Continued from ActiveWords - Part 1
Well, I downloaded and installed the trial version of ActiveWords and started to use it. It runs for 60 days in trial mode to give you a good chance to see if it works for you.
So what does it do?
Imagine tapping a short code or full word into the keyboard with the mouse or cursor anywhere and having one of these things happen:
It’s hard to show the program actions actions on the blog but the feature I use most is Substitute Text.
You are probably familiar with AutoCorrect, AutoText or AutoReplace from other applications. ActiveWords Substitute Text is like having that feature everywhere you can type with only one list to manage. No duplication, no hassle, no thinking what template is holding the corrections. If ActiveWords is running anywhere you can type you can do this:
- rcbf substitutes my blog name – RobiNZ CAD Blog
- rcbfd substitutes the name and description – RobiNZ CAD Blog: CAD, Design, IT & Web Stuff
- rcbu substitutes my blog URL – http://rcd.typepad.com/rcd/
- acad substitutes – AutoCAD
- mmf substitutes – MindManager
- name substitutes – Robin Capper
- date substitutes – 10 August, 2005 (well today it does)
- time substitutes – nearly bedtime ~ actually it substitutes the current time which is 23:56:28
- cubic substitutes – ³ as in m³
- f1dms substitutes – Michael Schumacher (see it’s not just for work!)
- f1drs substitutes – Ralf Schumacher
Text Substitution seen above in Notepad applies to Word, AutoCAD, MindManager, Quicken, Command Line, Explorer, Messaging everything!
As an example of actions:
- rcbn launches default browser and navigates to my blog url http://rcd.typepad.com/rcd/
- docl launches Microsoft Word (I use the extn + l to launch applications)
- Highlighting a word or phrase and pressing the ActiveWords key opens Google with the words selected as the search term.
- Type a <First>, <Last>, <First Last>, or <Company> name and be presented with the contact or contacts that match that word. I have three contacts with “robin” so see this list:
How do you interact with ActiveWords?
ActiveWords has a slim monitor bar that gives feedback and access to it’s tools. Normally it’s docked top or bottom of the screen. If you value screen real estate it can be set to auto-hide or turned off.
Is it hard to configure?
No! Many ActiveWords are supplied ready to use and it’s smart enough to help you create your own!
If you do something often like open a document, application, web page or folder ActiveWords will notice and suggest you set up an active word. It’s painless and eases you into using the software. There is a wizard that steps through the set-up of your ActiveWords and the dialogs make them easy to edit.
Here is the set-up dialog for rcbf text substitute:
The rcbn Navigate set-up is similar:
ActiveWords also has a scripting engine which is used for interaction with other applications. This is documented to allow users to create their own complex actions if desired.
ActiveWords Part 3: The learning process and some configuration tips
