aText Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction

If you experience problems, please read below FAQs, and update to the latest version before contacting us.

Registration #back to top

How to register

Restart aText, the Register window will show up. Or view this screenshot.

Serial number is invalid

Just carefully copy and paste your license information directly from the license email. The email is case sensitive.
Provided license information is always correct.

Forget your serial number

Please search your mail boxes for "aText" phrase to find your license email. If it was lost, contact us.

If you purchased aText via Mac App Store, please re-download from Mac App Store.

Mac App Store version #back to top

No longer work

aText Mac App Store version can no longer fully work on OS X 10.11 El Capitan and later because of new App Sandboxing restrictions. This is not fixable.

If you want to use aText on the latest OS X, please purchase license from aText's store.

Refund

If you purchased aText recently via Mac App Store, please request refund from Apple.
Follow steps in this page.

Migrate your Mac App Store license

If you purchased aText on Mac App Store, you can switch to non-MAS (non sandboxed) version for free.

Please do not purchase aText from Mac App Store for migrating to non-MAS version.
Many users were not able to reproduce the process, and the Mac App Store version may be removed anytime by Apple.
No support is provided for migrating fail.


  • Step 1 - Download aText from Mac App Store, open it once, quit it, and keep it.
  • Step 2 - Download and launch aText from this website.
  • Step 3 - If the Trial screen shows up, choose your Mac App Store version to migrate license. If there is no Trial screen, your MAS license is successfully migrated.

Your data will be transferred automatically.

If it does not work, open Finder to find and delete all aText.app in your computer, then try this procedure again.

Can not re-download aText from Mac App Store

This is another problem when purchasing app from Mac App Store. Please try again later. No workaround against this.

Not working #back to top

aText does not work

You hear no click sound when typing abbreviation, maybe aText is disabled. Enable aText by click aText's icon in the menu bar and select "Enabled".

You hear the click sound, but no text generated, most likely you are using Mac App Store version on OS X 10.11 or later. Please read about Mac App Store version.

If you are using normal version, try to restart your computer once. Use "Diagnostic" tool in aText's menu.

aText does not expand correctly

aText may conflict with other apps. Use "Diagnostic" tool in aText's menu.

Secure Input

Secure Input is not bug of aText.
Secure Input is enabled by many apps for password fields input or security features.
When Secure Input is enabled, OS X prevents aText from working until Secure Input is disabled.
If Secure Input hangs, please quit your running apps to find which app does not release Secure Input.

Text incorrectly inserted #back to top

aText inserts long text incorrectly in web browser apps

Try turn on "Automatically use Clipboard for long text" in Preferences \ Advanced.

aText inserts clipboard's content instead of snippet's content

Try turn off "Automatically restore Clipboard" in Preferences \ Advanced, or increase delay.

Editing snippet #back to top

How to expand only after hitting Space or Enter key

In group‘s setting, set "Expand:" to "At delimiter".

How to make hyperlink snippet

Set "Content" to "Formatted Text" (view screenshot).
In the editor, press Cmd+K to insert link.

How to make table, list, coloring, etc

Set "Content" to "Formatted Text" (view screenshot).
Use TextEdit or other text editor apps to edit rich text content, then copy it into aText.

How to change Date/Time format

In snippet editor, double-clicking on a Data/Time variable to access editing data/time format.

General #back to top

aText window shows at login

aText is duplicated in Login Items. Or try turn off "Start at login" option in aText‘s Preferences.

How to disable aText in specific applications

Disable group: view screenshot.

Disable "Auto-Correction" function: view screenshot.

How to make aText work with Parallels virtual machine

  1. Disable Parallels‘s Coherence mode.
  2. Does not use Full-screen mode.

How to insert snippet in password field

  • Way 1 - Use aText icon in the menu bar to select abbreviation.
  • Way 2 - Set a key combination for "Search snippets" hotkey in Preferences \ Hotkeys. Then press that hotkey in password field and search for your password.

Data #back to top

How to transfer aText data

  • Step 1 - Export aText data to ".atext" file, by selecting "File" menu \ "Save...".
  • Step 2 - Import ".atext" file on other computers, by selecting "File" menu \ "Open...".

How to import data from other similar apps

  • Step 1 - Export data from other apps to file.
  • Step 2 - In aText, select "File" menu \ "Open..." and select previous exported file. If aText does not support opening the exported file, try exporting data to .CSV file. CSV format is commonly supported by apps.

How to sync aText data

aText supports Sync via any Sync services, such as iCloud Driver, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.
For example, if you want to Sync aText data via iCloud Driver, you need to enable iCloud Driver in System Preferences on your computers.
If you want to Sync via Google Drive, you need to install Google Drive on your computers.

After enabling / installing your chosen Sync service, set up Sync in aText's Preferences \ Sync.

How to retrieve lost data

By default, aText automatically backup data daily.
Find backups in Backup directory (view screenshot).
Open backup file to restore it.

Contact #back to top

E-mail us at
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