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PhraseExpress v7 manualWhat can PhraseExpress do for you Using PhraseExpress on USB flash drives How do I...…paste a phrase into a document? Additional functionsPlace phrase menus on the desktop Restrict Autotext and Hotkeys to certain programs Macro functionsHow do I……add the current date to a phrase? …link a phrase with another phrase? …add manual text input to a phrase? MiscellaneousDisable PhraseExpress temporarily Remove license from PhraseExpress Launch PhraseExpress automatically with the Computer Changing the phrase file location Keeping PhraseExpress up-to-date Trouble-shootingAre unsuitable Autotext phrases triggered? Does a certain Autotext/Hotkey not work? Is text incorrectly or incompletely inserted? Are you not receiving text suggestions? Never read manuals?No problem, PhraseExpress can be explored without additional instructions, up to a certain degree. However, you will certainly miss a few killer features that will not be revealed by simply trying out the software! For example, PhraseExpress includes an expert mode, which includes additional options and features. At the very least, we strongly recommend you read the tips & tricks section! Document ConventionsYou are currently reading this manual in your browser program. This allows you to jump between sections, set bookmarks or print this manual.
This symbol indicates a useful hint. Tips & Tricks are marked with this icon. These hints simplify the use of PhraseExpress by explaining procedures which you may not discover through simple use of the software. This symbol indicates very important notes. What can PhraseExpress do for youPhraseExpress will increase your productivity while working on your computer:
Special PhraseExpress benefitsPhraseExpress does everything that you could possibly expect from a text snippet organizer program but also offers quite a few unique extras:
A complete feature list is available online at http://www.phraseexpress.com/features.htm New features in Version 7A list of the new features can be explored here. System Requirements
Software InstallationDouble-click the installation program and follow the on-screen instructions to install PhraseExpress. Windows 7 hides task tray icons by default. Please make sure to change the task tray icon setting so that the PhraseExpress icon is always shown in the tray as it displays important program status information (video tutorial). If you would like to share a common phrase file with multiple users in a network, please install the separate PhraseExpress Server from the Network Edition. Additional information about remote installations can be found in the manual of the PhraseExpress Network Edition at http://netman.phraseexpress.com#distribution. PhraseExpress will install a phrase file containing some usage examples and common spelling corrections. You can easily delete the sample phrases if you do not need them. You can also download additional contents from our website at http://www.phraseexpress.com/phrases.pxp Important NoteThe PhraseExpress Autotext feature will interfere with the MS Office AutoCorrect function as both programs are triggered by your text input. You will recognize that abbreviations are expanded twice. We strongly recommend that you import the MS Word AutoCorrect entries into PhraseExpress and disable the function in MS Word (see Microsoft help).
PhraseExpress on USB flash drivesPhraseExpress must not necessarily be installed on a computer. You can alternatively download the dedicated USB version and run PhraseExpress from a USB memory stick. Download the ZIP Archive and extract the contents to any folder on your USB stick if you do not use a particular hosting software application for your USB memory device. PhraseExpress will automatically switch into a special USB mode if it is running from a USB memory device. This is indicated by the word 'USB' in the title bar of the main program window. In USB mode, PhraseExpress stores user and application data into the same directory the program is running from. The program will not write any data on the host PC while in USB mode. Important NoteAlways close PhraseExpress before unplugging the USB stick in order to prevent data loss!
Upgrade from previous versionsWe recommend that you remove any older version before upgrading to the latest version. PhraseExpress will convert the phrase file to a new format that supports the new features. Backup your current phrase file before upgrading! Previous PhraseExpress versions will not be able to read the new phrase file format. If using the PhraseExpress Network Edition, you must upgrade all PhraseExpress client installations on the network. You cannot mix old and new versions. Privacy informationPhraseExpress is designed to react to your keyboard input. This may sound obvious but unfortunately some Antivirus/Antispyware utilities may misidentify PhraseExpress as a Keylogger or spyware. Such 'security' software often cannot distinguish between harmless and potentially dangerous programs, as they are triggered by any application that processes keyboard input. You can safely use PhraseExpress. PhraseExpress never sends any personal information over the internet. Period.
When and why does PhraseExpress access the Internet?
You can disable both options in the PhraseExpress settings. However, we strongly recommend that you allow PhraseExpress to check for updates as we continuously improve the program and add new features. PhraseExpress - The First StepsAfter launching PhraseExpress the program icon appears in the lower right of the Windows system tray:
From now on, PhraseExpress will save you from typing the same phrases over and over again. Actually, you do not need to do anything special after installing and launching PhraseExpress. The Text Prediction feature will automatically begin to offer repetitive phrases for insertion after a short period. But you can also store text snippets manually. The first few text phrases you may want to create would be your name that can be triggered by your initials, or a shortcut to your email or mailing address, bank account information, telephone number, etc.. How to store a new phrase
The phrase is added to PhraseExpress by selecting or discarded by selecting . When using the task tray icon menu command , the phrase is always stored in the top level of your phrase file structure. You can also store a new phrase directly into a specific folder if you have set up a folder structure: Simply assign a Hotkey to the folder. When you later open this folder by entering the Hotkey and hit the Arrow-Up key one time, you gain instant access to the command and the new phrase will be stored directly in this particular folder. Save text formattingPhraseExpress analyzes the contents of the new phrase and may offer additional options. If the text is formatted or contains a web link or pictures, you can select any of the following formatting options.
