TextExpander Story: Amber Hewitt – web developer, designer, dog staring contestant

To start, please introduce yourself and what you do for a living.

I’m a front-end web developer and graphic designer at my own company, Graphicgoo.

And how about what you do for fun?

I’m either riding my motorcycle or losing a staring contest between one of my two dogs.

If you can remember, think back to your work B.T.E. – Before TextExpander. What were those dark times like?

It was a copy/paste nightmare. I used to have a document open with a list of my most used text snippets. Switching back and forth wasted a lot of time.

Do you remember how you discovered TextExpander?

I think I read a review on Macworld about TextExpander. I bought it thinking it was just a cool little tool. After using it for over six years, TextExpander is something I can’t live without!

How has TextExpander improved your workflow, particularly in regard to your line of work? On which aspects has it had the most impact?

TextExpander saves me so much time when editing WordPress templates. Not only can I call up a bit of code quickly without looking it up, but have it be accurate, too (no missing semi-colons!).

I’m also having to add dummy text to new sites until the client provides their copy. I created a snippet with the “Lorem ispum” dummy text to fill the space – one-for-one paragraph and one-for-three paragraphs.

Can you share a couple of your TextExpander stats?

On my current computer, I have saved almost six hours and expanded 349 snippets since March 2016.

Finally, could you share a couple snippets that are specific to your industry?

I use this snippet to register (create) a new widgetized footer in my WordPress template:

snippet: ?regfooter

content: // Register the widgetized footer area.
function arphabet_widgets_init()

register_sidebar( array(
'name' =\> __( 'Footer 1', 'themename' ),
'id' =\> 'footer_1',
'description' =\> __( 'Widgetized Footer Region 1', 'themename' ),
'before_widget' =\> '\<div\>',
'after_widget' =\> '\</div\>',
'before_title' =\> '\ ',
'after_title' =\> '\</h2\>',
) );
}
add_action( 'widgets_init', 'arphabet_widgets_init' );

If you’d like to share anything else, you have the floor.

I think TextExpander is invaluable to people who have some difficulty typing on a computer. I have carpal tunnel in both hands and will use any tools or apps to minimize hand movement. TextExpander allows me to work at my computer throughout the day.

We thank Amber for taking the time to share her TextExpander story and teach us that dog staring contests are a thing. If you have a story to tell, let us know. Keep up with our tips, and stories, on Twitter @TextExpander or on LinkedIn.