thx
My use of native text expansion (/replacement?) on i(Pad)OS is actually quite light. I’ve had a couple of moments where I’ve thought to make better use of it, and added a raft of keywords and phrases, but few of them actually stick. Looking at my set-up, there’s a ton of cruft in there, but I only really consistently use a couple of “slash commands” for emoji e.g. “/wink”, and a keyword for my primary email address.
Before I started using iPads for so much of what I do, I used to appreciate TextExpander; now, on i(Pad)OS I use LazyBoard instead (I’ve mentioned it elsewhere). Now THAT, I use all the time. It’s like a lite-r version of TextExpander, but I far prefer the way it works, given iOS’s limitations.
Thinking about it, it functions more like a custom keyboard than a text replacement tool. I use it for:
I journal with a snippet. I use it in Drafts and it pops up a massive fii-in snippet with drop down menus for my daily physical activities, the food I ate at each meal, what I read, what tutorials I watched or books I studied divided into 4 optional parts for two foreign langauges, programming, or adobe., then an optional miscellaneous field set for thoughts, other stuff I did, etc.
I then send it to DayOne then add any photos or graphics I need.
I’m using Typinator and that is the one I use all the time. I’ve added a trailing underscore to mine to malke it YYYY-MM-DD_ since I most often use it as part of a filename and all new filenames are Unix compatible with no spaces in them.
I use text expander for things like my date, my name, and for the class I teach. One snippet for teaching is about three sentences describing how to get a free writing tutor. I have a two key combination that says “You did a great job on this assignment.” It’s all little things, but saves two or three hours per month (according to my monthly text expander report).
I’ve switched over to Alfred for my text expansion. Because I get a lot of “sales inquiries” I have a snippet for those that may have value but need to be redirected to others. Otherwise, I mark the emails as junk never to be seen again.
Here is the referral snippet:
Dear ,
Thank you for your email and interest in serving WCA. The appropriate person to contact is [Name] who serves as our [title]. I have copied [him/her] on this email so that [he/she] can respond to your inquiry.
Please feel free to remove me from your email distribution list.
Thank you again for your interest in serving WCA.
Here is what my (textexpander) Daily Summary journal entry looks like. Its a little long so I needed two screenshots but it is one snippet. This formats a nice daily summary and a Drafts action sends it to DayOne. I can then add photos or anything else needed. The drop down menus contain a wealth of text options so I very rarely need to type anything. Fill-in snippets are really powerful so thats why I requested that the DEVONthink developers add full TE support to iOS.
Impressive. No wonder TE crashes when you ask so much of it. 
(Just joking!)
Yup. Switched a little over a year ago, works great and no subscription. Also no iOS app, but so few apps support TextExpander anymore it no longer makes a big deal.
Don’t give up all hope yet. We still have full iOS TE support in:
Drafts
Omnifocus
Fantastical
Byword
and DEVONtech is rewriting the text editor in DEVONthink so I am hoping for some goodies there in the near future
I use TextExpander. At work, I have a lot of check lists for things like adding equipment to our network, configuring a VOIP phone, etc. This is my most valuable trick, standard check lists mean I don’t miss things and need to go back and do rework later. This is also one thing that makes TE worth paying for: cross platform syncing and support.
At home and work, I use it for journal prompts, and date math (I use MacSparky’s TextExpander Snippets — MacSparky to get things like “Tomorrow” and “Next Monday” back as dates. Those are magic.
When I was job hunting, some years ago, I used a parameterized TE snipped to send thank you letters within minutes of ending a job interview.
When a new employee gets remote access, I send them an email customized with their user name and the name of their workstation filled in, not just a generic “Your Name Here” email. Many of my colleagues chose a career involving work with autistic children, and never expected to need to learn the ins and outs of VPNs and Remote Desktop sessions, so I need to reduce every bit of friction I can for them.
I’ve seen complaints from some people on the forum about TE being unstable, but I’ve been using it for close to a decade and never had any issues.
I use TextExpander all day long. Here are some good use cases for me. I work as a tour manager for a band. Part of that is my booking all the travel etc. Having to enter in Frequent flyer numbers, passport numbers, Trusted traveler numbers etc. I made snippets for the 15-20 people in our bubble’s numbers. So, if we have someone named John Smith, then:
JSUA = John Smith United Number
JSDL = John Smith Delta Number
JSPP = John Smith Passport Number
JSTT = John Smith Trusted Traveller Number
I am booking hundreds of flights every week, and this saves me loads of time.
Same with doing gig advances, peoples phone numbers, schedules, payrolls, all of it is snippeted now, and well worth the effort.
Very interesting approach. Thanks for sharing!
