Instant Text FAQ

Contents:

General Questions

Will Instant Text 9 Pro work with my system?

Instant Text 9 Pro is fully compatible with Windows 10 and 11.

It works with all popular word‑processors and all Windows and web applications.

Do you have a trial version?

Yes, we offer a fully‑functional trial version on our Instant Text Download page.

How can I see how many days I have left on my trial?

Go to the About Instant Text window by clicking on the Help button Help button located on the Instant Text Title Bar.

Can I install the software on more than one computer?

The license agreement entitles you to use the software on a single computer. As a courtesy our present policy is to grant one additional free activation for your laptop or your backup computer, provided you are the only user.

If you plan to install Instant Text on a larger scale (3, 4, or more computers) you need to purchase a subscription for each computer.

Note that you must request an activation code from EACH computer.

For multi-user activations please contact support@textware.com.

Do you have a site license?

For a subscription and activation in a multiple user environment please call 1‑800‑355‑5251 ext. 1.

Do you offer technical support?

Yes, technical support is available and free via email to support@textware.com.

Additional resources include:

Can I continue to use the expander list I used in another program?

Yes, the Glossary Viewer→File→Import menu lets you import the lists of most other programs with just a few clicks.

What if I don’t have my own list of shortcuts?

Installation Questions

How do I install Instant Text 9 Pro?

Please follow the instructions on our Installation and Activation page.

How do I activate the software?

You need to submit an activation code request.

To use the fully‑functional trial version, click on the first link in the Activate Instant Text 9 Pro window.

How do I prevent the trial version from expiring?

You need to go to the Instant Text Order page and buy a subscription.

Upon purchase you will receive an order confirmation with a serial number.

This serial number allows you to request an activation code that will last for the time of your subscription.

To request an activation code click on the Request an activation code with your serial number link in the Activate Instant Text 9 Pro window.

How do I open the Activation window while Instant Text is still working?

Please go to the Windows Start Menu → All Programs (All Apps) → Textware and select Activate Instant Text 9 Pro.

Will my glossaries still be there when I buy the software?

Yes. Even when the trial version runs out, nothing gets lost.

As soon as you reactivate the software with a new activation code, everything will be there as you had it before.

Will I receive a CD when I buy the software?

No. You can save the Installer file on a CD. However, redownloading Instant Text from our website has the advantage that you always install the latest version of the software.

Do I need to reinstall the software after purchasing a subscription?

No. Just open the Activate Instant Text 9 Pro window on the computer on which you want to use Instant Text and submit an activation code request using the serial number included in your order confirmation.

You will then receive a new activation code which you need to copy and paste into the Activation window.

When I enter the activation code, everything seems fine. But why does Instant Text not open?

  • You may have typed the code. We recommend you copy and paste it.
  • You may have requested the activation code from another computer.

    • Each computer has a different activation code. The request must be initiated FROM the computer on which you want to use Instant Text.

    Whenever an activation code does not work, please submit a new activation code request.

    I need to reinstall the software. Can I use the activation code I have?

    Each computer requires its own unique activation code. If you reinstall it on the same computer, your activation code may still work. If it no longer works, or if you install the software on a new computer, please submit a new activation code request.

    Will my glossaries still be there when I redownload and reinstall a new version of the software?

    Yes. Reinstalling the software updates the program. It does not affect your glossaries.

    New Computer

    What do I do when moving to a new computer?

    You just need to download Instant Text on the new computer and request an activation code with your serial number.

    How do I transfer my glossaries to the new computer?

    Just copy and paste the InstantTextEXP folder under Documents to an external drive or a USB key. Then copy and paste it from the external drive or USB key to the Documents folder on your new computer.

    This folder transfers all the glossaries as well as your settings.

    Coming from Traditional Expanders

    Can I expand with the space bar in Instant Text?

    Yes, you can. Open the Options Menu and select the Expansion Options... menu item.

    Can I use my own short forms?

    Yes, you can. In the Add Glossary Entry window you can assign the short form you want.

    When you import your expander list, Instant Text keeps the short forms of your list.

    Can I use Instant Text without the visual feedback of the Expansion Table?

    Yes, you can. You can use the toggle Alt - to minimize Instant Text.

    You can also use the Alt \ toggle which will maximize your transcription window.

    You can also reduce the number of lines using the Lines Menu.

    It may take a few days to get used to the visual feedback.

    How do I prevent Instant Text from expanding?

    You can use the Shift Space hotkey to clear the Expansion Table. It will prevent what you type next from expanding.