Formatted text phrases and/or bitmaps require a lot more space in the phrase file compared to unformatted phrases. Unformatted phrases support all PhraseExpress macro commands while formatted phrases only have limited or in the case of Word-formatted text snippets no support for macro functions. Please use text formatting only if required. You can always remove any text formatting for any phrases by right-clicking into the phrase contents in the main program window. Restrict the phrase to individual programsThis option is only available in Expert mode. PhraseExpress identifies the source program in which you create the new phrase. Optionally, you can restrict recognition of any defined Autotext/Hotkey to the program from where you have created the phrase. Additional settings are described in chapter "Restrict phrases to certain programs". How to paste a phrase into a document
You can also insert a phrase with the following methods:
Phrase selection popup menuPhraseExpress opens a popup menu next to the cursor in one of the following cases:
Selecting an item from the popup menuThe popup window allows you to select the desired phrase using any of the following methods:
The selected phrase is then pasted into the target application with the confirmation Hotkey TAB. Items recognized by the text prediction feature have a different background color (light blue by default) in order to distinguish them from your stored phrases. The appearance of the popup menu and the Hotkeys can be customized in PhraseExpress (see chapter "Popup menu settings"). The popup menu can be closed by hitting the ESC key or clicking outside the menu with the mouse. If you click on any phrase item in the popup menu while holding the CTRL-key, the phrase contents is copied to the Windows clipboard rather than pasted into the target application. If you hit the Arrow Up / Arrow Down-key, you can also trigger the phrase by pressing ENTER instead of the confirmation key TAB. You can instantly edit any phrase by clicking the item with the right mouse button in the popup menu. Place phrase menus on the desktopThe phrase popup menu normally disappears automatically after you have selected an item. For further text insertion, you would need to manually open the popup menu again. However, you can also pin any phrase folder on the Desktop as a 'floating menu'. Floating menus provide quick access to the phrases. You can drag & drop phrases out of the floating menu into the desired target program or also create a new phrase by selecting any text and dragging it into the floating menu floating. The float collapses if you double-click the title bar in order to save desktop space. It expands if you double-click again. You can place multiple phrase folders on the desktop and sub-folders of the floating menu are still accessible. PhraseExpress remembers the location of any floating menu individually for each user even after a computer restart. You can remove a floating menu from the desktop by simply X-ing out. This action will only remove the popup from the desktop but will not delete the phrases themselves. You can create a new phrase by highlighting any text portion in any program and dragging it into the floating menu while holding the mouse button. This feature is not available in the free version but only in the Pro Edition. Floating menus are also useful for the system-folders Clipboard Cache and Last Used phrases. Using HotkeysA Hotkey (or shortcut key, keyboard shortcut, key combo, etc.) is a set of keys associated with a certain phrase or folder. For example, hold down any of the ALT and/or SHIFT and/or CTRL "modifier" keys and then press and release a single other regular key, and lastly release the CTRL- , ALT-, SHIFT- key(s). This distinction is important because it is easy to miss some of the keys or cause an unwanted auto-repeat when trying to press all the keys simultaneously. In PhraseExpress, you can even use mouse buttons as a Hotkey. PhraseExpress can insert a phrase by pressing its associated Hotkey. E.g., your signature can be pasted if you press the Hotkey CTRL-ALT-S. This is useful but you would quickly run out of Hotkey as you assign more and more phrases to individual Hotkeys. For this reason, PhraseExpress allows you to re-use the same Hotkey for multiple phrases. Alternatively, you can assign a Hotkey to a phrase folder that may contain multiple phrases. E.g. you could use the Hotkey CTRL-ALT-Bfor a phrase folder that contains phrases with information of all your bank accounts. If you enter such Hotkey, a popup-menu opens near the cursor where you can choose the desired phrase using the mouse or the Arrow Up / Arrow Down-keys of your keyboard (also see chapter "Popup menu"). Hotkeys defined in PhraseExpress can conflict with Hotkeys reserved by other programs. Avoid frequently used Hotkeys and rather use combinations with the CTRL- , ALT-, WIN-, SHIFT- key and a letter. Many Hotkeys are firmly reserved by Windows (see list) and cannot be assigned in PhraseExpress. Especially, the WIN-key is almost exclusively reserved by Windows Vista and should not be used without a combination of additional modifier keys. The Hotkey feature must be enabled for the folder settings which contains the actual phrase. Hotkeys are temporarily disabled while the PhraseExpress settings window is open. You can display the Hotkey definitions together with the phrase description (see chapter "Popup menu settings"). If Hotkeys do not work, please see the chapter "trouble-shooting". How to use AutotextAutotext is a feature similar to MS Office's 'AutoCorrect' feature, but pushed to new limits by PhraseExpress. Autotext automatically replaces text shortcuts (the Autotext) with text phrases defined for the trigger phrase while you type. Sample applications :
If the Autotext feature does not work as expected, please see the chapter "trouble-shooting". You can re-use the same Autotext for multiple phrases. Video demo You can import your existing Microsoft Office AutoCorrect and Autotext entries into PhraseExpress and use them in any application beyond Word and Outlook. If you wish to prevent the execution of a particular Autotext, click with the mouse just before you expect the Autotext execution. If you wish to delete an unwanted Autotext text replacement, click the PhraseExpress task tray icon in the lower right while holding the SHIFT-key following such unwanted replacements. You can then alter or delete the phrase in the editor window. If Autotext options cannot be changed and are displayed in gray, then they may be currently inherited by a parent folder (see below). If Autotext options are missing, then they may have been deactivated in a parent folder. Configure AutotextAutotexts can be configured in PhraseExpress in great detail. Here are some example applications:
The following information is of technical nature. You can safely ignore this chapter if above applications are of no interest. Following options are only available in Expert mode: Leading and trailing delimitersBy default, PhraseExpress detects an Autotext if it is typed as a separate word only. This is suitable for most tasks and you need not trouble yourself with the following advanced settings which allow you to customize Autotext for very specific requirements. PhraseExpress continuously monitors what you type and scans words to determine whether your keyboard input matches any Autotext you have defined. Whenever your input matches any Autotext, the program replaces the Autotext with the corresponding text phrase. Technically, a 'separate word' is defined as entered text at the beginning of a sentence or text that follows or is followed by either a space, punctuation mark, comma, semicolon, tabulator or ENTER. The characters which must appear before an Autotext (leading delimiter) are called . The characters which must follow the Autotext (trailing delimiter) are called . You can define the required prefix and postfix separately for each phrase and PhraseExpress offers a few presets:
Example use of custom Autotext options:
Optional Autotext executionIf you activate PhraseExpress will offer the phrase in a popup menu next to the cursor, rather than automatically pasting it into the application. You can then either accept the phrase by hitting the confirmation key or you can ignore the offer to insert by continuing to type. Remove trailing delimiterIf you do not want to output the trailing delimiter after phrase insertion, please select this option. This option is not available if the Autotext is set to or . Automatic CAPS detectionIf the first letter of a phrase content is not a capital letter, PhraseExpress will automatically set the first letter of your phrase to a capital letter when you type the first letter of the Autotext in caps lock. If you type at least the first two letters of an Autotext in caps lock, then the complete phrase will be pasted in caps capital letters. Examples for the Autotext 'max':
Apply Autotext optionsAny Autotext-related folder setting is valid to the folder's Autotext only. You can, however, apply the folder's Autotext options to all items contained in the folder by selecting the option . Settings can be applied in two variations:
Restrict Autotext and Hotkeys to certain programsAutotext and Hotkeys are normally recognized system-wide in any application. You can, however, define the scope of each phrase where the Autotext and Hotkey can be recognized. Sample applications:
Restrict to certain programsStart all programs where the Autotext and Hotkey shall be recognized by PhraseExpress, click the magnifying glass button and select the desired programs. The Autotext/Hotkey will then only be recognized in the select program(s). If no program is selected, then the Autotext/Hotkey will work in any program. Exclude from certain programsSelect the programs where the Autotext/Hotkey shall not be recognized. If no program is selected, no program will be excluded. Any defined program restriction is valid for the corresponding phrase only. You can, however, assign the program restrictions to all phrase of a folder by selecting the option . Settings can be inherited to the items in two ways:
You can also restrict the text prediction feature to certain programs (See chapter "Restrict text prediction feature to certain programs").. How to edit a phraseClick the PhraseExpress icon Alternatively, click the PhraseExpress tray icon while holding the SHIFT-key to open the editor with the most recently inserted phrase. You can also open any phrase for editing in the phrase selection popup menu by right-clicking the item in the popup menu. The left-hand tree view allows you to review and manage your phrases and organize them in folders. You can move items within the tree structure by selecting them and clicking the up/down buttons or with drag & drop. To edit a phrase or folder, select it by left clicking on the desired object. Right-click a single object to access additional editing options such as duplicate, sort, find & replace, move or delete the selected object. You can select multiple objects in the tree by pressing and holding CTRL and/or SHIFT while selecting the desired objects. Phrase editing optionsSelect the desired phrase in the tree view to display the phrase in the right window. A phrase consists of the following elements:
Folder optionsSelect the desired folder in the tree view to display the folder options in the right window .
