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Table of ContentsWhat PhraseExpress can do for you Upgrade from a previous version First steps with PhraseExpressHow do I ...…paste a phrase into a document? Macro functionsHow do I……add the current date to a phrase? …call a phrase within another phrase? …add a counter variable into a phrase? …add manual text input to a phrase? …add a Windows environment variable into a phrase? …add a random number into a phrase? …create a email from a phrase? …launch an application from a phrase? …open a webpage from a phrase? …add a special key into a phrase? …add a special character into a phrase? …change the focus to a certain application? MiscellaneousChanging the phrase file location Keeping PhraseExpress up-to-date Document Conventions
This symbol indicates an important note or useful hint
Please find the first important information: Certain program menu items to change settings or adding/modifying may be removed from the PhraseExpress menu to avoid operating errors or accidental phrase deletion. Please contact your system administrator in case of questions What PhraseExpress can do for youPhraseExpress saves you from typing common phrases over and over again. The program organizes your frequently text phrases and allows pasting them into any application in a snap. PhraseExpress offers three methods to use your text phrases:
When we designed PhraseExpress, major emphasis has been put to make it extremely simple to use while still offering powerful and flexible functionality. The is new in Version 3Please find the overview about the improvements of the new version 3 on our web page http://new.phraseexpress.com System requirements
Upgrade from a previous versionYou can use PhraseExpress v3 together with an existing installation of the previous version. However, we recommend uninstalling the previous first to avoid confusion. Backup your phrase file before uninstalling the old version. The phrase file of the old version has the file extension .dta and is usually located in the PhraseExpress program folder (c:/my programs/phraseexpress/myphrases.dta) The new version introduces a new file format which is not compatible to the old format. You can however import old phrase files to the new version. Please refer to chapter "Import/Export phrases". Software installationPhraseExpress is being installed like any other usual Windows software. Step-by-step instructions:
The PhraseExpress Autotext feature may interfere with the AutoCorrect functionality of your existing MS Office programs. Please either disable it (see Microsoft help) or remove the AutoCorrect words from your Office programs which you intend to use in PhraseExpress Command line parameters and configuration options are explained here Important notePhraseExpress does react on your keyboard input. This may sound obvious but unfortunately, Antispyware utilities may misinterprete PhraseExpress as being a Keylogger or spyware. Such security software does not distinguish between harmless and potentially dangerous programs as they are triggered by any application which just processes keyboard input. Of course, you can safely use PhraseExpress. Our company exists since 1997 and we do not hide our address. We also surely do not want to mess with Germany's piracy laws which are considered as one of the strictest world-wide. PhraseExpress does never store any text input and never send any such information over the internet. First steps with PhraseExpressAfter launching PhraseExpress the program icon appears in the lower right of the Windows system tray:
From now on, PhraseExpress will save you from typing same phrases again and over again... How to store a new text phraseIf you are typing something and you feel that you would need this phrase again, you can easily store the text in PhraseExpress:
Do not worry if you are not sure what to type in the above dialog. The information can be edited later at any time (See chapter "Edit phrases"). The phrase text is now stored and PhraseExpress will save you much time from now on... How to paste a phrase into an application?
Step-by-step explanation:
You can also trigger a text phrase by following methods:
You can cancel the paste procedure by hitting the ESC key Make sure that the hotkey and/or Autotext feature is activated in the program settings How do I use hotkeys?A hotkey (or shortcut key, keyboard shortcut, key combo, etc.) is a set of keys associated to a certain phrase or folder. Example: Hold down ALT and/or SHIFT and/or CTRL and then press and release another regular key, and finally release the CTRL/ALT/SHIFT key(s). This distinction is important, as trying to press all the keys simultaneously will frequently either miss some of the keys, or cause unwanted auto-repeat.
