Hi Mike,
I think you're asking about Tweetie 2 accessibility with TextExpander,
but it's more likely that you'll find list member who are using
Twittelator Pro. Twittelator Pro added support for TextExpander last
month. (Twittelator Pro seems to have the intention of adding
absolutely everything it can to its features <smile>). I'm not using
Twittelator Pro, since quite a lot of its supported features seem
geared to iPhone only usage, and I have an iPod Touch. I thought that
Tweetie 2 was inaccessible until I listened to Justin Romack's
description in the Screenless Switchers podcast that discussed/
evaluated the performance of about 9 different Twitter clients and
Boxcar at the end of October. I think this is the last podcast they
did. Anyway, Justin's demo of Tweetie 2 is about an hour into the
program, after the discussion of Echofon. I'm probably not a good
person to ask about Twitter clients. If you're interested in Tweetie
2, listen to his demo of how to use it in that podcast. There are
fairly detailed explanations and demonstrations, and you can follow
along. The only error I found in his program account was the URL
address he gave to the Help for Tweetie, where he announced a slash
instead of a hyphen between "tweetie" and "iphone"; the correct URL
address is:
http://help.atebits.com/tweetie-iphone/
You can read this and see what you think. You need to use the pass-
thru gesture for some of the features, so listen to the podcast.
HTH. Cheers,
Esther
Babcock, Michael A. wrote:
hi ester;
And one more question, what do you know about accessibility in
regards to the supported twitter app for text expander (the name
escapes me right now, to early, not enough coffee)
thanks
mike
On Feb 15, 2010, at 4:33 AM, Esther wrote:
Hi Mike,
I'm cc'ing this to the Macvisionaries list, since your question
involves the desktop version of TextExpander as well as definitions
that can sync through its iPhone/iPod counterpart TextExpander
Touch app.
The predefined snippets for the desktop version of TextExpander for
the Mac are described on this page:
http://smileonmymac.com/TextExpander/snippets.html
However, as they describe, although you can download the .zip files
from that web page, the easy way to add them is to use the
TextExpander preferences pane. Just launch the TextExpander
preferences pane (either VO-M , arrow down, and press "s y" to go
to "System Preferences" and use Shift-Tab to navigate to
TextExpander and VO-Space to open, or, you can just use Spotlight
to type in the first letters of "TextExpander" and arrow down to
the "TextExpander.prefPane" and press return). On the "Snippets"
tab navigate to the table of Snippets, then VO-Down arrow to the
"Menu Button" and press it (VO-Space). The last menu option will
be "Add Predefined Group". Right arrow to the submenu and select
the group you want to add (e.g, "HTML Code Snippets"). Close the
TextExpander preferences pane with Command-W when you're done.
Another option you might want to take a look at is their "Internet
Productivity Snippets" which contain snippets for URL shortening
services. (Some of these more recent options aren't listed on the
web page links, but are available through the menu button of the
preference pane, so it's easier to add predefined groups through
the menu button.)
There's also a SmileOnMyMac blog, where they've posted hints about
using TextExpander with DropBox and other such items. Just select
the link to their blog on any of their product web pages to read up
on these entries. You can also add predefined snippets through the
"Add" button in the bottom left corner on your page of Snippets
groups on the iPhone app. However, I can't imagine creating most
of my web pages by typing new entries from scratch on the iPhone!
It would be slick if they incorporated TextExpander with apps for
blogging like the free WordPress app. For general purposes of
typing with TextExpander snippets on my iPod Touch, I like the
SimpleNote app, and I now use the free Notational Velocity program
for desktop autosyncing of SimpleNote notes on the Mac in
preference over the JustNotes beta. (VoiceOver navigation feels
very stable with NV.) I don't know what happens on the iPhone when
a call comes in when you're typing into an app, but I think the
fact that you can easily save and sync to the web site version of
SimpleNote means that it's easy to save your work. Then you can
use cut and paste to move content to other apps.
HTH
Cheers,
Esther
Babcock, Michael A. wrote:
good day;
this message written at 11:33 PMAKDT
Smile, how i love text expander.
I am curious, is there a place one can download snibbits from?
E.G. you said something about computer code, and html, can one
access these on the desktop?
mike
On Feb 14, 2010, at 2:16 PM, Esther wrote:
Hi Robert, Mike, and Others,
Yes, as Mike says, TextExpander for the Mac is VoiceOver
friendly. (And oddly enough, although I was away when this post
came in, the next post from someone on the mac-access list was a
recommendation for the desktop app, along with an account of
excellent customer support to a query in the form of an
AppleScript that he's started using with TextExpander.) I should
correct him that he got a 20% discount in connection with this
year's MacWorld event by using the link at his posted site to
make his purchase ($23.96 instead of $29.95):
http://smileonmymac.com/mw2010/
This offer is good through February 28, 2010.
Here's some more background. I'll cc this post to the
macvisionaries list, since it concerns the TextExpander desktop
software for the Mac, which can work in tandem with the
TextExpander Touch app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Like the TextExpander Touch app, the original (Mac only)
TextExpander software lets you define shortcut "snippets" that
expand to phrases like Mike's signature line. Since you can
access and create snippets by bringing up the TextExpander
preferences pane, you get the features that show up when the icon
is accessed from the status menu bar (which can be a potential
problem for VoiceOver for some apps).