Editing options in the phrase tree context menuPhraseExpress offers additional functions if you right-click any item in the phrase tree view. Different editing commands show up for folders vs. phrases. Many editing commands are only visible in Expert Mode.
How to find a particular phrasePhraseExpress offers two options to find a certain phrase, Autotext or Hotkey: QuickSearchOpen PhraseExpress and click the magnifying glass button below the tree view, then choose search options from the option popup. A query input field will open below the phrase tree after selecting at least one search option. If you click on the QuickSearch button twice, the search input area will be extended and allows you to select your query. PhraseExpress will jump to the first match after you start typing the query string. If multiple hits are found then you can jump to the next entry by hitting ENTER or pressing the button. You can jump back to any previous entry by entering CTRL-ENTER or pressing the -button together with the CTRL-key You can also select whether you would like to see the search result within the phrase tree structure or as a flat list. When hovering over a phrase in the list, the full path within the phrase tree is shown. Right-clicking the magnifying glass button toggles the display of the search input field. Find & ReplaceIf you would like to find a phrase within a certain folder (including sub-folders) or if you want to replace a string with another, right-click the desired phrase folder from the phrase tree view and select from the context popup menu. Search & Replace only works for unformatted phrases. PhraseExpress will ask you whether to permanently(!) remove the text formatting if any formatted phrase is matching the search term. CTRL-clicking the magnifying glass button opens the Find & Replace window. How to delete a phraseIn order to delete a phrase or folder, it must be opened in the editing windows first:
Then click the item in the tree view on the left and either hit the Delete-key on your keyboard or click the red-colored trash bin icon below the tree view. The item will be deleted after confirmation by clicking . The Text Prediction FeatureThe text prediction feature automatically recognizes repeatedly entered sentences and offers to auto-complete such phrases. This feature works fully automatic if enabled at Settings Please make sure to type repetitive sentences identically in order to allow PhraseExpress to identify them as a repetitive input. You can select from multiple choices in the popup menu using the mouse or Arrow Up/Arrow Down-keys and allow them to be pasted for you. The menu automatically disappears if you ignore the suggestion and continue to type a few letters. You can insert just the next word of the suggested sentence by pressing the CTRL- Arrow Right-key. If you get multiple suggestions that all have the same beginning, then you can press CTRL- ALT-Arrow Right to insert the beginning of the text up to the word where multiple suggestions start to differ. These Hotkeys can be customized in the PhraseExpress settings. The Text Prediction feature is integrated into PhraseExpress, but uses a dictionary separate from the phrases, which you have manually defined (see chapter "Storage location of your personal data"). You can transfer any phrase suggested by the Text Prediction feature into your standard phrases library via the special phrase folder named in the phrase tree (Learn more). Unwanted text suggestions can be quickly deleted from PhraseExpress by right-clicking the unwanted item in the popup menu. The text prediction feature can be temporarily disabled by clicking the PhraseExpress tray icon while pressing the CTRL-key. If you do not get any text suggestions check the trouble-shooting section. The text prediction feature uses sophisticated analyzing algorithms in order to find suitable text suggestions and may cause moderate CPU load. You may want to disable the text prediction feature if working on a battery-powered Laptop to increase battery runtime. The text prediction feature is automatically disabled if using an Asian language. How it worksSmart algorithms determine the phrase suggestions depending on the following parameters:
Depending on the settings, PhraseExpress only suggests individual words and/or single and complete sentences, optionally separated by punctuation marks followed by either ENTER, SPACE or TAB. PhraseExpress generally does not process or store Passwords consisting of a single word. The text prediction feature can be configured in detail. Please find more information in chapter "Settings - Text prediction feature". The Clipboard CacheWindows normally overwrites any contents you have copied to the Clipboard. The Clipboard Cache feature now caches previous clipboard contents and provides quick access via a special phrase folder. This feature also allows you to save multiple phrases in a batch if you simply copy multiple strings to the clipboard and organize the snippets in PhraseExpress later. The Clipboard Cache can be disabled by simply deleting the special folder from the phrase tree under You can configure the Clipboard Cache by highlighting the folder in the phrase tree view of the PhraseExpress main program:
We recommend you assign the Hotkey CTRL-ALT-v to this special folder: CTRL-v is the system Hotkey to paste the current clipboard content and CTRL-ALT-v would consequently open the history of recent clipboard entries. How to access the last used phrasesPhraseExpress can copy the last inserted phrases into a special system folder within your existing phrases structure. This feature is useful if you need to expedite access to a limited set of phrases for repetitive insertion, e.g. when filling a batch of similar forms. We recommend setting a Hotkey or Autotext for this system phrase folder. This folder also serves as a data 'bridge' between the text suggestion feature and your phrase library. Any accepted text suggestion is copied to the folder. You can disable this system folder by simply deleting it from within the phrase tree in phrases. The system folder can be re-enabled in the program settings. The SmartSearchThe SmartSearch provides a very useful tool to do queries on your computer:
PhraseExpress will then open the selected web page with the search results. This even works for addresses in Google Maps. This useful function is actually not an additional feature of PhraseExpress but just uses various existing PhraseExpress macro functions for this task. You can change the Hotkey to trigger the SmartSearch to a custom Hotkey just like you can do with any other phrase. You may even assign a mouse button to this useful function for quicker access. You can easily add additional search engines to the SmartSearch as shown in this video. How to use PhraseExpress in a networkYou can share phrases with others in the network if you install the separate PhraseExpress Server of the Network Edition. Access rights can be defined for each phrase folder (see chapter "Restricting phrase access in the Network"). ImportantIf using the Network Edition, make sure to have the network function enabled in Settings If the client is connected to the PhraseExpress Server, the exclamation mark in the task tray icon turns green and the program title bar bears the word 'Network' (also see the Status chapter). Network phrase file cachingWhile your network connection is interrupted (e.g. if you are travelling with your laptop), PhraseExpress uses a cached version of the latest status of the network phrase file and the task tray icon is blank (also see the Status chapter). These temporarily cached phrases cannot be modified to avoid version conflicts if the computer is re-connected to the PhraseExpress Server at a later time. PhraseExpress automatically switches back to the current network phrase file upon network re-connection. Automatic Server SearchYou can enable the automatic server search via Settings By default, PhraseExpress continuously searches the PhraseExpress Server in the network (using a UDP broadcast poll via a customizable port 1036). If the PhraseExpress Server recognizes a poll, it welcomes the client by providing the current Server PC's IP address via a customizable UDP port and the client installation will download the phrases from the server. Once the client installation receives the IP address, it will first try to connect to this IP address every time a client restarts. Only if the server cannot be found anymore will the client start sending broadcast polls again. You can disable broadcast polls by manually defining the Server IP address, using a local phrase file or if you disable the network function in the client. Manual Server IP addressIf the Server PC's IP address is permanent, you can enter it manually to allow faster connection and to disable the client's broadcast polls. This also allow you to access the PhraseExpress Server via the internet (whereas polling via UDP would fail). The client will not find the Server again if the IP address changes in the meantime unless you enter the new IP address or switch to automatic server search (see above). Please find more information about using PhraseExpress in a network in the manual of the Network Edition at http://netman.phraseexpress.com. Configure access rights to individual phrase foldersIf you are using the PhraseExpress Network Edition you might want to have phrases that are exclusively visible to you or restrict a certain phrase folder to a particular workgroup. Ensure that you are running PhraseExpress in Expert Mode (see chapter "Expert Mode"), then open the PhraseExpress main program window and right-click the desired phrase folder from the phrase tree view. Now, click from the context popup menu. The fly-out menu offers additional options. If you click you can precisely define access rights based on the domain, work groups, user groups or individual users. Important notes:
