Features

Part I covers using mail merge, Part II addresses using the email client’s template feature, and this one is about third party software. It isn’t just for creating fast email replies, but also for speeding up repetitive typing of anything. Here’s the text file of the first two parts for printing or using offline.

I use shareware program, Shortkeys and I’m very happy with it. I’ve created responses for questions I am often asked and for submissions. I also have different versions of my signature stored as sig1, sig2, etc. When I want to use one, all I have to do is type, “;sig3.” The ; is what triggers the program. Sig3 is the name of the shortcut.

You don’t have to use ; as the trigger. That is what I chose. It can be whatever you like. In fact, you don’t have to even use a trigger… but be warned! If you make shortcut called “arc” and typed “archive” or “Marc,” ShortKeys dutifully responds and prints the content for “arc.”

Turning on a prefix key tells ShortKey not to take action unless the selected prefix key is pressed, so nothing happens unless you type ;arc. Since I rarely use semi-colons followed by words, it works great. At first, I thought it should have a trigger where I can click its system tray icon once to turn it on / off (instead of right-click), but that is slower than using a prefix key.

I use a lot of shortcuts on the keyboard and often have the CTRL key pressed and then press the up arrow to go up. Instead, that would bring up the ShortKey menu. You can get around this by changing the preference.

If you have a trial version of ShortKeys, uninstall it before installing the registered version so you don’t have two directories. Also, be sure to save your shortcut file someplace safe so you can import it into ShortKeys.

Lew Lehrman has suggested a similar program that called Robotype, which I haven’t tried. He uses it for quick responses to various repeat questions, subscribes, inquiries, etc. Download it from PC Magazine, which I believe requires a subscription for downloading. I couldn’t find the program elsewhere.

He says, “You enter the text (a word, a phrase, a long letter) and assign it a two (or more) letter code. I use a combo that won’t ever occur in normal writing. Then anytime you enter those letters and a space, the saved text appears. Works in every software app I have, online, in emails (one code for title, one for text).”

Another program is QuickPhrase, a utility for adding favorite phrases to any Windows program. Got one you like? Add it in the comments.