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Auspex is a free text replacement app for Windows with tons of potential
The Auspex interface makes it easy to add new text replacement strings. Give your entry a name, a mnemonic (the text that will be expanded -- ms in my example), select a trigger, and add your replacement text. You can also set up a list of applications you want to monitor or ignore so that Auspex doesn't kick in when you don't want it to. Autocompletion (and a fair sized dictionary) is built-in as well, and you can control everything from how soon suggestions are made, to the colors used in the pop-up boxes -- just press tab to complete a word.
One fun feature of Auspex is its "odometer." As you use your text replacements, Auspex will keep tabs on the number of characters you've saved. There's also a wizard for creating new entries, though it's a bit of a work-in-progress at the moment. True text manipulation wizards will appreciate the fact that Auspex supports regular expressions, which enables you to create complex text replacement schemes.
Auspex has oodles of potential, but it is a bit buggy at the moment. On Windows 7 Professional x64, we received a number of access violation pop-ups while using it. While the program never actually crashed, it did get rather distracting. Unfortunately, we weren't able to determine whether it's a 64-bit compatibility issue or a software conflict on the test machine. Still, as Auspex updates and bugs are squashed, it looks like the app could become a must-have free app for Windows users looking to enter text more efficiently.
Download Auspex for Windows
Comments
13
Subscribe to commentsFezJan 13th 2011 10:10AM
Will be giving this a try. I've used breevy. I really hate how it expands text. I have to literally see it type the entire thing out letter by letter. I wish it was more instant. Also what would be useful if we were able to set application launches after typing some text in.
It's just ridiculous how theres such a huge lack of snippet management/text expansion apps on the Windows side of things it makes me want to switch to Mac :(
PatrickJan 13th 2011 2:20PM
@Fez Hi, I'm the developer of Breevy. Sorry to hear that it's expanding text slowly for you. That definitely isn't normal behavior; the expansion should be fast (instant or very close to it, actually).
If you send an e-mail to support@16software.com, I can help figure out what's going on and hopefully get the issue resolved for you quickly. Also: Breevy does actually let you create app launchers; just click the "New Launcher" button at the top of the main window. :-)
By the way, thanks for mentioning Breevy in your article Lee!
David FergusonJan 13th 2011 10:17AM
What about Texter from Lifehacker? No mention of it?
fdsfhjerJan 14th 2011 4:48AM
@David Ferguson Texter has been discontinued long ago and it is not Windows 7 compatible anymore. The author Adam seem to have switched to Mac.
NoWhereManJan 13th 2011 12:10PM
how about http://www.phraseexpress.com/ ?
fdsfhjerJan 14th 2011 4:48AM
@NoWhereMan Lee actually wrote about the awesome Text Expander "PhraseExpress" earlier: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/30/phraseexpress-is-so-much-more-than-an-autotext-app/
I second that PhraseExpress is underrated. It is simply the best text replacement utility in town.
fdsfhjerJan 14th 2011 4:47AM
@NoWhereMan Lee actually wrote about the awesome Text Expander "PhraseExpress" earlier: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/11/30/phraseexpress-is-so-much-more-than-an-autotext-app/
I second that PhraseExpress is underrated. It is simply the best text replacement utility in town.
timnsJan 13th 2011 12:50PM
Thanks for this article! The program is still under a lot of development, and the access violations and bugs will be squashed with new releases very soon.
chodorowiczJan 13th 2011 1:26PM
I second NoWhereMan - I don't know why Phraseexpress is constantly overlooked - it's a really powerfull program (even to powerfull as for my needs). You should check it out. A, and it's free for personal use.
FezJan 13th 2011 2:22PM
@Patrick
Wow Patrick, thanks for replying to my comment. I tried Breevy out a while back I think it expired for me. I will try to get it on trial again and give things a closer look. I didn't know about the app launcher feature. If I run into the same slowness problem I will comment back :).
FezJan 13th 2011 2:23PM
@Patrick
Comment system fail again. Btw I meant I will email*
PatrickJan 13th 2011 2:43PM
@Fez No problem, and do let me know how it goes!
JamesJan 13th 2011 6:34PM
My preferred platform is the Mac, however I use Windows 7 at my day job and was frustrated at the lack of QUALITY snippet/text-replacement apps for Windows. Between TextExpander and Typinator, you don't have to look much further on the Mac (though there are more).
The problem I've seen with all these Win apps is A) they look absolutely dreadful. B) Require more "action" than I'm used to or should be necessary. C) Are overly complicated with their GUI (what is a RegEx, a token, Mnemonic, etc.?). I can appreciate that they're probably quite powerful, but if the "average Joe user" can't use them, then they probably aren't what they should be. After all, these types of apps are supposed to make your life easier, not complicate it.