You are identified and recognized by PhraseExpress by your login user name. This means that if you log onto a different PC in the network, you can see your private phrases there as well. Your private phrases are still stored on the central Server PC but they are only visible to you. The original owner/creator of the folder can always see that folder and its contents. Users with write access also, always, have read access. Read access can only be reduced in subsequent folders while write access rights can be freely assigned in subsequent folders 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 any macro function name in the below list to get detailed information: List of macro functions
Certain macros are not compatible with HTML/RTF formatted phrases as indicated in the above table. Macro functions are generally not supported by MS Word-formatted phrases. However, you can use Word macros in such phrases. Entering macro functionsMacro functions can be added to phrase text as normal text in the input field Phrase contents or by clicking the button. When you use the phrase later, PhraseExpress will replace the macros with the desired dynamic content. Example of a phrase containing macro functions: Today is {#date}. The time now is {#time}. In this example, the macro functions {#time} and {#date} will be replaced by the actual time and date. Nesting macro functionsYou can also nest macros into each other for powerful and flexible tasks. Example of a nested macros: {#rnd {#input Max value?}} This macro opens a text input box and outputs a random number between zero and the value you have entered. If a macro function is not executed, please carefully check for typos and syntax. Certain macros can only be used in phrases without text formatting. If required, divide formatted phrases into two separate formatted phrases. Then create a new unformatted phrase, retrieve the first formatted phrase using the #insert macro, add the desired macro function(s) and finally retrieve the second half of the formatted phrase using #insert. Adding the current date to a phrasePhraseExpress includes macro commands to add dynamic contents to your text phrases. Create 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 03/12/2007. The current time is 10:34. The output format of the date and time will be taken from the regional settings as listed in MS Windows. Formatting of the date and timeThe more powerful macro function {#datetime -f format -s shift} allows you 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. Directly after the amount, add which date/time unit should be shifted:
Number of days/weeks passed of the current year{#datetime -d} outputs the number of days that have passed within the current year. {#datetime -w} outputs the number of weeks that have passed within the current year. Open Calendar PopupThe macro function {#calendar -head window title -f date format -s timeshift -def default value -manual} opens a calendar and pastes the date selected by the user in the defined format as text. Example: Please choose a date: {#calendar -head Select a date!} You can use the same date formatting options as in the macro #datetime. By default, the current date is highlighted in the calendar. You can however either enter a fixed default date or a dynamic date shift relative to the current date. The optional parameter -manual adds a manual input field underneath the calendar. If you require the selected date in various places within a phrase, simply use the identical window title for the calendar macro. In such an event, PhraseExpress opens the calendar only one time and inserts the same selected date in all occurrences of the calendar macro within the phrase. Link a phrase with another phraseA very powerful function is the ability to nest phrases by retrieving phrases out of another phrase. This is useful, for example, to create an email signature which is used by multiple phrases. To do that, place the macro function {#insert 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. {#insert 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 above rendered text phrase 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 use an Autotext for a phrase folder. In such a case, the corresponding phrase folder would pop up at the present cursor's location and you can select the desired phrase. When using the optional parameter -random, PhraseExpress will paste a random phrase from within the corresponding folder. Example: {#insert Autotext -random} 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. If the inserted phrase does not yet have the required Autotext, then PhraseExpress creates one for you based on the description beginning with '##' plus a random number. Benefits of using nested phrases
We strongly recommend that you try using nested phrases. They are extremely useful and you will really appreciate this feature. Adding a counter variable in a phrasePhraseExpress allows you to create an unlimited number of counter variables with custom start values and an 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 popup menu. Alternatively, create a new standard phrase and enter a number as the . PhraseExpress will then ask you if the phrase should be converted into a variable. In the right window you need to define a , the , optionally an and - most importantly - 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 way to use a variable is inside another phrase using the macro function {#insert ..} where it could be used as an order number: Hello, Your order number is {#insert ordernr}. Thank you for your purchase. Kind regards, Each time you use this phrase, the current variable value will be inserted and increased/decreased as specified for this variable. Placing the cursor within a phraseThe macro function {#cursor} places the cursor to the macro position within a phrase after insertion of that phrase. Example: The cursor will be here: {#cursor} and not at the end of the phrase. This macro only works for phrases without text formatting that are pasted using the key-by-key paste method. The cursor position can be affected by {#ASC ..} or {#SIMKEY ..} macros. Adding a manual text input into a phraseThe macro function {#input -head windowtitle} allows you to enter additional text, which will be inserted into the phrase at the position where this macro is positioned. Example: Dear {#input -head Recipient's name?}! Thank you for your email. We will reply as soon as possible. Best regards, Whenever you retrieve this phrase, PhraseExpress opens the following 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 (or hitting CTRL-ENTER), 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, Additional parameters for {#input}
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 will only need to enter the input once and it will be used for all instances. Create an input formPhraseExpress can open a custom input form that retrieves multiple text entries before a phrase is inserted. The collected information is then inserted into the phrase at the positions of the corresponding form macro functions. We recommend this procedure to create an online form:
List of form macro functions.Sample application:{#form -text Example form -width 500}{#formtext -text This is form example}{#formseparator}Customer Name: {#formeditbox -text Your name? -def Mike -single -required}. The user is a {#formcheckbox -text Existing Customer? -hint description -vals paying|non-paying -def Yes}. The customer is using {#formcombobox -text Which version? -items version 1|version 2|version 3}. If you trigger above phrase, PhraseExpress will not insert the phrase directly but opens a form first that collects all required data first. After you filled the form and clicked the button, PhraseExpress will replace the form macro functions with the actual input and outputs the phrase into the target application in one go: Customer Name: Michael. The customer is a paying customer. The customer is using version 3. Form macros can be used in any combination and number. The maximum text description length is 256 characters. If text is cut by the form, you may want to increase the form window width with the {#form} macro function. The form height is automatically determined by the number of controls in the form. Normally, macro functions are processed recursively, starting with inner nested macros to outer macros. Form macros are an exception as they are sequentially processed. Only macro functions that are nested within a form macro are processed recursively. If you need any input at multiple positions within a phrase, use the identical label for all related form macros. Only one instance of the objects that have the the same label will be shown in the form. The user input will then be inserted at all positions of the form macro (that has the same label) in the phrase. Form macros are only available in the Pro Edition. Output a message windowThe macro function {#msgbox -head window title -text message texst -yes Autotext -no Autotext -cancel Autotext -defaultno} interrupts the phrase output and opens a standard message window with the given message text. The message window may have one of these button combinations:
