Frequently Asked Questions about Text Blaze for macOS
This is the FAQ page for the Text Blaze for macOS app.
You can contact us directly at support@blaze.today. You can also post a general question on our Community Forum.
My snippet doesn't trigger or update when I edit it.
If Text Blaze snippets are not completing when you try to trigger them, try the following steps:
Are the folder snippet trigger rules set up the way you want them?
See the question for instructions on folder snippet trigger rules.
Is the app installed and active?
You should see the Text Blaze icon in the macOS Menubar.
If after these steps you still encounter difficulty, please contact us at support@blaze.today
My snippet triggers twice when using it in a browser
This can happen if you have both the Chrome extension and the macOS app installed. To fix this, you can open the Text Blaze Dashboard in Chrome. You will see an option, asking whether you want to automatically detect the extension or permanently enable or disable the macOS app in Chrome browsers. If you don't see this option, you can also open your account settings in the macOS app, which will have a toggle for this option.
If this does not solve the issue, please email us at support@blaze.today
How to use the {site} command in the macOS app?
{site} command is not yet supported in the macOS app. To use it, you can install our Chrome extension.
My shortcut is deleted but the snippet is not inserted
This issue can happen when the target application uses a different paste shortcut than ⌘+V. To confirm this issue, simply copy some text and try pasting it into the target app using ⌘+V.
If this is not your issue, please email us at support@blaze.today. Otherwise, please first find a valid paste shortcut for your application. Common examples are ⌘+Shift+V, Shift+Fn+Return, etc. Once you have that, follow these steps:
- From MacOS, go to the Apple menu and choose "System Preferences" and then go to the "Keyboard" preference panel
- Choose the "Shortcuts" tab and then select 'App Shortcuts' from the left side menu
- Click on the "+" plus button to create a new keyboard shortcut on the Mac
- Next to 'Application' choose whether you want the keyboard shortcut to be used in all applications or a specific application
- Next to "Menu Title:" type the exact name of the menu option item you wish to create a keyboard shortcut for
- Click on "Keyboard Shortcut:" and press down the exact keystroke you wish to use for the keyboard shortcut you are making
- Click "Add" when finished
- Go to any application with the aforementioned menu item available and pull down the menu to confirm your custom keyboard shortcut is now available for use
Why is there extra space, new lines, or whitespace in my snippets?
When using advanced Text Blaze features like {formtoggle} or {if}, you may sometimes see extra line breaks or new lines in your inserted snippets. See the tidying whitespace guide to learn why this happens and how to get rid of any extra space.
I want my snippets to trigger when I do...
Folders have a snippet trigger type that controls when typing their snippets' shortcuts will activate those snippets. You can configure which snippet trigger type is used for a folder on the folder's configuration page.
There are three trigger types:
- Started by Word Break (the default): Snippets will be triggered when the shortcut is typed at the start of a new word. They will not be triggered if the shortcut is typed in the middle of a word.
- Started and Ended by Word Break: Snippets will be triggered when the shortcut is typed at the start of a new word and another non-letter character is typed. Example use cases: autocorrect (e.g. replace "theyre" with "they're") and enabling very short shortcuts that would appear in regular text (e.g. replace "w" with "with").
- Anywhere: Snippets will be triggered anytime they are typed even if it is in the middle of a word. Example use case: accented characters (e.g. replace "\e" with "é").
The following table illustrates whether the snippet \go will be triggered for each of the sample texts depending on the snippet's folder's trigger type.
| Typed Text | Trigger Type: Started by Word Break | Trigger Type: Started and Ended by Word Break | Trigger Type: Anywhere |
|---|---|---|---|
| It is time to \go. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| I ate \goat cheese. | Yes | No | Yes |
| Donot\go. | No | No | Yes |
How do I share snippets with someone else?
Text Blaze allows you to share snippet folders. Simply open up the folder in the Text Blaze Dashboard and click the "Sharing" tab. You can share the folder with one or more people. Each person will require a Text Blaze account.
You can control what access the recipients have to the shared folder and snippets. There are three access types: Owners, Editors and Viewers. Owners can edit and delete folders in addition to changing sharing. Editors can edit folders and their snippets. Viewers can only view and use snippets.
You can also use Text Blaze's Import/Export feature to share snippets. But the folder sharing capability is generally a better approach as it will keep snippets in sync as changes are made to them.
I want to change my account's email address?
Here are instructions on how to change your email address.
Where is my data stored and how is it secured?
Text Blaze protects user data from account creation using Google’s authentication services, to encryption of data in transit to and from Text Blaze servers using browser based Transport Layer Security (our application dashboard has an A+ rating from Qualys SSL Labs), and finally encryption of that data at rest on our servers using the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
We work with industry leading Cloud service providers. Our core systems are built on the Google Cloud Platform and our community forums run on Digital Ocean. These service providers maintain industry-standard security certifications such as SOC 1, SOC 2, and ISO 27001.
How to use Text Blaze on native desktop or native mobile apps?
For Windows, you can install the Text Blaze for Windows application.
For Mac, you can install the Text Blaze for macOS application.
Supporting native apps on other desktop/mobile platforms is on our roadmap, but we do not have any ETA. You can add a vote for your favorite platform here.
The Text Blaze Chrome Extension works inside the Chrome browser. Note that many apps such as Outlook, MS Word, Slack, etc. have websites where you can use them (outlook.office.com, slack.com). In these websites, Text Blaze Chrome extension will work.
My question is not answered here
You can contact us directly at support@blaze.today. You can also post a general question on our Community Forum.