TwinkiePaste: paste text phrases into any application
If you use your PC for a lot of writing, for instance as a tech blogger, journalist, student or internet marketing expert, you probably use select text phrases regularly. Maybe it is text that you paste regularly into your emails, code that you need to add to dozens of php files, or an email address that you use for Internet activities. While you can sometimes automate processes in other ways, more often than not it is back to either writing the text manually every time it is needed, or resorting to good old copy and paste operations.
TwinkiePaste is a - super - lightweight alternative that you can use to create a database of text snippets that you use regularly, to enter them using a global hotkey whenever the need arises.
The program launches the configuration window on first start. Here you can add new phrases to the program with a click on the add new button. A phrase consists of a name, a position and text that you add to it. Text can be plain text or formatted text - with unicode support -, and you are free to add as much text as you want to each phrase.
Macros are available to paste text from the clipboard or selected texts. Each phrase that you create appears later on in the menu that opens up when you press the hotkey. It takes a second or so before the menu is displayed on the screen after you use the hotkey to launch it. This may feel out of place at first due to the delay but you get used to it rather quickly. The default hotkey to display the menu is Ctrl-Alt-Enter.
The application plays a sound when the hotkey is successfully used. Note that you can only use the program's functionality after you close the configuration window.
You can modify the default hotkey easily in the program interface, and the program lets you know if the hotkey is reserved or if it was mapped successfully by the application.
The program makes available several related options that you may find useful. It can for instance launch applications for you which you can combine with the program's macro functionality. You can for instance use it to search on Google or another search engine for clipboard or selected text.
TwinkiePaste on top of that features a clipboard monitor that you can use to store several items saved to the clipboard for later usage.
Verdict
TwinkiePaste shows a lot of promise. It is an alpha release and that shines through as it is a bit rough around the edges. All in all though it is working nicely already, and the small memory footprint really is something that makes it stand out.
The configuration menu displays a buy button, which indicates that the program will either be turned into a commercial application when it is released, or that there will be a free and commercial version of the software.
I’ve been using PhraseExpress for this exact sort of thing for a while now and it’s great.
It has predictive features which can be executed by hitting tab quickly but you’ve already reviewed it so I won’t go on :)
Yeah Phrase Express is an excellent program.