You can define an Autotext of another phrase for each button, which would be inserted if the user presses that button. This allows you to branch to different phrases by user demand. If the user clicks Cancel, then the phrase insertion will be cancelled at the position of the #msgbox macro function. The optional parameter -defaultno opens the message box with input focus on the No/Cancel button. Adding a Windows environment variable to a phraseThe macro function {#env %variable%} inserts the specified Windows environment variable into the phrase. Example: The operating system is {#env %os%} and the user name is {#env %user name%} The above phrase is rendered at the time of execution as follows: The operating system is Windows_NT and the user name is Jon Donson Adding a ActiveDirectory LDAP variable to a phraseThe macro function {#adldap variable name} inserts the specified LDAP variable into the phrase. This macro is useful e.g. for email signatures which are dynamically filled by the ActiveDirectory variables. Example: Kind regards, {#adldap Name} Phone {#adldap Phone} Above phrase is rendered at the time of its exection as follows: Kind regards, 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 -attach file path(s)} 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 {#insert examplephrase}} The macro will launch your default email client, fill the form of the new email and paste the phrase with the Autotext as the email body: Dear Holly, Please check your post mailbox at home. Sincerely, The composed email would look like this:
When strange characters appear in the mail body, it may be because you are using an email program with UTF-8 character encoding (e.g. Outlook 2007). In such a case, please enable UTF-8 support in the PhraseExpress expert settings You can define multiple files as an attachment by listing the file locations separated by a vertical line. Example: -attach C:\file1.txt|C:\file2.txt If the attachment file names contain space characters, you must enclose the path in "". The #mail macro offers additional features if using Microsoft Outlook, such as definition of a file attachment and unlimited body text length. On the other hand, email sent using the mailto: system command only offers a limited body text length. Reduce the amount of text if an error message occurs. Launch a programThe macro function {#run "c:\path\application.exe" "-myparameter" "c:\myworkingdirectory"} launches the specified program. Example: {#run notepad.exe} If the desired application is not registered in Windows, you need to enter the full path to the program. Open a file folderThe above macro function {#openfolder "c:\path"} opens the specified file folder in Windows Explorer. Example:{#openfolder "C:\Windows"} This example opens the folder c:/Windows. If you add the parameter -select, Windows Explorer opens the above folder and highlights the specified folder. {#openfolder "C:\Windows" -select} Open a file from a phraseThe macro function {#open file} opens the specified file with the application which is associated with the file. Example: {#open d:\data\example.txt} 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} Adding special keys into a phraseSpecial keys on your keyboard can be added as macro functions to your phrase:
Application example:jondoe{#TAB}password{#ENTER} Above example outputs "jondoe", followed by the TAB-key, the text "password" and the ENTER-key. This is useful to automate the login procedure at website logins. List of keywords for all supported special keys:CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, SPACE, BKSP, TAB, BREAK, DEL, LEFT, RIGHT, UP, DOWN, ENTER, ESC, 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 just as you would when using 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 of the special characters including their code number. Performing a calculationThe macro function {#CALC formula} calculates a formula and outputs the result as text. Example: {#CALC 4+5} This example would output the result 9. This macro function becomes more interesting by combining it with other macro functions: {#CALC {#INPUT -head Number?}*45} The #input macro of this example will first prompt the user to input a number and then will multiply this input by 45 and output the result. Instead of the fixed number 45, you could even use the #insert macro to point to a value which is stored in the phrase containing the defined Autotext: {#CALC {#INPUT -head Number?}*{#INSERT examplephrase}} If you enter 5 and the phrase with the Autotext 'examplephrase' has the value of 12, then the above example would output 60. The calc macro function also supports hexadecimal values that are identified by a leading $-symbol: {#CALC $AB + $1F} 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 on the active application. Example: {#FOCUS Calculator} The above macro changes the focus to the calculator program (if it is running). You can also use a wildcard * for the windows title Adding a delay{#SLEEP nnnn} This function lets PhraseExpress wait for a specified amount of milliseconds. This is useful, if another application involved requires a certain amount of time to be launched or a website takes time to be loaded. Loop Function{#LOOP -count x} repeats anything x-times, that is, the number which follows after 'LOOP'. Example: {#LOOP Example{#ENTER} -count 3} The example used here uses the word 'example' three times: Example Example Example Clipboard{#CLIPBOARD -copy} This macro copies the currently highlighted text into the Windows clipboard. {#CLIPBOARD -paste} This macro pastes the current Windows clipboard contents at the current cursor location within a phrase. Other clipboard related macro functionsThe macro function {#INSERTCLIPBOARD} pastes the clipboard contents chars-wise (key-by-key) instead of triggering the system clipboard paste (if you strike CTRL-C). This specific macro is useful when you wish to use the current clipboard contents as a default value for a manual text input: {#INPUT -head Input? -def {#INSERTCLIPBOARD}} The macro function {#SETCLIPBOARD contents} fills the clipboard with the given contents. Example:{#SETCLIPBOARD {#INPUT Text?}} In this example, the clipboard is filled with the text you enter in the input dialog (keep in mind that macros are processed beginning from the innermost macro). Insert triggering AutotextInsert the Autotext into the phrase text that triggered the phrase itself. The word {#AUTOTEXT} triggered this phrase. If above phrase has been triggered by the word 'example', the text output would be "The word example triggered this phrase". Create/Alter a phrase{#SETPHRASE -description phrase description -content phrase contents -autotext phrase autotext -folder folder autotext } This powerful macro function can create a new phrase with the given phrase description name and custom contents in any existing folder as defined with the -folder parameter. If you use this macro with an existing phrase Autotext, then the existing phrase's contents will be overwritten with the new provided contents. This macro can be used to create a text variable that can be embedded into other phrases using the {#INSERT ..} macro. Please note that the phrase file is stored after each execution of a phrase which contains this macro. If you use the PhraseExpress Network Edition, then all clients are updated in this case. Please use this macro function with care.
Define counter variable and its incrementThe macro function #setvar can change the value and increment of a counter variable which is identified via its Autotext. {#SETVAR -var VariableAutotext -value NewValue -inc NewIncrement} This macro is useful especially if you want to reuse the same variable multiple times without increasing its value after insertion. Just set the increment to zero before pasting the variable and redefine the actual increment at the end of the phrase: {#SETVAR -var Counter -inc 0}The Counter has the value: {#INSERT Counter} The Counter still has the same value: {#INSERT Counter}.{#SETVAR -var Counter -inc 1} Here is the text output of above example: The Counter has the value: 5 The Counter still has the same value: 5 Without use of #setvar , calling the counter would increase its value from 5 to 6: The Counter has the value: 5 The Counter still has the same value: 6 Please note that the phrase file is stored after each execution of a phrase which contains this macro. If you use the PhraseExpress Network Edition, then all clients are updated in this case. Please use this macro function with care. Embed external text file{#TEXTFILE file} This macro function inserts the contents of a plain text file into the phrase at the time that the phrase is pasted. The data is not stored within the phrase, but only the link to the external file. This macro is ignored if the file does not exist. Embed external bitmap file{#IMGFILE filename} This macro function inserts an external .BMP, .JPG, .TIFF or .PNG bitmap into the phrase. The bitmap is not stored within the phrase, but only the link to it. This macro is ignored if the file does not exist. Define the paste method for a specific phrase{#PASTEOPTIONS -pastespeed delay in milliseconds -method kbk or cb} This macro function overrides the automatic selection of the paste method for a particular phrase. You can also define the paste speed here (in milliseconds delay per keystroke). Either use kbk for the 'key-by-key' paste method or cb if you want the phrase to be pasted using the Windows clipboard. This macro must be positioned at the beginning of a phrase. Advanced string operationsSeveral string operations allow advanced text processing. Programming skills are necessary in order to take advantage of these functions.
