How to write code (or anything else) much quicker with text substitution

Do you find yourself spending your days writing the same text over and over? You could save yourself hours of time by using text substitution software.

There are lots of text substitution packages available, but they all work in a common way - you set up shortcuts (small pieces of text), which when triggered are substituted with longer pieces of text.

Here's some shortcuts in action that I've set up for writing HTML:




Not just for writing code

The application of text substitution isn't limited to writing code. It comes in handy any time you find yourself writing the same text from day to day. For example, I find myself writing the phrase "writing for the web" a lot, so I've set up a "wftw" shortcut that does that for me. You can even set shortcuts for whole canned email responses to common questions and save yourself a whole load of time.

More information

For a great overview of the topic and the tools available for different operating systems, see the lifehacker article Save time with text substitution