You can temporarily disable the hotkey (and Autotext) feature by clicking the PhraseExpress program icon in the system tray while pressing the CTRL-key. The exclamation mark icon turns from red to gray to indicate that the hotkey/Autotext feature is disabled. Click on the PhraseExpress icon with the CTRL-key again to re-activate hotkeys/Autotext. This feature is not supported in Windows 98. Hotkeys defined in PhraseExpress can conflict with hotkeys used by other programs. Avoid frequently used hotkeys and try using combinations with the SHIFT/CTRL/ALT-key and a letter. A few hotkeys are firmly occupied by Windows (see list) and cannot be assigned in PhraseExpress. To isolate conflicts, close all other programs running on your computer and try the hotkey in Notepad. Then launch your other software programs while keep trying the hotkey. When the conflict arise you know which program interferes The hotkey feature must be enabled PhraseExpress settings Hotkeys are temporarily disabled while the PhraseExpress settings window is open A few applications (e.g. Firefox web browser) do not properly transmit the current mouse cursor's location and the pop-up menu will not appear next to the cursor. Unfortunately, we have no influence in changing this behavior. How do I use Autotext ?Autotext is a feature similar to MS Office's 'AutoCorrect' feature. It automatically replaces trigger phrases (the Autotext) with text phrases defined for the trigger phrase while you type:
Sample applications :
The PhraseExpress advantage:
How it worksPhraseExpress recognizes any Autotext you type and replaces the Autotext with the corresponding text phrase. The phrase is being inserted exactly after you typed a space, comma, period, semicolon or the Enter key. The ending character will not be removed following the pasted phrase, except if the Autotext itself contains any such space, comma, semicolon or period. Examples:
Automatic CAPS detectionIf the first letter of a phrase content is not a caps letter, PhraseExpress automatically set the first letter of your phrase in caps automatically, if you type the first letter of the Autotext in caps letter.
To allow PhraseExpress recognizing an Autotext, it must be followed by a space, comma, semicolon or Enter. Autotexts are not recognized in the very beginning of a document or if you place the cursor with mouse and start typing without a foregoing space, comma, period, semicolon or Enter. We recommend disabling the Microsoft Office AutoCorrect function or delete Autocorrection phrases in MS Office which you also use in PhraseExpress to avoid interference between both functions The Autotext feature must be enabled in the PhraseExpress settings You can temporarily disable the Autotext feature by clicking the PhraseExpress program icon in the system tray while pressing the CTRL-key. The icon will turn gray and the hotkey/Autotext feature is disabled until you again click on the PhraseExpress icon with the CTRL-key. This feature is not supported in Windows 98. Autotext is temporarily disabled while the PhraseExpress settings window is open How do I edit text phrases?Click the PhraseExpress system tray icon If the menu item is missing, please contact your system administrator, who may have disabled the option to avoid operating errors
The tab of the PhraseExpress settings window opens:
If this tab is missing, editing phrases has been deactivated in the program settings or the phrase file is read-only. In this case, please consult your system administrator The left-hand tree view allows you to overview and manage your phrases and organize them in folders. You can create/delete/duplicate objects and re-arrange their order. If a hotkey is assigned for an object it is displayed in brackets after the object's description. To edit a phrase or folder object, select it by clicking with the left mouse button on the desired object. You can select multiple objects at once when you press and hold CTRL and/or SHIFT while selecting the desired objects You can move objects by clicking the up/down buttons or with drag&drop. When clicking on a single object with the right mouse-button a pop-up menu with options to duplicate move or delete the selected object. Individual folders can also be imported/exported. Per default PhraseExpress uses the first 64 letters of a phrase you have stored as the description. You can re-define its phrase description in the upper right field. What you type here will later appear in the tray icon pop-up window. The phrase itself can be edited in the phrase text field. A phrase can be up to 16 kilobytes long. Macro functions can be typed manually corresponding to the syntax or you can add a pre-defined macro by selecting it with the Add Macro button. If you select a macro function it can still be edited in the phrase text field.