Sample Application:Dear Mr.{#uppercasefirst{#trim {#input -head Name? -def {#insertclipboard} -single}}} This nested macro is processed from the inside to the outside: At first, #input prompts the user to enter a name. The current clipboard contents is offered as a default to the user by the macro function #insertclipboard. The macro #trim then removes any unwanted spaces before and after the manual input. Finally, #upperfirstcase assures that the first letter of the entered name is in caps. Changing the Keyboard LanguageThe macro function {#SETLAYOUT Language-ID} allows the user to change the Windows keyboard layout to the defined language. Example:{#SETLAYOUT 00000407}This text will be pasted with German keyboard layout settings. {#SETLAYOUT 00000409}This text will be pasted with US-American keyboard layout settings. {#SETLAYOUT 00000407}This text will be pasted with German keyboard layout settings again. This macro changes the Windows keyboard settings permanently. The additional macro {#GETLAYOUT} retrieves the language scheme which is currently set in Windows. This macro together with the macro {#SETPHRASE ..}allows you to temporarily override the current settings, change it to any custom keyboard layout and afterwards reset the layout to its original setting: {#SETPHRASE -description Current Layout -content {#GETLAYOUT} -autotext currentkeyboardscheme} This macro saves the keyboard layout into a new phrase 'Current Layout" which is identified by its Autotext "currentkeyboardscheme". After any custom changes of the keyboard layout, you can retrieve the original settings with this macro phrase: {#SETLAYOUT {#INSERT currentkeyboardscheme}}{#SETPHRASE -content -autotext currentkeyboardscheme} The final {#SETPHRASE ..} macro with its empty -content parameter deletes the temporarily used phrase. A list of language identifiers is available at Microsoft MSDN webpage. Program SettingsTo change the PhraseExpress program settings, click the PhraseExpress system tray icon Smart guys can also access the settings dialog directly by clicking the PhraseExpress task tray icon while holding a combination of the SHIFT-/CTRL- or ALT-key:
If the menu item is missing, please contact your system administrator, who may have disabled the option to avoid operating errors Most settings provide additional information if you hover over a program settings item. Settings - FeaturesMost settings here are self-explanatory and we would like to avoid redundant descriptions such as "The Option Activate Autotext activates Autotext". If you feel stuck with the settings, you can always revert the options to default values, separate for each settings pane by clicking the button . Easy vs. Expert ModeNew users can be easily overwhelmed by the many features that are offered by PhraseExpress. That is why PhraseExpress has a very clean and reduced user interface, only offering basic features by default. However, advanced users can 'unleash a beast' by enabling the Expert Mode under Tools The Expert Mode reveals additional options and features which are intentionally hidden by default in order to provide an easy entry for beginner users:
Any setting made in Expert Mode still take effect in Easy Mode. You can also switch between these two modes by right-clicking into any Autotext input field. Settings - HotkeysYou can access frequently used program functions by pressing Hotkeys or mouse buttons. Please additionally see chapter "Settings - Popup Menu - Hotkeys" which describes how you can define additional Hotkeys for phrase popup menu related tasks. General information about Hotkeys are available in the chapter "Hotkeys". Settings - DisplayHere you can instantly change the PhraseExpress user interface language and customize the behavior of the main program window. The option enables a dialog window that appears directly after you have created a new phrase. It allows you to define an Autotext and Hotkey for the new phrase. We recommend that you keep this dialog enabled. Settings - NetworkIf you are using the PhraseExpress Network Edition you must enable the . Otherwise, PhraseExpress cannot connect to the PhraseExpress Server. The communications ports should only be changed if they are used by another program on your individual network. Please find additional information in the PhraseExpress Network Edition manual at http://netman.phraseexpress.com Settings - ProxyIf your computer is connected to the network through a Proxy server you can enter the corresponding settings here. These settings are also used for the software update check. Settings - Software Update CheckPhraseExpress can check whether you are using the latest version and install an update if it becomes available.
The settings is backward-compatible. This means that you will also informed about important updates, even if you have selected the setting . The chapter "Keep PhraseExpress up-to-date" provides additional information about updates. Settings - Popup menusThis settings allows you to customize the number, contents and appearance of items in the popup menu. Please note that more time is required to load because of the amount of items that have to be displayed in the popup menu. Less items result in a snappier popup menu. Minimum input savingsThe parameter Minimum input savings means the difference between what you have already entered and the total length of a text suggestion. Consequently, this parameter defines how many keystrokes you would save if you accept a text suggestion. Example:You have typed "thank yo" and the suggestion would be "thank you for your email.":
Accepting the suggestion at this time would save you entering the remaining "u for your email." which equals 17 keystrokes. We recommend that you change this setting value to at least 15-20. There is little benefit of saving 3-5 characters as the time to evaluate the text suggestions would exceed the time required to finish the last 3-5 characters of the sentence. Just keep in mind that the higher the Minimum input savings parameter, the longer the sentences that are suggested. This parameter works against the precision parameter: If you set a high precision value, then PhraseExpress waits with suggestions until you have entered a few words. Therefore if you also define a high Minimum input savings parameter then the sentence must be really long in order to be suggested. The option allows you to narrow down the list of items in a phrase popup menu by entering any text that is anywhere at any place in the popup menu and not just the beginning. If you enable this option, please increase the value of the setting to 3..5. Otherwise the popup menu would close automatically before you would have the chance to narrow down any item. Settings - Popup menu - PositionPhrase popup menus open next to the input cursor. You can customize the positioning in detail:
By default, the phrase popup appears directly next to the mouse cursor. However, some programs such as Mozilla Firefox send false cursor coordinates to the operating system.. PhraseExpress automatically recognizes invalid coordinates and defaults the popup menu to your choice of following alternative positions:
The function can provide a more precise cursor location. However, it may be incompatible with certain programs which may crash. If you experience such incompatibility, disable this option. Settings - Popup menu - ColorsText and background colors of the phrase description, its associated Hotkey and Autotext and quick keys in the popup menu can be configured separately. We recommend that you choose a slightly different color for text suggestions. This will allow you to distinguish the text suggestion coming from the text prediction feature from the phrases of your phrase library. If you activate the scheme, a few colors cannot be customized as they are defined by the Vista design. Make sure to choose colors with high contrast between text and background to ensure good readability. Right-click a color to transfer the color setting to the complete row. Settings - Popup menu - Key CombinationsConfirmation HotkeyThe confirmation Hotkey confirms the phrase insertion that is currently highlighted in a phrase popup menu. You may want to select a Hotkey that can be easily reached during your normal typing flow. However, you should make sure that it will not be pressed accidentally, to avoid triggering unwanted phrases. We recommend that you either use the TAB, ;, ', / or \-key. Quick Keys'Quick keys' allow you to choose any item in the phrase popup menu directly without the need to highlight it first. You can choose one of the following sets of keys as 'Quick Keys':
Settings - Text Prediction featureAs you have probably learned from your cellphone, the text prediction function is generally a compromise between productivity increase and distraction caused by inappropriate/useless suggestions. PhraseExpress cannot beat this natural law but allows you to adjust the accuracy, amount and frequency of text suggestions. We have chosen very conservative default settings, which generate only occasional but highly accurate/likely text suggestions. PrecisionThe Precision affects how well a phrase fits into the gathered text information stored by the text prediction feature:
