AutoClip - retrieve text clips a few keystrokes
Posted by ClifNotes, Oct 2008, permalink Automation Tools
How many times have you typed in the word "the" and it ended up coming out as "teh". It's so common that it's actually become a slang word on the net. If you used a tool like AutoClip, you could make sure that "teh" was automatically fixed everytime you typed it.
There are many uses for a text replacement tool like AutoClip. One of my favorites is a quick way to sign emails. All I do is type "@ty" and it comes out like "Thank you very much for writing." and even puts in my name and website address.
Using AutoClip is very easy. Download it and put it into a folder somewhere. Run it and you'll see a new icon in your System Tray. Any time you want to create a new clip, just copy some text and right click on the AutoClip icon. Choose the "Add Clip" function and it'll ask you for the shorthand name of the clip. Once you've got it saved, it will automatically replace the shorthand name as soon as you type it.
Just make sure you don't use a shorthand name that you might type all the time. That's why I chose "@ty" as shorthand for "Thank you ...". I don't often use the @ key as the first letter in a word and never with letters right behind it.
AutoClip was written by one of the coding fanatics at DonationCoder.com. It's actually a compiled AutoHotKey script. Be sure the check out the rest of Skrommel's tiny programs. They are simply amazing.
If you are interested, you can find more text replacement tools and clipboard tools here:
Automation Tools
Clipboard Utilities
Quote from the website
Replaces text as you type with any formatted text, image or other clip.
Handy for instantly expanding your initials into your e-mail signature, with image and all.
Example: Place the clip you want to use on the clipboard by selecting text or an image, and press Ctrl-C. Rightclick the tray icon, select Add Clip, and input the shorthand. Rightclick the tray icon to Remove or List clips. F12=Add Clip. The clips are showed at the top of the tray menu, and clicking pastes the clip into the active control of the active window.
You can also make Scripts that send key presses for automation, using {Tab}{Enter}{Left}{PgUp} etc... !=alt, ^=ctrl, +=shift, #=windows.
Example: Start Notepad, write user{Tab}password, select the text, press Ctrl-C.
Rightclick the tray icon, select Add Script, and input the shorthand.
Rightclick the tray icon to Remove or List scripts. F11=Add Script.
The scripts are showed in the middle of the tray menu, and clicking sends the script into the active control of the active window.
AutoClip can also run external programs. Any exe-file placed together with AutoClip is run by typing the name of the exe-file, a colon, and the parameters to send. Example: calc:1+2*3
http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Skrommel/index.html#AutoClip