Snow Leopard on the Mac allows you to define keyboard shortcuts
that expand into larger phrases, but they only work in a subset
of applications while TextExpander's snippets are system wide.
(To be fair, these are probably the applications you are most
likely to use). The TextExpander snippets are more
sophisticated: you can use their sample snippets to expand to the
current date or time in a format of your choosing. If you are a
web page designer you can used the pre-defined samples to expand
HTML elements around the word you just typed, and you don't have
to worry whether you've correctly typed the various characters,
or you could use the snippet classes defined to assist computer
coding. If you have to generate reports with similar discussion
sections you can custom-define snippets for specific text that
you can later modify.
I use TextExpander to type accented names or characters. If I
want to type a few paragraphs in another language without having
to rely on bringing up the spell-checker for a different language
for certain phrases, I can use predefined snippets. I can also
use this to type in Greek characters and formulae, or text
snippets in languages with non-Roman characters (like Russian).
The other factor that might make this interesting for Mac users
is the interface with the TextExpander Touch app for the iPhone
and iPod Touch, because you can share definitions between the
desktop software and the iPhone app. (The Desktop app allows
more scope for definitions, and use with AppleScripts, so more
advanced Desktop snippet definitions may not be sharable with the
iPhone app version).
Again, the TextExpander Touch app can be used whether or not you
get the desktop (Mac only) TextExpander software. It's mostly
useful if you use one of the other apps that directly support
TextExpander Touch, like Twittelator Pro, Simplenote. There are
a few unlabeled buttons on the app: on the screen that lists
groups of snippets, including sample snippets, and any new groups
of snippets you choose to add, the unlabeled button in the bottom
left corner is the "Settings" button. The "add" button in the
bottom right corner lets you create new groups, or add predefined
groups (e.g., for accented words, symbols, HTML, etc.). On the
"Compose" screen there are two unlabeled buttons. The one in the
bottom center lets you view and select from a list of your recent
note history. The unlabeled button at the bottom right lets you
erase the note or cancel your editing changes. In general, you
will mainly use the "Actions" button at the bottom left to either
send what you've composed to Mail, or to Tweetie (if you have the
Tweetie 2 app), or to copy all text so you can paste it into
another app. TextExpander Touch is on sale for $1.99 (from
$4.99) to celebrate the release of additional apps supporting
TextExpander snippets. (I'm not sure for how long).
Links to pages mentioned in this post:
• TextExpander page at SmileOnMyMac with link to free download
trial for Mac desktop software :
http://www.smileonmymac.com/TextExpander/
* Link to MacWorld discount page for SmileOnMyMac software (20%
off through February 28, 2010):
http://smileonmymac.com/mw2010/
• TextExpander Touch ($1.99, regularly $4.99) by SmileOnMyMac at
the app store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textexpander/id326180690?mt=8
The Mac desktop version of TextExpander comes with a 90-day money-
back guarantee, in addition to the availability of the trial
download.
HTH
Cheers,
Esther
Babcock, Michael A. wrote:
hi;
text expander on the mac is voiceover friendly. My sig here at
the bottom of the message is done with text expander, and parden
i'm not ester. Also, if you go to
http://smileonmymac.com/mw2010/
you can get a 5% off discount. I bought text expander for $23.
Feel free to ask me questions via email:
[email protected]
btw that was entered with the letters "EM" and hitting the space
key, my email. I love it.
Sincerely;
MICHAEL BABCOCK
PO box 18168
Coffman Cove, AK, 99918
907-329-2023
[email protected]
Robert Carter wrote:
Hi,
Esther, I am attempting to reply to you privately. When I
highlight your email address, VoiceOver does not present me
with a menu when I press VO+Shift+M. It doesn't seem to see
your address as a valid address. When I try exactly the same
procedure with other addresses I get the context menu as
expected.
I was wondering whether or not Text Expander on the Mac is
VoiceOver friendly?
Thanks,
Robert Carter
On Feb 12, 2010, at 3:40 PM, Esther wrote:
Hi,
TextExpander Touch, an app that lets you custom define
"snippets" that expand into longer definitions, is on sale for
$1.99 (down from $4.99) at the app store. This is mostly
useful if you're using an app that supports the TextExpander
SDK directly, such as SimpleNote (the free notetaking app),
Twittelator Pro, or Tweetie 2, etc., although you can compose
in the app and send to mail or double tap a button to copy all
text so you can paste in expanded text into another app. It's
particularly useful for defining items that are hard to type
-- like accented names. You can also use their predefined
snippets, so that when you type "dday" ("day" with an extra
"d" at the beginning), your text will expand to the current
date, etc. I use this with SimpleNote. Note that you may
need to change the settings menu on an app that supports
TextExpander Touch to activate text expansion of snippets,
although some apps don't require this. (This is only a mild
recommendation -- it's likely to be much more useful for
someone who makes extensive use of the typing expansion for,
say, Twittelator Pro, than for the general user).
TextExpander Touch ($1.99) by SmileOnMyMac:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textexpander/id326180690?mt=8
And because I find SimpleNote really useful, for its automatic
update access to notes via a free, secure, web account that
you can access from your computer (without having to sync your
iPhone or iPod Touch), and because the developer was really
responsive in fixing an accessibility glitch in the release
before last, here's its link at the app store:
SimpleNote (free) by Codality:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplenote/id289429962?mt=8
Cheers,
Esther
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