We recommend enabling the option: PhraseExpress will automatically increase the precision step-by-step if you ignore too many suggestions and lower the parameter if no suggestions are made anymore. If you are satisfied with the results after using PhraseExpress for a while, you can disable the automatic precision determination to make the setting permanent. Single words vs. full sentencesYou can configure PhraseExpress to suggest single words and/or full sentences. Example: The word 'prediction' in the above example is a single word suggestion which appears while typing 'The text pre'(..). Please note that enabling the text prediction of single words will cause a large number of suggestions, which may be distracting. Another special setting is if you move the slider to level 3: PhraseExpress will then also suggest fractal sentences up to the point where multiple settings start to differ. Example: In the above example 'The house is...' represents the largest portion of the two differing sentences. If you do not want PhraseExpress to suggest partial sentences in order to reduce the number of suggestions, simply move the slider to the right position. Settings - Text Prediction - AdvancedLearn functionThe Text Prediction feature is fully automatic and the phrase suggestions become more and more accurate by just using PhraseExpress. You can, however, drastically shorten the learning curve by letting PhraseExpress look into the past: The can read your sent Outlook emails or text documents to get accustomed to your writing style. Open the Settings You only need to scan your Outlook emails one time (as your written emails probably won't change). If you have a very large Outlook file, you may need to exclude older emails to be imported in order to limit the amount of data. Word expirationThe text suggestion feature is based on an encrypted dictionary file (word.pal) which continuously stores any word (including misspellings) you enter while PhraseExpress is running. To prevent data overload, PhraseExpress automatically removes unused words after the customizable expiration term. If you set a short expiration term of just a few days, the dictionary becomes smaller and unused words disappear quickly. The downside is that PhraseExpress will not offer rarely used text snippets that may otherwise have been useful. You can freeze a certain state of the text prediction dictionary by changing the dictionary file (/MyDocuments/PhraseExpress/words.pal) access rights to read-only. The command-line parameter allows you to launch PhraseExpress with a certain dictionary at start-up (See here). This provides quick access to dictionaries for different tasks or languages. Exit PhraseExpress first before loading a new dictionary. Restrict the text prediction feature to certain programsThe text prediction feature normally makes text suggestions while in any application. You can, however, restrict the text prediction feature to particular programs. Restrict the text prediction feature to certain programsStart all programs where you want to receive text suggestions by PhraseExpress, click the magnifying glass button and select the desired programs. No text suggestions will be made in programs not listed here. If no program is selected, then text suggestions will be made in any program. Exclude the text prediction feature from certain programsSelect the programs where no text suggestions shall be made. If no program is selected, no program will be excluded. You can alternatively enter the names of the program executables, separated by a vertical line. Do not use space characters. This method is not recommended as you probably do not know the exact name of the program executable in most cases. Expert OptionsThe following expert options are only available in Expert Mode (see chapter "Expert Mode"). Important NoteThe Expert options are reserved for advanced users who need to adapt PhraseExpress to special use scenarios. In most cases, we will provide instructions upon request. We do not provide technical support in the event that you change the expert options. Before contacting support, please revert the expert options to defaults.
DelaysThe configures a short delay between each key that is pressed. You should keep this setting on maximal speed unless you want to slow down the text insertion, e.g. for presentation purposes. An additional can simulate manual text input at uneven speeds as if entered by a human. Generally, if an Autotext is entered in any program, PhraseExpress needs to change the program focus away from the target program, process the input and switch back to the target program to insert the text phrase. PhraseExpress has a short delay to allow older computers to switch focus. If you encounter problems with text insertions, experiment with these delay settings:
Paste MethodPhraseExpress uses two different methods to paste contents into the target application:
PhraseExpress can use one of three internal mechanisms for the key-by-key paste method:
We cannot provide a recommendation for any paste method. Please try and experiment with the settings. Miscellaneous
Program StatesPhraseExpress has different states which are indicated by its task tray icon color:
Hotkeys used in PhraseExpressPhraseExpress temporarily uses a few Hotkeys when the program window is open:
PhraseExpress Hotkeys are temporarily disabled when the cursor is placed in the Hotkey input field to allow you to enter/use above Hotkeys for your phrases/folders. Temporarily disable PhraseExpressYou do not need to exit PhraseExpress in order to disable it. Simply click the PhraseExpress task tray icon while holding the CTRL-key to temporarily disable PhraseExpress. This is indicated by a grey exclamation mark in the PhraseExpress icon. Simply click the task tray icon again with the CTRL-key to re-activate PhraseExpress. You can also define Hotkeys under Settings Register PhraseExpress for commercial useIf you are using PhraseExpress in a commercial environment, you must purchase a license and register your PhraseExpress installation:
This procedure is only required one time. An internet connection is required to store the license key association to your hardware on your online license database. Only your license key, program version number and a hardware ID is transmitted for this procedure. After successful registration, the program title bar contains either "PhraseExpress Easy", "PhraseExpress Standard" or "PhraseExpress Pro" and you can now use PhraseExpress for commercial purposes. If you use the PhraseExpress Network Edition, no license key input is required on the workstation installation. The PhraseExpress Server handles all license keys centrally. Please find more information in the manual of the Network Edition. Remove license from PhraseExpressA license key can only be used for one installation. If you wish to use your license key for another installation, please unbind the license association from the current installation first: Open the PhraseExpress main program window and select Help This operation requires an internet connection in order to delete the license key association in our online database. Only your license key and a hardware ID is transmitted for this procedure. You must not continue to use a PhraseExpress installation for commercial activities after license removal. If you forgot to remove a license from an installation, you can remove the license after re-installing PhraseExpress. PhraseExpress Automatic StartDuring installation you will be asked if PhraseExpress should be automatically started everytime the computer starts. If so, a link will be inserted in the Windows Startup file. If you do not want that PhraseExpress automatically starts, click on the Start button, go to Startup and remove PhraseExpress. To reactivate PhraseExpress so that it automatically starts, simply copy a link in the Startup folder. General HintsOf course, we have used PhraseExpress since its first version in 2002 and collected a few hints to help you to get the maximum benefits out of PhraseExpress:
"Undocumented" HacksPhraseExpress includes some hidden pearls and useful tricks for motivated users:
Time savings calculationBased on your individual typing skills and the amount of letters pasted by PhraseExpress, the daily time savings can be accurately calculated. 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 these statistics, click the PhraseExpress program symbol In this section you can also enter your average typing speed (in keystrokes per minute) and hourly rate. Of course, this information is never used and/or transmitted to us. Overview about common typing rates
Calculation exampleGiven an average typing speed of 60 chars a minute, you would need approx. 2 minutes to enter a text containing 120 letters. When using PhraseExpress you would only require approximately 5 seconds to select the phrase or to trigger the Autotext. Thus, your time savings is 115 seconds for each phrase. Given an hourly rate of $20, PhraseExpress saved you 64 cent ($20 per hour * (120 seconds - 5 seconds) / (60 seconds * 60 minutes) = $.64). PhraseExpress uses the currency as defined in the Windows regional settings. Important noteGathering information about the computer user performance may violate employee privacy protection laws in your country. Make sure that it is legal to use this function. If not, disable it under Settings If using the PhraseExpress Network Edition, you can disable the statistics function on all workstation installations by removing the statistic columns 'time saved' and 'money saved' from the monitor of the Client Manager. Storage Location of Your Personal DataTo retrieve the current storage location, Click the PhraseExpress task tray icon The following storage locations are available:
Changing the phrase file locationTo open a specific local phrase file, click File To save the current local phrase file to a new destination, click File The phrase file must reside on a local hard disk. The separate Network Edition allows the user to access a phrase file over a network connection and sharing phrases with multiple users on multiple computers. If the phrase file has read-only access rights, PhraseExpress removes all menu options to create or edit phrases. The phrase contents, Autotexts and descriptions are ZIP compressed and AES encrypted.