    To suspend Instant Text momentarily you can press the Ctrl /L keyboard shortcut.

    Getting started

    How do I insert an expansion into my document?

    You expand with Markers: the semicolon ; is the default marker.

    To choose another marker please open the Expansion Options.

    How do I expand an entry further down in the Expansion Table?

    There are several options to move the highlight further down:

  • Type the corresponding line number
  • Use the Shift key to move the highlight down one line at a time
  • Use the Ctrl key to select the last line

    • Can I change the number of lines?

    Yes, you can. Right-click on any of the number columns and select the number of lines you wish to have.

    What do the C and S buttons on the Instant Text caption mean?

    Clicking the button or pressing the Ctrl 9 hotkey toggles automatic capitalization on or off.

    Clicking the button or pressing the Ctrl 0 hotkey toggles automatic spacing on or off.

    The C and S are green when automatic capitalization and spacing are on and red when they are off.

    Can I have the Expansion Table on the side or at the top?

    Yes, you can change the Instant Text positioning in the Client Configurator.

    Do you have a quick guide?

    Yes. The Getting Started Guide gives you a very basic quick tour of IT 9 Pro.

    It is also recommended to read the Help Pages.

    How do I stop Instant Text from linking to certain applications?

    While linked to the application, open the Client Configurator. and uncheck Use Instant Text with this client application.

    The Linking Indicator will turn red.

    You may also use the Ctrl /L toggle to suspend Instant Text temporarily. The linking indicator will then turn orange.

    Glossary Questions

    How do I add a new entry to a glossary?

    Highlight the word, phrase, or paragraph you want to add and press Alt = to open the Add Glossary Entry window. Instant Text assigns the short form automatically according to the Short Form Rules which require no memorization.

    Why is the short form for words the whole word?

    It is not a short form in the traditional sense of an abbreviation that you need to memorize.

    The Instant Text short forms rather define a complete scope of possible abbreviations. They require no dedicated short forms. You type the first letter of the word and any letter thereafter left to right, and Instant Text matches on‑the‑fly which words you may be looking for.

  • You type cdmy or cdmp and the Expansion Table suggests cardiomyopathy.
  • You type cdpu or cdpm and you will see cardiopulmonary highlighted.

    • Can I change the short form?

    Yes, you can. Just press Shift Home and overwrite the existing short form with one of your liking. However, be aware every dedicated short form needs to be memorized.

    Can the short form begin with a number?

    Yes. Instant Text includes glossaries such as the Dates glossaries and the Sutures glossary with entries all starting with a number.

    Can I add symbols to a short form?

    A short form can consist of letters, digits, hyphens and underscores.

    Can I expand an entry with just one letter?

    Yes, you can.

  • The Business glossary has the Singles_1 glossary included.
  • The Medstart glossary has the Medsingles_1 glossary included.

    • These glossaries allow the expansion of the most frequently typed words with a single letter. For each letter of the alphabet you see one possible expansion come up. Getting more than one expansion per letter may be useful when using a touch screen.

    You can find more Singles glossaries in the Glossary\Singles folder and open them in the Glossary Viewer where you are can edit them.

    Can I add a formatted entry?

    Yes, you can. Highlight the formatted text you wish to add, and press the Ctrl Alt = hotkey. The entry will be expanded in the format it was created in, font style and size included. You can add whole templates.

    How do I edit or delete a glossary entry?

    When you see an entry displayed in the Expansion Table and you want to edit or delete it, right-click on it or press Shift Alt = to bring up the Glossary Viewer, then type E for Edit or D for Delete.

    How many entries can I have in a glossary?

    A glossary can have more than several hundred thousand entries. However, the more targeted your glossaries are, the more efficient you will be.

    Can I see my glossary?

    Yes. Just double-click on your glossary in the Glossary Table to open it in the the Glossary Viewer or use the Alt Shift = hotkey (or the equivalent Shift Alt =)

    How do I back up my glossary files?

    Your glossaries are NOT in the cloud. They are on your computer.

    In the File Explorer browse to your Documents folder and copy the complete InstantTextEXP folder to your external backup device.

    It is recommended that you backup regularly. Especially your glossaries are something you don't want to lose.

    Can I use more than one glossary simultaneously?

    Yes, you can. Double‑click on a glossary in your Glossary List to open the Glossary Viewer. Next, click on Includes, then click on Add Include and select the glossary you wish to include. Then click OK.

    For instance, you may want to include the Drugs glossary to the Medstart glossary, or the Dates glossary to the Business glossary.