You can use identical descriptions for objects as long as they are located in different folders. To avoid to confusion PhraseExpress appends a counter to the description, e.g. "New Phrase (2)" if identical descriptions are used in the same folder. Long text phrases can be wrapped inside the input field by right-clicking into the input field and enabling the option PhraseExpress allows changing the internal Paste Mode to define how phrases are being pasted with following effects:
The Key-by-Key method pastes the phrase literally key by key and simulates each individual key stroke like you would type it in on the keyboard. This method is slower than using the clipboard but should work in every application where pasting via the clipboard may be blocked. A few macro commands require the paste method General limitations
How can I import/export text phrases?The powerful import/export-feature allows you to separate a single phrase file in individual phrase files which can be independently used and join them together again. You can create theme-based phrase files and compose a phrase file with phrases of your choice (e.g. separated in abbreviations, signatures, footers, headings, products, etc.). To import/export, click the PhraseExpress system tray icon If this menu item is not present, it has been removed by the system administrator ImportCreate a folder and/or right-click on the folder where you want to import the phrases and select Import from the pop-up menu
In the following dialog please select the file format of the file to be imported and point to the location. The file format of PhraseExpress v3 has significantly changed and now follows the general XML standard. You can import phrases from previous PhraseExpress versions if you set file format to the .dta file format ExportRight-click the desired folders which includes the phrases you would like to export and select Export from the pop-up menu. Define the storage location and enter the desired file name. The exported XML phrase can be independently used in PhraseExpress. Phrases can not be exported to the old v2 format Macro functionsPhraseExpress offers powerful macro functions to add dynamic text to your phrases (e.g. adding the current date, time or counting variables, etc), to launch applications, documents or to open programs:
Click on a macro function name to learn more about it in the corresponding manual chapter. Macro functions are added to a phrase text as usual text in input field Phrase contents. PhraseExpress recognizes the typical macro syntax {#..} and replaces it with the desired dynamic content. Example of a phrase containing macro functions: Today is {#date}. The time now is {#time}. You can also nest macros into each other to fulfill powerful and flexible tasks. Example of a nested macro function:{#rnd {#input Max value?}} This macro opens a text input box and outputs a random number between zero and the value you have entered. Please note, that certain macro functions require the paste method If a macro function is not executed please carefully check for typos Adding the current date to a PhrasePhraseExpress includes macro commands to add dynamic contents to your text phrases. General information about macro functions can be found in chapter "Using macros" Create a a phrase and add the macro function {#date}, {#time} or {#datetime} at the desired position: Today is {#date}. The current time is {#time}. Whenever you use this text phrase the macro commands in {..} will be replaced with the current date and/or time: Today is 03/12/2006. The current time is 10:34. The output format of the date and time equals the regional settings as defined in MS Windows. Formatting of the date and timeThe powerful macro function {#datetime -f format -s shift} allows to select individual parts of a date or time and to change the order. Replace format with the desired date/time units as listed below:
Overview about the date/time parameters:
Time shiftYou can also shift the current date and time output by using the optional parameter -s shift Replace shift with the positive/negative amount of shift and directly after the amount add which date/time unit should be shifted:
Calling a phrase out of another phraseA very powerful function is the ability to nest phrases by calling phrases out of another phrase. This is useful e.g. when creating a email signature which is used by multiple other phrases. To do that, place the macro function {#phrase Autotext} where you would like to have the other phrase which is defined by its Autotext. Let's assume, you have created this text phrase: Hello, thank you for your offer. We will reply to you as soon as possible. {#phrase footer_jon} At the end of above phrase you can see that it calls another phrase with the Autotext footer_jon and following contents: Kind regards, The rendered text phrase from above would look like this when being pasted: Hello, thank you for your offer. We will reply to you as soon as possible. Kind regards, You can also drag&drop phrases from the phrase tree directly into the phrase contents field of the phrase you are currently editing. PhraseExpress will create the macro command at the position where you drop the phrase for you. Just make sure that the phrase that you trying to insert into another phrase already has an Autotext defined. Benefits of using nested phrases
We strongly recommend to start using nested phrases as they are really useful and you surely do not want to miss them once you get used to it. Adding a counter variable in a PhrasePhraseExpress allows you to create an unlimited amount of counter variables with custom start value and incrementor/decrementor. Creating a variableVariables are handled just like usual phrases. Open the and right-click the location in the tree view where you would like to create the variable and select from the pop-up menu:
