Troubleshooting and technical

PhraseExpander stops or doesn't detect abbreviations after a while and I need to restart it. Why is that?

This issue could be caused by your antivirus that erroneously detects PhraseExpander as a dangerous application. PhraseExpander is detecting keystrokes only to enable you to expand abbreviations into phrases. You need to whitelist PhraseExpander in your antivirus program or you can contact your antivirus company to report the problem. We have step-by-step instructions to resolve the problem if you are using Zemana Antilogger, Webroot SecureAnywhere, G DATA Internet Security, ESET Antivirus

PhraseExpander is not inserting the text properly, not deleting the abbreviation, or forgetting characters

Make sure that you don't have other text expansion software running that could interfere with PhraseExpander.

PhraseExpander doesn't recognize the typed abbreviation

PhraseExpander can detect typed keystrokes and therefore abbreviations in almost any application. Please check the following scenarios that could prevent PhraseExpander from properly detecting the typed abbreviations:

If the application you are typing in has been launched with elevated privileges (e.g. as an Administrator) and PhraseExpander has fewer privileges, PhraseExpander cannot detect the typed keystroke there. To solve this, you can launch PhraseExpander as Administrator.
Certain applications have a special way to detect typed keystrokes and PhraseExpander may not be able to detect them (this might happen with some Java applications or X11 applications). If you are in doubt about a certain application, send us an inquiry.
Other text expander applications might interfere with PhraseExpander. To make sure that's not the case, try to disable or close them completely and check if the problem continues to happen.
You might have included an application in the exclusion list. Check which applications are in your exclusions list in Detect typed keystrokes under File → Options → Advanced.

Can I use PhraseExpander with Terminal Services (or Remote Desktop)?

Yes, and you can use one of these approaches:

Installing PhraseExpander on both your local and remote machine This will give you the maximum flexibility as PhraseExpander is working as if you were physically seated in front of the remote computer and typing on its keyboard. To ensure that your local instance of PhraseExpander doesn't interfere with the remote one, disable "Detect commands" on your local machine or, on your local machine, add the Remote Desktop mstsc.exe in your exclusions list from the Options/Advanced (Do not detect shorts and hotkeys). Phrases can be synchronized between the two machines using linked glossaries.
Installing PhraseExpander only on your local machine

This approach will also work with some limitations: since PhraseExpander is running on your local machine and not your remote machine, it will not be able to properly detect the focused applications on the remote machine, and this will limit the functionalities of the macros (for example you cannot focus a certain window), and you cannot use formatted text. This approach can be handy to perform simple text insertion when you need to connect to many different remote machines where PhraseExpander is not installed.

You can use PhraseExpander running on your local machine to insert custom phrases on a remote computer. Just log in to your remote computer and start typing. Abbreviations will be recognized in the remote machine.

How can I quickly add the current application or the selected phrase?

PhraseExpander offers some keyboard shortcuts to perform those operations.

How do I stop PhraseExpander from detecting abbreviations in a certain application?

You can exclude certain applications from PhraseExpander or have PhraseExpander detect applications only in certain apps. Here's how to exclude the current application or any chosen application.

How can I insert formatted text, pictures, and hyperlinks?

PhraseExpander supports formatted text, and you can insert both formatted text and pictures. To do so, you need to enable Rich Formatting for the phrase. A new toolbar will be displayed so that you can apply formatting.

Abbreviations are not recognized inside PhraseExpander. Is that normal?

Yes, it is. Abbreviations are disabled inside PhraseExpander window. This is done to prevent any misfires when modifying and creating phrases. You can test your abbreviations inside PhraseExpander by typing them into the Test pad.

Troubleshooting and technical

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