12 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Text Replacements on Your iPhone, iPad, or Mac « Apple :: Gadget Hacks

If you frequently use specific emojis, it may be worth setting up text replacements for them so that you don’t have to open the Emoji keyboard and hunt for them or rely on suggestions actually appearing in the Predictive Text field above the keyboard.

Some emoji you could use with text replacements:

Emoji    trigger idea    trigger idea
-----    ------------    ------------
🖕       fu              fck
🤯       mindb           mindblown
🍕       za              pizzaslice
🫸🧠🫷    brainhurts      bh
🫷😣🫸    gimmespace      pushout
👉🙄👈    notlistening    canthearyou

There’s an emoji or emoji combination available on your iPhone to depict many different thoughts and feelings, but some things still need an old-school touch. That’s where emoticons come in.

You’d normally type your full email address out when you need to enter it into a message, form field, or wherever. But it’s much easier to assign a shortcut for it. If you have multiple email addresses, you can assign similar shortcuts for each one using @ and the email provider’s name. If you have a lot of email addresses on the same service, you can go with @ and a numbered approach, whether it’s more @ signs or ascending numbers.

Text replacement ideas for email addresses:

Email address           trigger idea    trigger idea
-------------           ------------    ------------
user@gmail.com          @gmail          mygmail
user@outlook.com        @outlook        myoutlook
user@yahoo.com          @yahoo          myyahoo
user@aol.com            @aol            myaol
user@company.com        @company        mywork

More ideas:

Email address           trigger idea    trigger idea
-------------           ------------    ------------
primary@email.com       @@              @1
secondary@email.com     @@@             @2
tertiary@email.com      @@@@            @3
quaternary@email.com    @@@@@           @4
quinary@email.com       @@@@@@          @5

As with email addresses, you probably type your phone number out frequently, and text replacements can speed it up. The simplest way to create keyboard shortcuts for phone numbers is using the number or pound (#) sign. You can use # plus your area code as the trigger or, if you have multiple numbers with the same area code, description plus #. Of course, these are just a few examples.

Text replacement ideas for phone numbers:

Phone number        trigger idea    trigger idea
------------        ------------    ------------
818-555-0100        #818            cell#
747-555-0101        #747            home#
310-555-0102        #310            work#
738-555-0103        #738            fax#
424-555-0104        #424            voip#

If you’re required to write the same email repeatedly at work, whether it’s a “welcome to the company” email or a canned response to all the cold pitches you receive, text replacements are a great choice, especially if you tend to write the same email across different email accounts.

Just note that the phrase field has a limit of 2,000 characters. You don’t have to worry about anything getting cut off, though, since the Text Replacement feature will throw an error at you if you go over and try to save it.

Example email template used with text replacements:

Trigger
-------
congratsemail

Email
-----
Dear [Recipient's Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to take a moment
to extend my heartfelt congratulations on your recent
appointment to [Position/Role] at [Company Name]. This is
an exciting milestone in your career journey, and I have
no doubt that you will excel in your new role.

Your dedication, hard work, and expertise have always been
apparent to everyone who has had the pleasure of working
with you. Your contributions to [Previous Company/Project]
were invaluable, and I have no doubt that you will bring
the same level of professionalism and enthusiasm to your
new position.

I wish you all the best as you embark on this new chapter.
Please know that your colleagues and I are here to support
you every step of the way. Congratulations once again!

Warm regards,

[Your Name]
[Your Position/Title]
[Your Contact Information]

By default, Apple automatically includes “omw” as a trigger for “On my way!” If you use other shorthand expressions for common phrases in text or iMessage conversations — or wherever — you can save them all as shortcuts.

Text replacement ideas for texting abbreviations:

Full phrase             Trigger idea
-----------             ------------
call me back            cmb
for what it's worth     fwiw
Good morning.           gm
Happy Birthday!         hb
if I recall correctly   iirc

There are even more ways to make text replacements work for you. For example, you can use them to insert code in your favorite programming language or add a group of hashtags to your Instagram post. Really, there are endless possibilities to speed up your typing.

Other text replacement ideas:

Expansion                               Trigger idea
---------                               ------------
print("Hello world!")                   hellopython
System.out.println("Hello, world!");    hellojava

#photography #photooftheday             #instapics
#picoftheday #instagood
#photo #selfie #nofilter
#instapic