8592 I try to not load up my Mac with too many system utilities and add-ons, but one that I just can't live without is a text macro utility that lets you type short abbreviations of frequently used words or phrases, or even sentences, paragraphs, and pictures, and automatically expand them to their full length. It's a big time-saver and also can cut down radically on keystrokes for those of us who struggle with typing pain.

Happily for Mac-users, there is a range of alternatives to choose from in this software category from Riccardo Ettore's venerable TypeIt4Me which has been around since 1989, to the newer FastFox, TextExpander, and Typinator, from the Austrian developer Ergonis Software GmbH which is the subject of this review. You just have to imagine that Austrian expatriate and now California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger's nickname had something to do with choosing a handle for this application!

I'm generally a fan of European software. My favorite browser is Opera (Norwegian) and I've ben a longtime fan of the German iCab as well. For that matter, TypeIt4Me, which has long been a standby on my hard drive, is British, but the Teutonic apps. tend to have a precision "feel" about them -- sort of like operating the switchgear or closing the door of a BMW or Mercedes-Benz automobile. Typinator doesn't disappoint in that regard. I've been using TypeIt4Me for years, and it's been great, but after a couple of weeks using Typinator, my evaluation is that TypeIt4Me has some stiff competition from the Austrians.

Installation of Typinator was simple and straightforward, and happily there are Import and Export commands in Typinator’s menu with which you can import your macro files from Textpander, TextExpander and TypeIt4Me. Typinator lets you arrange abbreviations in multiple sets, so the set I keep selected most of the time is my imported library of TypeIt4Me macros accumulated over many years. You can import and export sets for sharing them with others by simply dragging them from the set list to the Finder or drag a set files from the Finder into the set list. You can also configure Typinator to enable or disable particular sets in specified applications.'

Typinator places an icon in your menubar from which you can control the program's functions, although most of the time it just runs unobtrusively in the background. This is one add-on you will definitely want configured as an automatic login item, which is easily executed by enabling the checkbox “Automatically start Typinator at Login” in the program's Preferences. You'll also need to activate “Enable access for assistive devices” in the System Preferences “Universal Access” panel if that's not already done.

Typinator comes with four predefined sample abbreviations and also includes a quickstart tutorial document that demonstrates how it works if you're not familiar. If you've used TypeIt4Me or TextExpander, you'll find it pretty intuitive.

When you add, modify, or delete abbreviations,changes take effect immediately. I try to keep abbreviations short, but that does increase the chances of inadvertent triggering, and there is a “Whole word” option which when enabled will expand a macro only when the next typed character is neither a letter nor a digit. I use the spacebar as the trigger key. You may want to disable Whole Word if you want Typinator to automatically correct typing errors such as common misspellings of words like “receive”, “receiver”, or “receiving”. The program can also support case matching.

If you want to configure macros for expansion with multiple fonts and/or embedded pictures, you'll need to select “Formatted Text” as the expansion type, however if an application uses a fixed font for all text, the expansion will assume the font used by the application.
To create a picture expansion macro, select “Picture” as the expansion type and insert the picture of your choice employing one of the following techniques using the Finder or simply drag & drop.

If you for some reason want to disable Typinator temporarily for all applications, you can do so by select- ing “Pause Expansions” from Typinator’s menu, which will deactivate Typinator entirely and a pause symbol will appear in the menu bar until you select “Resume Expansions”.

Typinator's feedback sound option lets you override or disable the sound played by Typinator when it expands a macro.

A new Enable quick expansion option allows Typinator to use a new expansion technique that is available on Macs running OS X 10.5.5 or newer. This technique enables Typinator to expand most plain text macros much faster than before, while avoiding subtle compatibility issues with certain applications and third-party utilities. The quick expansion option is recommended by Ergonis Software the preferred choice that should be enabled when possible.

You can read the Typinator 3.6 changelog here:
http://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/history.html

Starting with version 3.6, you can set up Typinator to synchronize your snippets across your computers. Whenever you add or change a snippet on one computer, it will instantly be available on any of your other computers that you've configured that way. Synchronizing your Typinator snippets base with Dropbox or MobileMe iDisk is ideal for having a consistent set of snippets available at your desktop Mac and your laptop at any time.

DropBox demo here:
http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-3649625-10676704

As you may have inferred, I'm quite favorably impressed with Typinator, and I'm happy to report that an incompatibility bug I discovered while initially trying version 3.5.1 with one of my most-used applications was promptly addressed by Ergonis Support, and corrected with the Version 3.6 release. For product reviews, one usually looks for something to criticize, but that's been a tough assignment with Typinator other than the aforementioned incompatibility issue with one program that has now been eliminated. Like the best Mac software, Typinator just works, and I can recommend it without reservation.

System requirements:
Typinator requires Mac OS X 10.4 or newer. Mac OS X 10.6 or newer is recommended with Typinator 3.6

System Support:
Universal Binary - runs on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs.

Typinator is distributed on a “try before you buy” basis, but unless you have a license key, you can use only the first five abbreviations in the list. Single user registration is EUR 19.99, which includes two years free upgrade service - both minor releases (such as bug fixes and small improvements) as well as major releases with new features. This licensing scheme does not mean that your license will expire after two years, and you can use a registered copy of Typinator without limitation, but your license key will not be valid for newer versions that are released more than two years after the purchase of the license key. Once your years update period has expired, you can purchase a two years license renewal for a reduced upgrade fee.

You can order a license key directly from the Ergonis online store:
http://www.ergonis.com/store/

Another registration option is to click the Registration icon in the toolbar and then use the “Order License Key” button to visit the online store.

For more information, visit:
http://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/


Disclosure note: Ergonis Software kindly provided a complimentary press registration key to help facilitate this review.



Charles W. Moore

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