A Review of ActiveWords - 's

Harrie, Cheryl, and I have all been playing around with ActiveWords in combination with InstantText for the last few days. (If you've wondered why our posts here have been fewer than usual, it's because we can't pry ourselves away from our exciting new toy - some of the rest of you had better pick up the slack for a while. )

First, I would be very interested in reports from people who are using AW in combo with other expanders. I believe Harrie is still running ShortHand, but I don't know how much time she has to play around with AW and a secondary expander.

Second, we are happy to report that it seems ActiveWords gets an A on its report card on the line "plays well with others". There are really very few glitches, and less interference with screen real estate than almost any other program I can think of. An occasional dialog box or window may slide its header under a docked AW monitor bar rather than sizing around it, but that is simply fixed with a few AW commands to close, maximize, minimize, restore, or move the current window (=c, =x, =n, =r, and =m, all followed by a double space, in my system.) I actually have far more trouble with windows refusing to size around my IT toolbar, which cuts off important real estate and buttons, versus the AWMonitor bar, which only covers those buttons you shouldn't be mousing to anyway when it is docked at the top of the screen.

By trial and error, I have found the best settings for triggers (the equivalent of IT marker keys) are F10 for the universal trigger, double-space for the shorts requiring confirmation, and all delimiters for shorts not requiring confirmation. The best command to bring up the WorkPad is double Shift for me. Harrie prefers double Ctrl. Both do not interfere with IT, as they just move the selection around the IT advisory at a point you aren't going to be using a marker key to select anything anyway. If you choose to use shorts without confirmation, you need to make sure you don't have the same shorts in AutoCorrect or QuickCorrect, as that would introduce a conflict. I think it's best to set all AW shorts to require confirmation unless you completely replace AutoCorrect/QuickCorrect with AW.

Since AW appears to have limited ability to deal with formatted entries and doesn't at this point allow for a plain text backup, I would not recommend moving to it for large scale expansion purposes yet. You cannot copy formatting with a substitution entry; you need to make a command entry that scripts the formatting inside the expansion. The only way you can get an export from it in generic format right now is to print to a text file using a generic printer, and that will only print what is visible in its window--meaning very long expansion longs will be truncated. You can import from an Excel spreadsheet, and I would recommend setting up long lists of expansions in Excel, and using that spreadsheet as your backup. I have been corresponding with one of the AW developers, and they may be incorporating suggestions for improved expander functionality in a later version. I have stressed that plain text import and, even more urgently, plain text export of substitution expansions can't happen too soon for us. Since command scripts are specific to AW and won't work elsewhere without extensive editing, export for other things would be less useful. One can very easily back up your database of command and control expansions for recovery purposes or to to move them to a different AW install on a different computer.

At the moment AW is best used for very limited expansion functions. Where it truly shines is as a command and control add-on to a good professional expander, and, believe me, you really, really, really want that add-on. It does everything to speed your work that expanders don't do at all, or only do in a very much more limited fashion. Use your expander to do what it does best--take an abbreviated typed entry and turn it into long selections of typed text. Use ActiveWords to let you do everything else you need to do during the day right on the typing line, without ever taking your fingers off the home keys. It will open programs, run searches on your computer and on websites, open directories, name and save files, find text, format text, switch windows, do a calculation in place, insert dates, and perform each and every action you ordinarily need to tab through programs, go down layers of dialog boxes, or hit awkward key combos for, all in response to simply typing a few characters and hitting a double space or F10. You can also chain long sequences of operations from separate scripts in a combined script and run the whole sequence by again just typing a few characters and hitting that double space or F10. Harrie has been experimenting during the last few days with that chaining of all the steps to copy a file into her work platform and dispatch it. She has been completely blown away by the results, a single script that lets her type a few characters to automate it all. Try it, and you will be blown away too. And no, nobody paid me to say that. I am just really impressed with the power for increased productivity this program can put at our fingertips. I give this program a five thumbs up, and I don't do that very often. However, I think ActiveWords just joined InstantText on the short list of MT tools that it will take a crowbar to get out of my cold, dead hands. :thumb :thumb :thumb :thumb :thumb

ActiveWords 60-day free trial with LockerGnome discount for purchase
The page has a note that the Locker Gnome free offer has expired--that was a limited time offer to download the full program free forever. The discount offer is still in effect, however.

Thanks for posting this at MT Desk, Sheila. I'm going to download and join the fun! And the price is extremely reasonable. Heck, I've paid more just to check out programs I end up dumping!

Great, Julie, I'll be waiting to hear what you think.

By the way, in case you or others don't read all the posts to date on this new forum, I have edited the review above to repost the link to the LockerGnome discount offer download mentioned in my original post on ActiveWords.