On the right window pane you need to define a , the , optionally an and - most important- the (which is also interpreted as the ). If you do not enter a variable name, PhraseExpress will take the description as the variable name If you set the incrementor to zero, the variable keeps the static value You can now paste the variable as a value into any application. The practical use is however to use a variable inside another phrase using the macro function {#var ..} where it could be used as an order number: Hello, your order has the order number {#var ordernr}. Thank you for your purchase. Kind regards, Each time you use this phrase, the current variable value would be inserted and increased/decreased as specified for this variable. Adding a manual text input into a phraseThe macro function {#input windowtitle} allows you to enter additional text which will be inserted in the phrase at the position where this macro is positioned. Example: Dear {#input Recipient's name?}! Thank you for your email. We will reply as soon as possible. Best regards, Whenever you call this phrase, PhraseExpress opens below dialog window with the window title as specified in the macro function ("Recipient's name?" in this example) and allows you to enter additional text before the phrase is actually pasted:
After clicking OK, the entered text will replace the macro function in the phrase and the output would look like: Dear Frank Harris! Thank you for your email. We will reply as soon as possible. Best regards, If you need the text input at multiple positions within a phrase, just use the identical window title text for all macro functions and you only need to enter the input once and the input will be used for all instances. You can use CTRL-ENTER to simulate pressing the OK button Adding a Windows environment variable to a phraseThe macro function {#env %variable%}pastes the specified Windows environment variable. Example: The operating system is {#env %os%} and the user name is {#env %username%} outputs: The operating system is Windows_NT and the user name is Simon Adding a random value into a phraseThe macro function {#rnd maximum} pastes a random value between 0 and the specified maximum value. Example: This is a random value: {#rnd 100}. The output would be: This is a random value: 23. Creating an emailThe macro function {#email -to recipient -cc cc-recipients -bcc bcc-recipients -subject subject text -body body text} creates a new Email with your standard email client and fills the fields as specified. Example: {#email -to holly@would.net -subject News for you -body {#phrase examplephrase}} The macro will launch your default email client, fill the form of the new email and pastes the phrase with the Autotext as the email body: Dear Holly , please check your post mailbox at home. Sincerely , This is how the composed email would look like:
When using this macro make sure to set the paste method to Launching a program from a phraseThe macro function {#run"c:\path\application.exe" "-myparameter" "c:\myworkingdirectory"} launches the specified program. Example: {#run notepad.exe} When using this macro make sure to set the paste method to If the desired application not registered in Windows, you need to enter the full path to the program Open a file from a phraseThe macro function {#open file} opens the specified file with the application which is associated to the file. Example: {#open d:\data\example.txt} When using this macro make sure to set the paste method to Open a web page from a phraseThe macro function {#url web page} opens the specified web page in your default internet browser. Example: {#url http://www.phraseexpress.com} When using this macro make sure to set the paste method to Adding special keys into a phraseSpecial keys on your keyboard are being added as macro functions to your phrase:
Overview about the reserved keywords for all supported special keys:CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, BKSP, TAB, BREAK, DEL, LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN, ENTER, ESC, STANDBY, NUMPAD0, NUMPAD1, NUMPAD2, NUMPAD3, NUMPAD4, NUMPAD5, NUMPAD6, NUMPAD7, NUMPAD8, NUMPAD9, MULTIPLY, ADD, SEPARATOR, SUBTRACT, DECIMAL, DIVIDE, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, F13, F14, F15, F16, INS, HOME, END, PGDN, PGUP, PRTSC, SCROLLLOCK, NUMLOCK, CAPSLOCK, LWIN, RWIN, NONE Notes for certain special keys:
Adding a special character into a phraseThe macro function {#ASC character code} pastes the special character with the three-digit character code as you would use the ALT-key while entering the three-digit character code on the extended number block. Example: The copyright-symbol © can be pasted by using the macro {#ASC 169}. The MS Windows utility Charmap offers you an overview about the special characters including their code number. Switching the focus to another applicationThe macro function {#FOCUS window title} changes the focus to the specified running Windows application based on its windows title (e.g. "calculator"). If the specified application is not running, the current focus remains to the active application. Example: {#FOCUS Calculator} The above macro changes the focus to the calculator program (if it is running). When using this macro make sure to set the paste method to You can only use a wildcard * for the windows title Adding a delay{#SLEEP nnnn} This function let PhraseExpress wait for specified amount of nnnn milliseconds. This is useful, if another application involved requires a certain time to be launched or a website to be loaded. Program settingsThe PhraseExpress program settings can be accessed via the PhraseExpress system tray icon