    You can include one or more glossaries to any glossary in the Glossary List or in the Glossary Viewer. Most of the times you will combine Expansion Glossaries. It is also possible to combine Snippet glossaries, Pick glossaries, etc. However, you can only combine glossaries of the same type.

    Creating Glossaries

    Can I create my own glossary?

    Yes, you can. In the Glossary Menu select New..., type the name you would like to give this new glossary and click OK.

    Instead of adding glossary entries one by one you can have Instant Text scan your documents and pick the most frequently used words and phrases, creating a customized glossary with the terminology used in your documents. Double‑click on your new glossary to go to the Glossary Viewer, click on the Tools menu, select Enrich from Documents... and follow the dialog.

    How do I add my list of shortcuts from another program into Instant Text?

    In the Glossary Viewer go to File→Importer and click on the file type you want to import.

    Instant Text will suggest to open the imported glossary into your Glossary List right away.

    Special Glossaries

    Can Instant Text correct typos?

    Yes. The Typo Glossary is one of the special glossaries. It is always active in parallel with any current glossary you may be using and corrects your typos. To view or make changes to the Typo glossary, open the Glossary Menu and select View Typo Glossary....

    Where can I find the hotkeys Instant Text uses?

    You will find them in the Hotkey glossary. open the Glossary Menu and select View Hotkey Glossary...

    Can I use hotkeys for other actions?

    Yes, you can. You can for instance define an Alt T hotkey to produce the following sequence of actions:

    Hotkey Expansion
    Alt T {ViewTypoGlossary}{Alt A}

    You may use a Display Form like Open Typo Add window to describe the expansion. Your entry will then be displayed as Open Typo Add window in the Glossary Viewer.

    Can I have entries that are always included in all my glossaries?

    Yes, you can. Just add them to the Prime Glossary.

    Open the Glossary Menu and select View Prime Glossary.... Then add the entries you want to be present all the time.

    Note that you can deactivate the Prime glossary at any time using the Deactivate Prime Glossary menu item of the Glossary menu.

    Why do I see entries come up that are not in my glossary such as is → is?

    This happens only when you use Expander Keys, for example the spacebar, to trigger expansions.

    These entries are activated by the Shield glossary. to avoid unwanted expansions such as is → intercostal space.

    To view or make changes to the Shield glossary, open the Glossary Menu and select View Shield Glossary....

    Command Entries

    How do I insert "‑year‑old" without getting a space after the number?

    All you need to do is add a Backspace command at the beginning of your entry.

    Short Expansion
    yo {Backspace}‑year‑old

    This entry, by the way, is already in the Medstart glossary. The Medstart glossary also includes the Ages_x_yo glossary allowing you to type a digit followed by yo to expand the ages until 105‑year‑old.

    How do I create a bold heading?

    In the Add Glossary Entry window, select the text you want to bold and press Ctrl B.

    How do I insert today's, tomorrow's, or yesterday’s date?

    In the Add Glossary Entry window, open the Date Menu and select the Date format you want to use.

    Follow the same method to insert the Time using the Time Menu.

    If the suggested dates or times do not correspond to your desired format, you can define your own format using the Custom Date... and Custom Time... menu items.

    How do I insert fields into an entry?

    Assuming you are using Microsoft Word:

    as in the example below:

    PAST MEDICAL HISTORY: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    PAST SURGICAL HISTORY: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    PAST MEDICATIONS: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    ALLERGIES: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    SOCIAL HISTORY: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    FAMILY HISTORY: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    REVIEW OF SYSTEMS: {Ctrl F9}{End}
    {Shift F11 7}

    Upon expanding this entry you can fill the fields. Press F11 when you want to fill the next field.

    How can I create a template with fill-ins when fields are not possible?

    You can use the Stop & Resume commands.

    Insert a Stop command at each section of your template where you would want a fill-in:

    PAST MEDICAL HISTORY: {Stop}
    PAST SURGICAL HISTORY: {Stop}
    PAST MEDICATIONS: {Stop}
    ALLERGIES: {Stop}
    SOCIAL HISTORY: {Stop}
    FAMILY HISTORY: {Stop}
    REVIEW OF SYSTEMS: {Stop}

    When you expand this entry, at each Stop the remaining part of the expansion is put on hold, giving you time to type specific text or numbers, before resuming the expansion of the remainder by pressing the F8 Resume Hotkey.

    How can I avoid getting a space or capitalization after an expansion?

    Make sure you have the spaces you want in your entry with respect to your Automatic Spacing Options.

