Snippets

[KadinMEastway]

Description of the new feature / enhancement

Similar to Raycast on macOS, Snippet features include the following things:

Snippet menu

• I can create a snippet (name, keyword, snippet text) ~ Keyword referring to a sequence of inputted characters, not a key binding or shortcut
• I can insert placeholders into the snippet text using curly brackets {} to allow for additional customization
• I can manage/edit a snippet

Machine-wide Functionality

• When I type a keyword in any text field, it will be auto expanded(replaced) with the corresponding snippet text
• I can use a hotkey to quick view all my snippets so I can directly choose the right snippets if I forgot the keywords
• When I pick a snippet from the quick view, the snippet text will auto paste to the text field I focused and copy the snippet text to clipboard

This is very similar to another issue that was closed due to lack of author feedback (#26970), however it is NOT a duplicate of #1758 or #671. Please see supporting information for examples.

Scenario when this would be used?

Any time you have text/characters that are being used semi-frequently:

• Special characters/symbols (Emoticons, unicode characters, keyboard symbols)
• Form entry (Addresses, emails, phone numbers, account links, current date)
• Large messages (LinkedIn intros, customer feedback requests, thank you emails)
• Templates (Git commit messages, Project README.md's, GitHub issues, C++ Makefiles)

Supporting information

Here are links to the snippet extension in Raycast on MacOS detailing functionality and use examples:
(~3 min YT Demo)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSbZjxgl1Qc
(Docs)https://www.raycast.com/core-features/snippets
(Example Snippets)https://ray.so/snippets

[similar-issues-ai]

We've found some similar issues:

• Text Snippet and Expend #26970 , similarity score: 83%

If any of the above are duplicates, please consider closing this issue out and adding additional context in the original issue.

Note: You can give me feedback by 👍 or 👎 this comment.

[KadinMEastway]

We've found some similar issues:

• Text Snippet and Expend #26970 , similarity score: 83%

If any of the above are duplicates, please consider closing this issue out and adding additional context in the original issue.

Note: You can give me feedback by 👍 or 👎 this comment.

Leaving this open as the old issue was closed with no movement. (Will close in the event that #26970 is reopened)

[TheJoeFin]

Was searching other similar issues and I think that this is covered by #30902, do you think this is different enough that it should warrant it's own issue? /needinfo

[KadinMEastway]

After reviewing #30902, these do not appear to be covering the same feature set. The main idea for this one involves using a sequence of characters/string of text (snippet key) rather than a key binding or shortcuts as provided in the alternative. They do allow for similar utilization, but accomplish it in different ways. For more specifics of snippet usage, I would strongly recommend watching the 3 minute youtube demo I linked under the Supporting Information section. If you still believe they overlap after watching the full demonstration, then I would leave it to your team to decide how to proceed.

[TheJoeFin]

@KadinMEastway I did watch the video on Raycast and there are a few different issues in PowerToys which cover all of the features mentioned in that video.

First would be expanding text: #5074
Then would be adding variables: like covered in #30902

Do you know of any tool for Windows which does the text replacement after typing a string of characters? I'm not sure if there are documented APIs for this. /needinfo

[KadinMEastway]

@TheJoeFin thanks for linking the additional issue (#5074). This does seem much more similar, and as such I am fine with them falling under the same feature. Looking forward to when/if this becomes an official part of PowerToys, but I will instead look for another tool that offers the same functionality in the meantime.

[TheJoeFin]

@KadinMEastway sounds good, if you do find a tool that does what you want please share what it is here, that'll be helpful for sure