Creating a shortcut library, no matter what field you're in is a matter of preference. At the end of the day, you have to look at what shortcuts will help you maximize productivity from your text expander. In this article, we'll go over what type of pre-built libraries are good. Then, we'll go over ways to facilitate building your own library. After all, what's the use of have thousands of pre-built shortcuts if you can't remember any of them.
Using Pre-Built Shortcuts
Many beginners to the text expander world believe that using pre-built shortcuts is an easy way to get started. No matter what industry you're in, whether it's authoring, transcription, or personal use -- you can easily find a resource of pre-built libraries in an online forum or newsgroup. We don't believe you will maximize your productivity using pre-built libraries.
The one caveat is if there is a method behind the shortcuts and the particular industry you're in requires you to type thousands of terms. For instance, Jon Knowle's ABCZ System is a solid methodology for creating abbreviations. The reason pre-built lists backed by a methodology can help is because, they provide a mechanism to learn thousands of phrases in a short amount of time. There is very little subjectivity and the value is in the abbreviation method, not the size of the library.
Unfortunately, pre-built libraries aren't offered to all types of industries. The rest of us have to find another way to get an abbreviation list. How about just building our own? It's a novel idea and, as you'll find out, it's really the best way to build your shortcut library.
Creating Shortcuts The 'Old School' Way
Creating your own shortcuts is really the best way to do it because you have a list of abbreviations that suits your needs, nothing more. You won't have to worry about memorizing thousands of shortcuts because the list grows with your usage. You also will maximize your productivity because you're more likely to remember the terms you use than someone elses terms. There are two ways to create shortcuts with Ditto Text Expander:
- On the fly
- Common Phrase Report
Creating shortcuts on the fly. As you type, Ditto will recognize phrases you've used often and offer a "Common Phrase" suggestion in case you would like the phrase instantly. You can click on the popup to bring up the Quick-Add screen with the common phrase pre-filled. All you need to do is add the shortcut string and select a group. Alternatively, you can add a phrase you know is common manually by selecting the phrase you would like to abbreviate and tapping the "Esc" key twice. Ditto will attempt to pre-fill the phrase field with the text you selected.
The benefits of adding text abbreviations on the fly are:
- It's quick
- You don't need to remember to add it later
- You can use it right away
The negatives of adding text abbreviations on the fly are:
- It's disruptive to your workflow
- You might rush through them and not follow a proper & consistent shortcut method
Creating shortcuts using the Common Phrase Report. Ditto Text Expander's common phrase report is an excellent way to add shortcuts. You'll be able to look through common phrases you've typed over the last 30+ days. It's an accurate measure of your usage and it's sorted by the number of time you've used each phrase. Selectively sort through each phrase and double-click the ones you want to add to your library. Again, the Quick-Add screen will pop up with the pre-filled phrase. Enter the shortcut and quickly move through your list this way.
The benefits of adding text abbreviations using the common phrase report are:
- Since you add shortcuts at once, you can maintain a consistent methodology
- Usage count allows you to only add heavily used phrases
- No interruptions while typing, the report captures all phrases in one place
The negatives of adding text abbreviations using the common phrase report are:
- Won't be able to use shortcuts until you go through the list
- Might forget to check for new common phrases
- Need to stay on top of it
Shortcut Method -- Be Consistent and Detailed
A common abbreviation definition method to use is the first letter of each word in the phrase you would like to expand. In order to distinguish the shortcut, you should also add a trigger character. Here are some examples of this methodology:
- ;irt → In reference to
- ;kr → Kind Regards
- ;ct → Carpal Tunnel
Be Consistent. In order to be able to easily remember the shortcuts, there needs to be an abbreviation convention. Remembering thousands of shortcut strings is impossible to do unless you have a consistent and reliable abbreviation system. A method that you can call on by memory is much more reliable and will make this a fun process.
Be Detailed. When creating shortcuts, be mindful of how you will use the phrase. Ask yourself the following questions when you add a shortcut:
- Will I use this phrase often? Is it too unique?
- Are there other similar phrases that I can add now?
You want to ask yourself if you use the phrase often enough to warrant a shortcut that you'll need to memorize. Phrases shouldn't be added to your library unless you believe the benefit of using a shortcut outweigh the cost of remembering the shortcut while you type. Read that last sentence again.
Don't create shortcuts just because you can. Sometimes you might notice the phrase is not used very often, but a subset of it is very common. Be sure to create a shortcut for that subset, you'll reduce your typing by that much at least because the subset phrase is common enough.
Attempt to think through the use of a common phrase and see if there are alternate phrases you might want to abbreviate. This is the best time to create shortcuts for these "sets" of phrases because you can follow a neat and consistent convention. For instance, you might have a common phrase "get back to me by Friday" which you shortcut to ";gbmf". This would be a great time to add the following shortcuts if you feel you would use them.
- ;gbmm → get back to me by Monday
- ;gbmt → get back to me by Tuesday
- ;gbmw → get back to me by Wednesday
- ;gbmh → get back to me by Thursday
Once you start creating shortcuts this way, you'll think of alternate, but commonly used phrases as well. It's all about practice.
Summary
In this article we went over the best ways to build a shortcut library using Ditto Text Expander. We looked at the pluses and minuses of using a pre-built library, and how to approach creating your own. Depending on your preference, there are a couple of ways to add shortcuts. We wrapped up the article with a list of ways to create a more consistent and detailed creation process.
Ditto Text Expander
Ditto is the perfect tool to improve your typing productivity. It works with any program on your PC to substitute shortcuts you type with full phrases.
No memorization required: you can also add text blocks to auto-complete phrases as you type. Ditto is easy to learn and easy to use. You'll be more productive instantly with a utility that grows with your skills... seamlessly.
Some common uses for Ditto are medical transcription, programming, instant messaging, professional job-related software, and any repetitive typing tasks that are time consuming and error prone.