HandyPaste vs macOS Text Replacements

Every Mac comes with Text Replacements (System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Text Replacements): type a short abbreviation, and macOS swaps in a phrase. It's free, built in, and syncs to your iPhone. For short, fixed phrases, it's hard to beat.

HandyPaste is for everything longer or smarter than that. You can keep using both.

At a glance

	HandyPaste	Text Replacements
Call up text	⌥⌘V, type a few letters, Return	Type an abbreviation
Long, multi-line text	Yes	Single phrases work best
Folders, search, favorites	Yes	One flat list
Today's date, the clipboard, the cursor	Yes	—
Ask for a name or a choice	Yes; choice lists with Pro	—
Fill in whole forms	Yes (Pro)	—
Works in	Every app where you can paste	Apps that support macOS text replacement
Sync	Between Macs, through iCloud	Mac, iPhone and iPad, through iCloud
Price	Free; Pro is a one-time purchase	Built in

Text that changes each time

A replacement always pastes the same words. A HandyPaste snippet can fill itself in:

Hi {{input:Name}},

Thanks for your message on {{date:full}}. {{cursor}}

Best regards,
{{var:Name}}

It asks for the name, adds today's date, leaves the cursor where you'll write the rest, and signs with the name saved in your variables (Pro). All placeholders

A library you can find things in

Replacements live in one long list in System Settings. HandyPaste keeps snippets in folders, with keywords and favorites. The picker finds them by title or by any word in the text, and the library's search even understands abbreviations like "hmadr" for Home Address. The library

Every app where you can paste

Text replacement works in apps built on the Mac's own text system. HandyPaste pastes the way you would, with ⌘V, so it works in any app that takes a paste: browsers, Slack, Word, Terminal, help desks and CRMs.

When Text Replacements are enough

• Your snippets are short and never change, like an email address or a fixed phrase.
• You want the same shortcuts on your iPhone.
• You'd rather install nothing.

Many people keep their two-word replacements and move everything longer into HandyPaste.

Get HandyPaste on the Mac App Store, or read Getting started.