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We’ve written about PhraseExpress before because of the fact that it’s a free application for personal use ($50 for commercial users). They are pretty smart giving away their software for home users, because they know once you start using it you’ll want to have it in front of you while you’re at work as well. So if you do happen to be a PhraseExpress user you’ll be pleased to know that version 6 was just released today, and includes some nice improvements:
- Support for HTML formatting
PhraseExpress now supports Rich Text and HTML-formatted phrases which can include pictures and hyperlinks as well. - Up to 10x faster loading time
A new file format reduces the phrase file size by more than 10 times compared to previous versions. - Restrict Autotext and Hotkeys to certain applications
The scope of Autotexts and Hotkeys of any phrase can now be restricted to certain programs or excluded from a customizable list of applications. - Autocomplete for individual words
The unique text prediction feature which has been introduced in v5 has been significantly improved. Additionally, it also offers to auto-complete single words rather than full sentences only. - Multi-language support
PhraseExpress supports Unicode for multi-language phrases but now also offers to switch the keyboard language layout automatically. - Automated Email creation
PhraseExpress can now compose an email including html text/bitmaps (Outlook only), file attachement and definition of cc: and bcc:. The body text length is now only limited by Outlook and PhraseExpress can be configured to send the email immediately without need of confirmation. - Runs from a USB memory device
PhraseExpress can now be used on a USB memory stick. If running from an USB stick it stores all user and configuration data on the removable device only and leaves no traces on the host PC.
Another free text replacement utility is Texter, and while it isn’t as powerful as PhraseExpress it is definitely a fast and simple tool. Give them both a whirl and see which one works best for you. But remember, PhraseExpress is only free for personal use.
This is a innovative piece of software. Combine t with polyglot 3000 and the possiblities are endless.
This software is good, but they’ve got an anti-GTD registration pop-up that ruins the experience. If you use a phrase they feel is for commercial use, the program will shoot a timed pop-up asking the user to register the product, thus ruining whatever you were doing… The “list” of commercial triggers is waaaay too broad. Stick with AutoHotKey, IMHO.
I definitely agree… it can be a huge time saver.
Huh, didn’t realize they checked what phrases you use to determine commercial use. It hasn’t flagged any of my phrases yet.
We publish and inform about this policy here: [phraseexpress.com]
Please note, that PhraseExpress is no hobbyist project but a professional solution with many people involved. We are not backed up by a billion dollar company like FireFox or Skype.
Even though, we offer a free version and we believe that the present model is a fair deal. If you have a amarter idea about the licensing we are eager to learn more: [contact.phraseexpress.com]
We can certainly not confirm this for the current version.
You may hopefully agree that phrases such as “Your order”, “Dear Customer” or “Thank you for purchasing(..)” clearly and undoubtlessly indicate commercial activities. All trigger phrases are of such obvious kind only.
We would be curious to learn why you complain about this license model. If you believe that a false alarm occurred in your particular case then we kindly ask you to send in your phrase file to pex-at-phraseexpress.com and we will gladly verify it for you. All that for free.
AutoHotkey certainly has it’s strength in Windows Automation (at the cost of complexity).
We believe to deliver the best feature set for typing productivity and Autotext, AutoCorrect, Auto-Completion. Here is a complete feature-list: [phraseexpress.com]
Michael
PhraseExpress Team
[phraseexpress.com]
PhraseXpress rocks. Rick, You are a desperate loser if you cheated them.
To me that totally makes sense. I was wondering what kind of phrases triggered it, and I think you guys are going about it the right way. Hopefully Rick will agree.
I gotta agree with Rick on this one. I installed PhraseExpress and found the pop-ups randomly generated. And the 5 second wait before you can continue is deal breaker for me.
Geez, having a bad day, JackShack? The only ones “losing” are those that resort to name calling tech forums.
Hey Ryan – Cybernetnews used to be one of the *premiere* tech blogs, along side LifeHacker. Is the trickling content an unfortunate trend to stay?
The license reminder is shown in a random fashion. However, this does not mean at all, that the commercial-use detection itself is made by random. We kindly ask for your understanding that we are not able to explain the license violation detection in more detail.
Please just try to understand these basic facts:
* PhraseExpress is free for *personal* home use. Period. The policy is advertised and explained in detail at [phraseexpress.com]
* Use with commercial sounding phrases or use in corporate network environment is *not* free-of-charge.
* PhraseExpress does actually *verify* if the license policy is violated.
* If you have the feeling that the commercial detection is a false alarm in your individual case, we invite you to send in your phrase file for free inspection.
By the way, NONE of the guys complaining here have sent anything to us so far. Mmmmh…
Please understand that we can only provide such professional software free-of-charge to personal users, if the ongoing development is supported by professional users who get a significant productivity increase in return.
I hope that you understand, that a “deal” would *break* the license reminder rather than the license reminder ought to be a deal breaker.
Michael
Unfortunately it’s tough for us to write more than one article per day. We are no longer doing the site full time, and only maintain it as a hobby now.