Shortcuts of any kind to make a person more efficient at what they do is usually appreciated. For the web-worker, using a text expander or a fancy clipboard app saves a lot of time. For the occasional work you may do on your Android device, there are similar applications available.
Textspansion is a cool little clipboard application that lets you copy and paste preset text chunks with relative ease. While it doesn’t work exactly the same as the text expansion apps on a computer would, Textspansion will save you a lot of repetitive typing.
Uses for a Text Expander
One of the main uses for a text expander is adding more text to a SMS or an email with less typing. There are usually phrases or signatures you may need to type in all the time. When you can simply copy and paste it to the end of the email, you will feel less stressed and more professional about replying to an important email while mobile. Here are a few ideas of how you might use Textspansion.
- Email signatures
- Commonly used phrases
- Long words you commonly misspell and auto correct misses
- Addresses or directions
Setting up Textspansion
The first thing you will want to do is add some words and phrases to use. From the main screen, there is a plus sign in the top right. Press this to add words or phrases.
The next screen will let you add a Short Name and a Long Name. The Short Name is something to help you remember what the expanded text is. The Long Name is the actual text that will get copied and pasted.
With no spaces, I was able to use 64 characters. When spaces or additional lines were used like in an email signature, I didn’t come across a character limit.
There is also an advanced clipboard included with Text Expander. Any time you have text highlighted and copied to the Android clipboard then open Text Expander, the text is copied to the TextExpansion clipboard to access later. This means you can copy a paragraph from an email, and a link and anything else to the Textspansion clipboard then quickly compose an email by going back to access all of the stored text.
Accessing Saved Text
TextExpansion can be accessed quickly in a couple of ways. The first is to long press the search button on your Android phone. TextExpansion should be an option there. The alternative is to have TextExpansion accessible through your notification bar. Either option is about the same amount of steps. However, there are some devices out there without a search button. Or maybe you have a search button and dislike having extra icons in your notification bar. You have the choice.
Typing on an on-screen keyboard is not always the easiest thing to do. Applications like Textspansion are aimed to make the task a little easier. While Textspansion isn’t quite like what you have on your computer, having several pre-made signatures or commonly used phrases accessible through the notification bar or by pressing the search button is super handy.
How do you type faster on an Android device?