Support

TextExpander touch has iPhone-formatted online help.

FAQ

Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below. Your question might already be answered.

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If you can't find the answer you need in the Help or the FAQs, send an email to TextExpander touch Support. Smile's responsive support team will answer your email as quickly as possible!
We try to answer all our support mail within 24 hours — and most of the time much sooner than that! If you've emailed us and have not had a response within 24 hours, your email may not have reached us for some reason. Please resend it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does TextExpander touch have the same functionality as TextExpander for the Mac?

Given the current feature set of the iOS, TextExpander touch cannot work in the background (as it does in Mac OS X), expanding text snippets while you work in other apps, except for TextExpander-enhanced iOS apps. You must first compose your text in the TextExpander touch Note screen, and then transfer it to another app.

Which iPhone and iPad apps have TextExpander-integration built-in?

See this complete list of TextExpander-enhanced iOS apps. You'll find popular apps like Elements, Nebulous Notes, iA Writer, Things, Twittelator, Simply Tweet, Simplenote, WriteRoom, and many others.

I want TextExpander touch in my favorite app. What should I do?

Let the developers know! Send an email and give them the link to our free SDK: http://www.smilesoftware.com/sdk. Developers are usually responsive to customer requests. You can also email us and let us know that you think your favorite apps would be great with TextExpander integration, so we can contact the developer as well.

Do I need TextExpander for the Mac to use TextExpander touch?

No. You can use TextExpander on your iPhone or iPad without having TextExpander on your Mac. You can create snippet groups, add new snippets, and assign abbreviations to them on the iPhone. You can also add Predefined groups (like AutoCorrect or Symbols), as well as add external snippet groups that you have uploaded to the internet.

Can I sync with the TextExpander snippets on my Mac?

Dropbox sync support was added to TextExpander touch beginning with version 1.2. In the TextExpander touch settings, turn on Dropbox under Synchronization. You will need to enter your Dropbox account information. (Get a free Dropbox account at http://www.dropbox.com.)
You'll be offered two options. Choose "Link to Dropbox" to use your current TextExpander snippets. Do not choose "Replace Dropbox Data" unless you want to replace all your Mac snippets with the snippets on your iPhone.

Can I transfer my snippet groups from TextExpander on the Mac to TextExpander touch via WiFi?

If you don't sync your snippets, you can still transfer your snippet groups from one device to another via your local network. Important: Your Mac and your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch must be on the same WiFi network. In TextExpander for Mac "Share groups on local network" must be checked in Preferences > Sync.  In TextExpander touch "Share Groups" should be turned on in Settings > Local Network Sharing.

1) From the Groups screen of TextExpander touch, tap the plus (+) button at the bottom.
2) Tap "Add via Local Network".
3) Tap the name of the Mac you'd like to add from.
4) Tap the name of the group you'd like to add.
5) An alert will appear in your TextExpander Preference Pane on your Mac, asking you to confirm that you want to send the group to your iPhone. Click "Send".

How can I enter today's date with a TextExpander touch snippet?

Here are a few examples of special snippets that you can use to insert current date and time:
%e %B %Y = 26 August 2011
%m/%d/%y = 08/26/11
%A, %B %e, %Y = Friday, August 26, 2011
%1I:%1M:%S %p = 4:02:41 PM

Use the following special codes to insert days, months, years, and times.
%Y = Year, 4 digits (2011)
%y = Year, 2 digits (11)
%B = Month, long name (January)
%b = Month, short name (Jan)
%m = Month, 2 digits (01-12)
%1m = Month, 1-2 digits (1-12)
%A = Day, long name (Monday)
%a = Day, short name (Mon)
%d = Day, 2 digits (01-31)
%e = Day, 1 digit (1-31)

%1H = Hour, 24-hour clock, 1-2 digits (0-23)
%H = Hour, 24-hour clock, 2 digits (00-23)

%I = Hour, 12-hour clock, 2 digits (00-12)*
%1I = Hour, 12-hour clock, 1-2 digits (0-12)*

%M = Minute, 2 digits (00-59)
%1M = Minute, 1-2 digits (0-59)
%S = Second, 2 digits (00-59)
%1S = Second, 1-2 digits (0-59)
%p = Time, AM/PM
*Note the codes for 12-hour clock use a capital letter i

What other special codes can be used in TextExpander touch snippets?

%clipboard = insert clipboard contents here
%| = position cursor here once snippet is pasted

Which Twitter clients can TextExpander touch directly send text to?

- BirdFeed
- Twitterrific, Twitterrific Premium
- Twitter
- Twittelator Pro
- TwitterFon, TwitterFon Pro
- TweetBot

How do I add a snippets file via a URL?

First, you need to upload a snippets file to your server. Here's an example URL for a snippets file:
http://www.smilesoftware.com/te/example.textexpander

Then follow these steps:
1) Under Groups, tap the plus (+) icon.
2) Tap "Add Group via URL."
3) Enter the URL location of your snippet file.

Why doesn't TextExpander touch support rich text and images?

The iPhone's text views do not support rich text and images. The Mail application is an exception because it uses an HTML editor rather than the standard text view. There's also a bit of a Catch-22 in that the iPhone does not include code to access rich text strings as stored in your snippets and so there's no way for us to convert them to HTML "on the fly" on the iPhone. Perhaps we can improve this, though even if we do, it will only work for pasting into Mail.

What does TextExpander touch do to my Address Book?

By default, nothing. Prior to TextExpander 1.1, this is where TextExpander wrote the info to be shared when you enabled Share Snippets under Snippet Sharing in the TextExpander touch Settings. The purpose of this is to allow other iPhone applications access to the TextExpander data so that they can offer TextExpander functionality directly in their app using our free TextExpander engine library. TextExpander 1.1 and later write shared snippets to a persistent clipboard behind the scenes, so any “TextExpander” entry in your Address Book is no longer used and can be deleted.
Developers who are interested in integrating TextExpander functionality in their iPhone apps can download the TextExpander touch SDK.

Can't find your answer?

If you can't find the answer you need in the Help or the FAQs, send an email to TextExpander touch Support. Smile's responsive support team will answer your email as quickly as possible!
We try to answer all our support mail within 24 hours — and most of the time much sooner than that! If you've emailed us and have not had a response within 24 hours, your email may not have reached us for some reason. Please resend it.