Top 10 Mac Productivity Enhancements: Page 4

Price: $27

Anyone who has used Microsoft Word is familiar with its AutoCorrect feature—you know, the one that turns “teh” into “the” and fixes other common typos to keep you from looking foolish. TypeIt4Me does essentially the same thing, but it works in almost any application (including Word).

I use it all the time for frequently typed phrases and code snippets—for example, I type mx and it automagically becomes Mac OS X; I type ar and it becomes (with the insertion point positioned right between the quotation marks, where I want it). Like AutoCorrect, TypeIt4Me offers you the choice of plain or formatted text. But you can also “type” graphics, enter variables (such as the current date and time), and run AppleScripts, all without having to touch the Command, Option, or Control keys.

Whether to save yourself the effort of typing or to save you from your own misspellings, TypeIt4Me is well worth the small investment. Although other utilities exist that perform similar functions, TypeIt4Me has been around the longest and has been my favorite for years.

Runners-up: TextExpander ($30) Typinator ($20).