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College faculty are busy individuals with limited time. If you find yourself typing the same words or phrases more than once a week, it’s time to set up a text-replacement tool. Below is a quick guide to the best options—free and paid—for Mac and Windows.
What is a text-replacement tool?
One time-saving tool that I love using in my teaching (and in the rest of my life) is a text-replacement tool. Also called “autotext” or “text expansion” programs, these tools run on your computer (Windows or Mac) and allow you to set up a personal library of shortcuts. When you type the shortcut text, the program automatically replaces it with something longer. If I find myself typing a certain set of words more than once a week, I try to create a shortcut for it.
Some examples:
A simple example: If I’m on a computer, I never type out Metropolitan State University of Denver. Instead, I type “/msud”, hit the space bar and the text is instantly replaced with the full name. Another example is “j@m” which becomes “[email protected]”. With the exception of email addresses I use a forward slash (“ / “) to start my shortcuts, but any rarely-used character could work well.
From over 100+ that I have in my library, here are a few other:
| Shortcut text | Expanded text |
|---|---|
| /msud | Metropolitan State University of Denver |
| j@m | [email protected] |
| /ctld | Center for Teaching, Learning and Design |
| /gait | Generative AI Taskforce |
| /jitt | Just-in-Time Teaching |
| /ghelp | Please make sure you get some help with this concept. You can talk to me about it, discuss it with classmates, or shoot me an email to make an appointment. |
| /exp | Unless the question is multiple choice there is no place in this class where answers without explanations are acceptable. Always explain. |
Notice that the last two are full sentences that I use when giving feedback to students. That use alone is worth learning how to use one of these tools.
What tool should I use?
There are quite a few tools out there. I looked around in February 2025 to see what seem like the best options.
A few text-replacement options:
- Espanso – Free and open source (Mac and Windows)
Uses a text-base configuration file, which can feel a little like writing “code,” so it may not be the right fit for you.
Non-sponsored video about using Espanso (skip the section abut Obsidian-specific shortcuts, near 8:00) - Beeftext – Free and open source (Windows only)
Here is a good post about this tool. - Built-in Text Replacement on Mac – Free (Mac only)
Macs have a built-in tool that can do the basics of text replacement. - TypeIt4Me (version 6) – Paid (Mac only)
Perhaps the first-ever text expander for Mac! Try it for free, then $20 for a lifetime license. Many folks say it is absolutely worth it.
More Advanced Tools
If you are interested in more than just text-replacement, you might consider things like this:
- Autohotkey – Free and open source (Windows only)
Autohotkey (AHK) can do all the text-replacement tricks but also has a lot more sophisticated options.
One example: In a brand-new email window, you type the shortcut into the body of the email. The script then moves to the Subject line, enters text, moves to the body of the email, fills out more text, including some parts in bold, then moves the cursor back to the top, ready for you to type the name of the recipient. You type just their first name and hit send.
Start Now. You Won’t Regret It!
In a single year, this saves me hours and hours of typing. When I realize I’ve been using it for more than 15 years, I am truly glad I started the habit. My library started small and continues to grow!
If you have a similar tool that you have used, I would love to hear about it! Reach out to me at j@m, by which I mean [email protected] to share!
Generative AI disclosure: After writing this piece I used generative AI to write a first draft of the short “teaser blurb” that went out by email. Want to know more? Send me an email and we can chat!