Description
TypeIt4Me is a control panel written by Riccardo Etore, designed to give a Mac a system-wide AutoText capability. Simply put, it allows you to assign meaningful abbreviations to any text you want it to type out for you without having to memorize any key combinations, as you would with a traditional macro utility. You type your abbreviation, and this software will replace it, typing out your desired text. Best of all, it works in every program you can type into.

I chose TypeIt4Me because I actually know the program; it's been around for quite a while. I first tried TypeIt4Me 3.0.1 on my Classic II in 1991 running system 7.0.1. I liked it back then, but My Mac would freeze often, so I removed it among other items. Looking back, perhaps the real culprit was that I hadn't installed System 7 tuner at the time. Much later, I decided to try it again on my Quadra 630 in 1996. I installed version 4.6 running System 7.1.2P. A similar conflict occured, that time it was definitely due to my extensions.

In Use
For this review, I installed it on my PowerBook 3400c running OS 9.1. I put it to the test in my daily environment. To my amazement, it ran exceptionally well. I used it with two of my daily programs, America Online 5.0 and Word 98.
I sat down and typed out a word document with things like my most commonly used information along with my most often misspellings. My worst offender: I tend to leave out the second 'm' in remember. I also use it to insert my most commonly used addresses, emails, names and other contact info. Then, I gave each entry an easy to remember abbreviation. Finally, I copied each phrase, went to the TypeIt4Me menu to add my entry, and gave each an abbreviation. How easy is that?

This tool is especially suited for my needs. Ever since I began using Macs in late 1988, I have never mastered touch-type, so TypeIt4Me can save my fingers from extra typing or just free them up to type more.

Using it is very simple. It ease of use and features make it a winner for anyone who takes the time to set up their entries. Once you've done that, the real key lies in memorizing your abbreviations. If you forget one, you can select
the entry from control panel's menu until you remember the abbreviation. It also has the ability to output styled text, but I found less use for this in my case. I did use it to address letters with the recipient's name in bold.

This time around, I'm definitely keeping it as part of my essential utilities! It has given me rock solid performance with my current OS. Now I can start getting more typing done. It even came in handy for this review.

Summary
TypeIt4Me is an outstanding utility for anyone who doesn't have the time or patience to type the same text over and over again and/or is tired of repeatedly correcting their misspellings. It's free to try, so you can test drive before purchasing. I highly recommend it!

Pros

• Good value shareware
• Easy to install, program and use
• Full-featured

Cons

• For the type of need it addresses, I could find no negatives

Overall Rating

5 out of 5 Mice