    You can always add the

    directives using the Directives Menu of the Add Glossary Entry window.

    Note that you no longer need to add a {NoSpacing} directive at the end of an entry that ends with a command.

    Advanced Features

    What is the difference between Merge and Include?

    When you Merge a Glossary with another glossary it is like adding all the entries of another glossary to your first one keeping the name of the first one. It is only recommended to merge glossaries with the same type of entries such as two drugs glossary files.

    As a backup the original first glossary without the added entries is kept with the changed extension .~xglo. If you want to go back to the original first glossary you just change the extension back to .xglo.

    The effect of an Include is to combine several glossaries as if they were merged. However, you will be able at any time to easily separate an included glossary from its shell glossary.

    How do I quickly get a glossary for what I am typing?

    Go to the Glossary Viewer and open a glossary you want to enrich, or create a new expansion glossary. Then enrich this glossary by using the Glossary Viewer Tools menu. The more text you have the better the glossary Instant Text will compile.

    You can add your document files into the Enrich from Documents window and then choose the compilation settings. You can also enrich from text you have on the clipboard.

    Depending on how much text you compile, you will change the Glossary Compilation Settings, and Instant Text will pick out the most frequently used words and phrases of your documents or your clipboard text. You can easily try out different settings.

    After each compilation the Select Enrich Entries window will open up enabling you to unmark entries you don't want to add, before saving the enriched glossary by clicking OK.

    I see suggestions come up that have no short form? How do I expand them?

    These suggestions are continuations.

    If you are using marker keys only, the continuation on line 1 will be highlighted and can be expanded right away with the marker key. For the other entries you can type the line number and then expand.

    To refine displayed continuations you can also type the first letter of a continuation. For instance, using the Medstart glossary you can type Tp; to produce The patient, and the Expansion Table will show continuations. To see the continuations starting with w just type w.

    Note that an expansion always needs to be highlighted before it can be expanded.

    Can I create my own short form rules?

    Yes, you can. If you have too many two‑word or three‑word phrases with the same initials you may want to choose a short form with more letters than two or three initials to widen the scope of possible abbreviations and bring up all your expansion choices not visible otherwise.

    Open the Short Form Rules window using the Glossary Viewer Options Menu. Click on the tab for which you want to define the rule. Use the number row at the top of the example to select the letters at the beginning and the number row at the bottom to select the letters at the end of each word. With the test phrase you see what the rule looks like.

    Remember, rules need to be memorized. Once you have defined your rules Instant Text will apply them whenever you add a new expansion to your glossary.

    The same rules will also apply when you compile a glossary.

    If you are happy with your rules you can convert glossaries to these short form rules.

    Troubleshooting

    The Add window is filled with text I don't want when I open it. What do I do?

    When you open the Add Glossary Entry window with Alt = Instant Text adds what is on the clipboard.

    To clear the window press Alt E and then Enter or select the Edit → Clear Entry menu item.

    I can't type a ;

    The default marker key to expand is the ; and you most likely have possible expansions in the Expansion Table.

    To make sure to get a ; instead of an expansion, press the Shift Space Reset Typing Context Hotkey first before typing the semicolon.

    My entries are no longer showing up in the Expansion Table.

    You may have toggled off linking. If the linking indicator is no longer green, click on it to restore the link or press the Ctrl /L toggle.

    Automatic spacing or automatic capitalization have stopped working.

    You may have toggled them off by accidentally pressing the toggle hotkeys Ctrl 0 or Ctrl 9.

    If the S or C button on the Instant Text Title Bar are no longer green, but red, click on the S or C button or press Ctrl 0 or Ctrl 9 to toggle them back on.

    I am getting extra letters when expanding certain entries.

    Make sure no other expander programs are enabled.

    I am getting a capital "I" whenever I type b.i.d.

    An easy solution is to include the Medabbrv.glo to your working glossary. Then you just expand bid to b.i.d.

    I am getting no space after the comma when typing a date though automatic spacing is on.

    The immediate solution is to press Shift Space after the comma before typing 2023.

    The better solution to type a date like August 14, 2023 is to include the Dates_MDY-20XX glossary. Then you can type 14au and produce August 14, 2023 with less keystrokes.

    I get a message "Cannot find file". What happened?

    You may have deleted a glossary file from your Glossary folder without closing it from the active Glossary List or the Glossary Viewer. Always first close the glossary you want to delete from the Glossary List and the Glossary Viewer. Also make sure it is no longer listed as an included glossary in any of your glossaries in use.

    If you don't find the answer to your question here, please email support@textware.com

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