If the menu item is missing, please contact your system administrator, who may have disabled the option to avoid operating errors The several options in the settings dialog are actually self-descriptive and we would like to avoid redundant description such as "The Option Activate Autotext activates Autotext", as one can read in so many other manuals. Please just experiment with the settings. If you have any particular question, do not hesitate to contact us Registering the Pro EditionIf you are using PhraseExpress in a commercial/educational environment, you must obtain a legal Pro Edition license. To turn your current installation into the Pro Edition, please click on the PhraseExpress system tray icon When the order has been processed, you will receive a delivery email including your personal license key. Copy this license key from the email into the Windows clipboard, paste it into license key input field in PhraseExpress which can be accessed via Properties If you use the PhraseExpress Network Edition, no license key input is required. The PhraseExpress Server handles all license keys centrally. General hintsWe use PhraseExpress our self since its first version for almost four years now and collected a few hints to help you to get the maximum out of PhraseExpress:
Time savings calculationBased on your individual typing skills and the amount of letters pasted by PhraseExpress, the daily time savings is calculated accurately. You will quickly realize that PhraseExpress pays off after a few hours of using it. The program even tells you the money you have saved by using it. To access the statistics, click the PhraseExpress program symbol In this section you can also enter your average typing speed (in keystrokes per minute) or let PhraseExpress do a quick typing skills test to determine an accurate value. This just takes less than a minute. Overview about common typing rates
PhraseExpress assumes you need an average 5 seconds for each phrase selection PhraseExpress informs you about your individual time savings every time you launch the program. This can be disabled in the Pro Edition only Important noteGathering information about computer user's performance may violate employee's privacy protection laws in your country. Make sure that it is legal to use such function or disable it Changing the phrase file locationClick the PhraseExpress system tray icon The initial phrase file location after installation depends on the user rights during the PhraseExpress installation:
You can redefine the phrase file's location at any time, individually for each user if you have not enabled the option during the installation. In this case, only the administrator can change the phrase file location. If the option Always automatically use the network phrase file if Server is available is enabled, then PhraseExpress always switches automatically to the network phrase file as provided from the server service. If you are using the Pro Edition and if the server connection gets lost, PhraseExpress automatically reverts to the local phrase file if any has been specified. The phrase file must be local. The separate Network Edition allows accessing a phrase file over a network connection If the selected phrase file has read-only access rights, PhraseExpress removes all menu options to create or edit phrases (as they could not be stored anyway) If you want to share common phrases with multiple users on the same computer, make sure that all users have access rights to the desired phrase file location Data backupPhraseExpress automatically creates a backup of the phrase file each time you save changes to the phrase file. The backup file is located in the same folder as the main phrase file and has the file extension .bak. Changes to the phrase file are saved to the phrase file whenever you close the program or when you click the OK button in the setting window. The Backup-file is a copy of the original phrase file before the changes are made. If you would like to discard accidental changes to your phrase file of if the original phrase file cannot be read anymore, please do the following:
Important NoteFrequently backup your phrase file to a different storage media to eliminate the slightest risk to loose your data in case of hard disk failure. Hard disks can break - And they do when you do not expect it! Phrase file encryptionWe have not implemented an encryption function directly into PhraseExpress as we do not need to invent the wheel twice. Windows 2000/XP already includes the feature of encrypted folders. Just move your phrase file to such encrypted folder. Further information can be found on the Microsoft web page 'How To Encrypt a File in Windows XP' Keeping PhraseExpress up-to-dateWe continuously improve PhraseExpress and you can keep the program up-to-date with the built-in internet update check. To check manually for updates, connect your computer to the internet and click the PhraseExpress system tray icon If the menu item is missing, please contact your system administrator, who may have disabled the option to avoid operating errors The online update is temporarily deactivated while PhraseExpress is connected to the PhraseExpress Server of the Network Edition. In this case, the Server is centrally checking for updates. UninstallationPhraseExpress can be uninstalled via Start The phrase file is not deleted when uninstalling PhraseExpress to avoid data loss. You can safely delete this file manually if you do not need your personal phrase file anymore. Technical SupportIf you have any technical problem, please visit: http://support.phraseexpress.com Background informationIn this chapter administrators can find technical background information. This information is not useful for normal users and can be ignored safely. Installation logicFollowing installation scenarios are recognized by PhraseExpress::
Command line parameters for the PhraseExpress installation file (vs. the program file)
Command line parameters for the PhraseExpress program file
PhraseExpress Network EditionPlease find the Network Edition manual here. |
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