PhraseExpress is a software suite which makes it possible to integrate the features discussed above in Windows. The integration process is seamless. It is like “set it and forget it”. You just have to install and enable PhraseExpress and everything else will be taken care by the software itself. PhraseExpress sits in the system tray quietly and does its job when needed. PhraseExpress is free for personal use. You can download PhraseExpress and install it on any 32-/64-Bit Microsoft Windows XP, 2003/2008, Vista or Windows 7. When running the setup, PhraseExpress will ask you if you want to use the network feature. Please un-check this feature as it will install PhraseExpress as a 30 day trial.
After installation, you will see a new PhraseExpress icon in the system tray. You will need to enable PhraseExpress in order for it to start working. To enable PhraseExpress, just click on the system tray icon and select “Direct access to settings -> Enable PhraseExpress” from the menu item.
PhraseExpress includes a Text snippet manager which can save pre-defined phrases which can be triggered on pressing a shortcut. For example, if I have to use the word “Make Tech Easier” a lot of times, I will create a new phrase by clicking on the system tray PhraseExpress icon and selecting “Create new phrase”. By default, this will create a new phrase from the clipboard item. You can also create a new phrase from the following menu which will give you advanced options to be configured: Click “PhraseExpress system tray icon -> Direct access to settings –> Open phrase file properties”. Here you can also organize the phrases in different folders. You can also assign a hotkey for automatically inserting the phrase anywhere you want.
The auto-correct and auto-complete features works along with the text snippet manager. For example, There is a common phrase “also known as“. We are adept at typing the shorter version as “aka“. When PhraseExpress is working, typing “aka” will automatically print “also known as“. While you can create your own custom phrases, you can also download commonly used text templates from the PhraseExpress site. In addition to these features, PhraseExpress also includes loads of other features including a clipboard manager to keep track of last 20 copied items, program launcher which uses text shortcuts to launch programs. Another handy feature of PhraseExpress is that it includes a built-in pocket calculator which can perform calculations on the go while you are typing in the text. See the following screenshot to see the beauty of the pocket calculator.
If you are using Windows and have to use your keyboard most of the time, there is no way you should ignore this nifty software. It is a strongly recommended software for normal users as well as technology geeks. What are your thoughts about this software? Do you use any other software for this purpose? Please share with us in comments below.
