Snippets: say a phrase, get a block of saved text

By Published

The Commands page has three kinds of command: punctuation, emoji and snippets. A snippet is saved text that a phrase types for you, such as an address, a sign-off, a link or today's date. The spoken punctuation guide covers the punctuation names. This one is about snippets.

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Steps

  1. Open the Commands page and pick the Snippets tab.
  2. Add a snippet, type the phrase under Say this and the text under Inserts.
  3. While dictating, say insert and then the phrase.

Make a snippet

On the Snippets tab, the add button under the list makes a new row. Say this takes the phrase, and several phrases separated by commas all work for the same snippet. Inserts takes the text. The switch at the end of each row turns one snippet off without deleting it.

Say it

With the switch Require the word insert before a command on, which is how the app comes, a snippet fires when you say insert and then its phrase: insert my email signature. The word insert is what stops a phrase you happen to say in a sentence from turning into a block of text. Turn the switch off and the phrase alone is enough.

The YapToText Commands page with spoken triggers and the text each one inserts
Figure 1. Commands turn a phrase you say into punctuation or a saved piece of text.

Snippets go in after the mode's cleanup, so a rewrite cannot move or drop them, and they work in every mode, Raw Transcription included.

The ones it comes with

  • Today's date. Types the date.
  • Current time, or the time right now. Types the time.
  • Paste my clipboard, or insert my clipboard. Types whatever is on the clipboard.
  • Shrug face. Types ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
  • My email signature. Types Best, and a new line, ready for your name.

Three live tokens work in any snippet's Inserts box: {date}, {time} and {clipboard}. A snippet such as Sent on {date} fills in the day you say it.

Your details, one tap away

Under the list, Suggestions offers Phone number, Work email, Personal email, Home address and Website. Tapping one adds a snippet with a placeholder such as (your number). Put the real value in its Inserts box and insert phone number types it. Each suggestion goes away once a snippet with that phrase exists. Like everything else in the app, they are stored on your Mac.

Move them to another Mac

Export All saves your commands to a file, and Import reads one back. Restore Defaults puts back the built-in commands of the tab you are on.

About the author. I am Ryleigh Newman, and I make YapToText. My hands do not work well enough to type for long, so I dictate nearly everything, and I built this app because I needed it. More about me and the app.

Sources

Questions

Can I insert my address by voice on a Mac?

Yes. Add a snippet with your address under Inserts, or use the Home address suggestion, then say insert home address while dictating.

Do snippets need the word insert?

Yes, while the switch Require the word insert before a command is on, which is how the app comes. With it off, the phrase alone fires.

Can a snippet type today's date?

Yes. Say insert today's date, or put {date} in any snippet.