Switching · All apps
Switch from Typinator, PhraseExpress, and others
For apps whose own files Shorthand can’t read, a spreadsheet export (CSV or tab-separated text) usually works. Typinator can export one; PhraseExpress can’t.
Step by step
1
Export from your app
In Typinator, export a set as tab-separated text or CSV. Other apps usually have an Export command in the File menu or settings. PhraseExpress doesn’t export its library in a format other apps can read: copy your phrases over by hand, or export them one at a time as text.
2
Check the columns (optional)
Open the file in Numbers or Excel. A header row helps: Shorthand looks for columns named like abbreviation, shortcut, keyword, or trigger; content, snippet, text, or phrase; and label or name. Without a header, the columns are abbreviation, content, label.
3
Import it
In Shorthand, choose File ▸ Import Snippets… (⇧⌘I), click Choose File…, and pick the file. It becomes one group, named after the file.
4
Check special codes
From Typinator, dates, date math, the clipboard, the cursor, and simple input fields are converted for you; its functions, pop-up menus, and scripts come across as text, and Shorthand tells you how many. Other apps’ codes come across as text. Rebuild them with Shorthand’s Insert menu; see the macro reference.
Good to know
Quoted fields can span several lines, so multi-line snippets survive.
Commas, tabs, and semicolons all work as separators.
A % sign in your text stays a percent sign.
Not yet confirmed: Typinator’s export columns aren’t documented; a two-column abbreviation-and-text layout has been reported. Its codes were checked against the list built into Typinator 10.3, but not against a real export file. PhraseExpress’s library file is encrypted, so no app can read it. If something doesn’t come across, email support@shorthandexpander.com.
Shorthand is a text expander for Mac. Your old app files stay exactly as they are.