Texter: Wordy magic

My new favourite thing is text replacement. Just typing those words, I made the same typo I always make: M and N being so close to each other on the keyboard, I always end up with '-mnet'. Some other mistakes that are, for me, as inevitable as Windows crashing include 'avergae' and 'thta'. So I added those typos to a list of text-substitution triggers in the very clever Texter, and my wonky-fingered word-mangling automatically corrects itself.

Texter converts user defined-key combinations, or 'hotstrings', into preset chunks of text. Word does this too, but with Texter you can type these short codes in any program and your desired text appears automatically.

Most people use certain words and phrases with great regularity. I have hotstrings for each camera manufacturer: Fuji for Fujifilm, Fufi for Fujifilm FinePix and so on. Although this doesn't seem like much of a time-saving, the number of times that I type -- or frequently, mistype -- manufacturers' names, my own name, my phone number, and phrases such as 'image stabilisation' mean that I'm saving a good deal of time as the day adds up. Longer messages include email signatures or requests for high-resolution product shots, so when I type 'PRshot' a two-paragraph message appears instantly.

How do you stop Texter replacing an inadvertent use of hotstrings? Simply ensure that the key combinations are unique, such as 'nname' or 'imgs' to trigger 'Richard Trenholm' or 'image stabilisation'. To remember your hotstrings, you can print out a list until they become second nature. For advanced users, you can also perform bits of common scripting with Texter.

Texter is free from LifeHacker. Mac users can use TextExpander, and Linux users can try Snippits. It's magic, I tell you.