PhraseExpress saves data in the following locations:
Phrase file structurePhraseExpress uses an UTF-8 encoded XML file with the file extension .pxp, which is then AES encrypted and ZIP compressed. The resulting ZIP file also has the file extension .pxp. The ZIP file may also contain any bitmaps stored within the phrase file. PhraseExpress can also load XML files directly and you can use your own XML files, e.g. created from your database application and rendered as XML in the following format: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> Separator lines are created with the code <separator><description>-</description></separator> Importing phrase filesClick the PhraseExpress system tray icon Alternatively, drag the desired phrase file into the phrase tree to import the file. You can also right-click the desired phrase file in Windows Explorer and select from the Explorer context menu. PhraseExpress will import the phrase file into the root path and additionally offer to filter out duplicate entries and to organize your phrases. Text data from other applications can also be dynamically embedded into a phrase using a variety of macro functions, such as {#env}, {#adldap} or {#textfile}. Importing Microsoft Word AutoCorrect/Autotext entriesYou can also import your existing MS Office AutoCorrect and Autotext entries into PhraseExpress. Doubles of misspelled entries in the current phrase file will be removed from the imported items. PhraseExpress also offers to disable the AutoCorrect function in MS Word. This is strongly recommended to avoid double triggering. If you use the Network Edition, the imported folder will be set to private, as the user's AutoCorrect files are most likely used solely by the user and not to be shared with all users. Importing TextExpander phrasesPhraseExpress can import your SmileOnMyMac TextExpander snippets in three easy steps:
PhraseExpress will convert the proprietary TextExpander file and import the snippets into the PhraseExpress phrase library. PhraseExpress currently supports unformatted text and most of TextExpander own macro functions (except Apple Scripting as this is not available on Windows platforms). Importing text dataThe separate import utility allows you to create a phrase file from any sort of volume text data, which can then be imported as described above. The Importer can be downloaded free of charge from our website. Exporting PhrasesRight-click the desired folders that include the phrases you would like to export. Select Export from the popup menu and then define the phrase file target directory. Alternatively, drag the desired phrase folder out of the phrase tree onto the Windows desktop to export the folder. 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 when 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 or if the original phrase file cannot be read anymore, please do the following:
Important NoteFrequently backup your phrase file to an external storage media to eliminate the slightest risk of losing your data, e.g. in case of hard disk failure. Keep PhraseExpress Up-to-DateWe continuously improve PhraseExpress and we strongly recommend keeping the program up-to-date with the conveniently provided built-in internet update check. To check manually for updates, connect your computer to the internet and click the PhraseExpress system tray icon Here you can also configure the update check to only notify you about either critical, minor or experimental updates. The online update is deactivated while PhraseExpress is connected to the PhraseExpress Server of the Network Edition. In this case, you can use the Client Manager to check for updates. PhraseExpress can only run the update function if the user is logged in with administrative privileges. Command line parameters for the PhraseExpress program filePhraseExpress can be launched with command-line parameter in order to activate additional functions. This information has no use for normal, everyday users and can be safely disregarded.
Additional command-line parameters for the installation file can be found in the PhraseExpress Network Edition manual. These are useful for remote installations when using the PhraseExpress Network Edition. Uninstalling PhraseExpressImportant note for users of a licensed PhraseExpress installationBefore removing PhraseExpress from your computer, make sure to unbind your license from the installation you are planning to remove. This will allow you to re-use the license key for another installation. Please find more information in the chapter "Remove license".
PhraseExpress can be uninstalled via Start To avoid data loss, the phrase file is not deleted when uninstalling PhraseExpress. You can safely delete this file manually if you do not need your personal phrase file anymore. If the Uninstaller informs the user that PhraseExpress is still running while there is no PhraseExpress tray icon, then strike CTRL-SHIFT-ESC to open the task manager, switch to the tab Processes, highlight the process 'phraseexpress.exe' and end the process. For general technical reasons, PhraseExpress cannot delete any data that is located in User folders, as Windows prevents access to them. If running PhraseExpress from a USB stick, simply delete the program folder that holds all PhraseExpress program files. TroubleshooterPlease check these basic steps first if PhraseExpress does not seem to work at all:
If above suggestions do not help to resolve the issue, please check one of the following hints covering common issues: Undo unwanted Autotext replacementsIf you do not wish to have a certain Autotext replaced by its associated phrase, simply undo the replaced string by deleting it with Backspaces and PhraseExpress will ignore the reverted Autotext the next time you enter it. If you do this multiple times, PhraseExpress assumes that the text replacement is generally unwanted and will offer to edit/delete the Autotext. Alternatively, you can click the PhraseExpress task tray icon while holding the SHIFT-key. This will open the unwanted text replacement in PhraseExpress to allow you to edit or delete the item. You can additionally define a custom Hotkey to open the last executed phrase in the PhraseExpress settings at Tools Does a certain Autotext/Hotkey not work?Trouble-shooting video tutorial
Is text incorrectly or incompletely inserted?Please check the following if text is text inserted incompletely or with wrong characters::
Are you not getting any text suggestions?
Is Editing of phrases disabled?There are a few situations where PhraseExpress disables editing of phrases:
Technical SupportIf you have any technical problem that cannot be solved by above tips, please visit: http://support.phraseexpress.com
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