Insert text automatically into a message (Part One)

[Diane Ross]

Read "Insert text automatically into a message (Part One)" on the Entourage
Help Blog for tips that will improve your productivity. It's also a great
way to save your hands if you have trouble typing.

<http://blog.entourage.mvps.org/2007/07/insert_text_automatically_into.html>

 

[Clive Huggan]

Great article, Diane!

A related point about auto-correcting that some people might find handy:
Many of the terms I insert through AutoCorrect and other "Auto-enter
shorthands" are abbreviations. I try to minimise use of the Shift key in
frequently used terms, so I just type in lower-case -- for example,
"autocorrect" to produce "AutoCorrect". And for the abbreviation "WRDC" I
type "wrdc".

To expand abbreviations such as the "WRDC" term, by habit I double the first
letter. So "wwrdc" inserts "Widgets Research and Development Corporation".
This practice can be applied to virtually any term without having to be
especially remembered.

It would be interesting to hear about other people's tricks with AutoCorrect
and the applications you mention at the Entourage help blog.

(Problem is, though: when I do something on my wife's or a colleague's Mac,
I'm almost struck dumb, typing-wise!)

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from North America and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
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[Diane Ross]

Good comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the article. I do the same thing for
terms like POP and IMAP. Be sure to leave a comment for your suggestions for
other blog users can benefit from your tips.

I know what you mean by "struck dumb" by typing. I literally can't type any
other way now. I don't even know how to type my name. For me my plain sig is
just the letter "d". When I had to do a re-install of the OS, after getting
my mouse and keyboard software loaded it's my insert-typer application.

I have huge problems with my hands and there are times I can hardly touch
the keyboard they are so painful so having this aid is invaluable for me.

I'll try to create a summary of tips from other users. There are literally
dozens of tips I couldn't cover in the article. My main focus was to bring
out the benefits of using these time saving applications.