Hi, Julie! Welcome to Productivity Talk! I'm so glad to see you here this morning!

I have been thinking the exact same thing after just using it several days. It is incredibly priced. And it is incredibly real, this program. Automation features I've never run into in another similar program, and I've tried several.

Sheila, your review is right on the money. You have an incredible talent for discovering, describing, and utilizing program features, and you've done it yet again. I agree that no one should think at this point that it should replace their current expander. Its text substitution is its weakest link, I think. For instance, it doesn't seem to be able to differentiate expanding in caps or not in caps; that is, if I have a short of 24hhm for 24-hour Holter monitor, it still comes out in lower case if I have caps on. However! That could be improved, I'm absolutely certain! (Especially with tonks' encouragement) Another "however" here, I am enjoying the text substitution feature because, as mentioned, it does not seem to conflict with IT at all. The completely different trigger keys simply run beautifully. I've definitely been using it for entries that start with numbers, so far. I've been actively working the past few days with both programs in use, and not once have I run into a conflict. Sheila, when I get the time, I certainly will see how it behaves with ShortHand. I suspect the result will be the same. So, I too give it a 100% for playing well with other programs. Also as stated by Sheila, it has a very small bar. It does not get in my way at all!

I have not fooled with delimeters at all yet. I haven't even begun to explore so many uses!

To me, it sounds strange at first, but it is definitely easier to remember that PT and F10 is the short cut for Productivity Talk, and similarly, all the shortcuts you can make to automate tasks by typing the abbreviation you thought of and hitting the trigger key is easier than remembering function key combo shortcuts. You can type them from anywhere too, your desktop, anywhere. So far, the most useful ones I have are (I know I've said this before but it's so exciting I can't stand it) - shifting focus from Word to my digital voice player window and signing off the job, shifting focus back to Word, performing my macro that changes font size, selects all, copies, saves, closes, opens a new Word document, and then switches to my work platform window and copies it in. All of that, by hitting m and F10! At first, I was scared to tell it to copy into my work platform, but I put in that last step, and it works like a dream! That Wait for Window command is wonderful! Perhaps my mouse will truly, truly become obsolete! Also, several times yesterday, I used it to go to Medilexicon. With the script I was kindly provided, I just ended up typing abb + F10, not even highlighting the word I was looking up, and there I was. No need to open my browser. I also have a short cut to go to my work message board. So many things I haven't yet done, or even thought of!

I guess you can see I'd like to shout from the rooftops about ActiveWords, too.

Hey Julie, again, welcome!

Oh, and this too - where is my mind?! The short cuts to select 1, 2, 3, 4 words back, or the entire line, and have it open the IT dialog you usually get to with Alt + =, well, Mama Mia! Thanks, Paula! LOL, more ecstasy!

Harrie, if you go into ActiveWords Options, Services tab, you will find a selection for making substitutions case-sensitive for entries without confirmation. In other words, for entries set to expand on any delimiter, the way AutoCorrect does it, the program will type out the expansion in all caps if the short is typed with the cap lock on and with the first letter capitalized if the first letter of the short is capitalized. For entries that require confirmation, it will only print out the exact formatting of the entry. You would need to make a second entry with a variant short to get a capitalized version.

However, as stated previously, this is not really an expander program. It will do some simple AutoCorrect-type things for you, and will do them in programs AutoCorrect doesn't work in, but it is best used for command and control, and it should really be run in tandem with a real expander for expansions.

I also give ActiveWords five thumbs up. We all seem to have the same priorities. The first things I set up were searches on web sites, launching programs, and highlighting words and opening Instant Text. I find the F6 key an easier reach to trigger AW. I haven't found any conflicts other than AW hiding the title bar in my browser -- I don't use the mouse to close or minimize windows so that doesn't hinder me. My schedule hasn't allowed me to do much more with AW, but I love the speed in which AW gets me where I want to go! (Gee, if we wait long enough, Sheila and Harrie will have everything we could possibly need all set up for us. )

P.S. Hi, Julie! So nice to see you here!

Yes, F6 is an easier reach on most keyboard layouts, but it does have a global Windows function of switching pane or frame that I do occasionally make use of. F10, on the other hand, only moves focus to the menu bar, a function which is duplicated by the Alt key. Since I do most of my AW expansions off the double space, I find F10 works best as the global key for use if double space isn't convenient.

Of course now I'm wondering if one can create an ActiveWord for the F6 function pane switching function. I'll have to play with that when I get a chance.

Wow, what an amazing sounding program!! I'm very aware that mousing around to do research is where I waste all wasted time on my job....and once you program this wigit that is solved!! Must. have.