A productivity tip on typing expansion software “From the Desk of David Pogue” at the New York Times. Typing expansion applications work like Microsoft Office’s “AutoCorrect” feature but are system-wide and include a web-address shortening function:
“Just copy some huge address, for example, and then type ‘/bitly’ into any program; TextExpander pastes in a tiny URL (like http://bit.ly/6EYLj) without your having to open your Web browser and visit a URL-shortening site. It’s fantastic if you use Twitter, where every character counts”.
In addition to speed, typing expansion also cuts down on typos – as long as you type your entries in correctly in the first place.
My problem with typing expansion is remembering which abbreviation I’ve assigned to what. Distinctive words are easy: intnat = international, devt = development, minfa = Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emp = employment. It’s the small, everyday words like “the”, “this”, “here” or “there” that get me. David seems to have it down to a fine art; I guess I need to hone my shortening skills.
You can read David’s article here.
Picture courtesy of Michal Hadassah
By Marian Dougan