Documentation

SmartText Docs

Everything you need to get the most out of SmartText.

Installation

SmartText is a free Chrome extension available on the Chrome Web Store.

  1. Click Add to Chrome on the Chrome Web Store
  2. Click Add extension in the Chrome dialog
  3. SmartText opens an onboarding page — follow the 6-step guide
  4. Click the SmartText icon in your toolbar to open the popup
Note: SmartText works on all websites except chrome:// pages and the Chrome Web Store itself.

Your First Shortcut

Creating a shortcut takes about 10 seconds:

  1. Click the SmartText icon in your Chrome toolbar
  2. Click + Add
  3. Enter a shortcut key — use a hyphen prefix like -ty
  4. Enter the expanded text
  5. Click Save

Now go to any website, type -ty followed by Space, and watch it expand.

The Hyphen Convention ⚠️

This is the most important habit to build with SmartText.

Always start your shortcut keys with a hyphen ( - )

If you name a shortcut ty, SmartText will expand every time you type "ty " anywhere — mid-sentence, in search bars, everywhere. This is almost certainly not what you want.

Use -ty instead of ty

Hyphens almost never appear at the start of a word naturally, so expansion only happens when you deliberately type the shortcut. All built-in templates follow this convention.

❌ ty + Space anywhereExpands even when you don't want it to
✅ -ty + SpaceOnly expands when you type the hyphen first — intentional

Folders

Folders let you organise shortcuts into groups. You can switch between two views in the popup:

  • Flat mode — all shortcuts in one list with folder badges. Best for quick access and searching.
  • Folder mode — browse folders first, then drill into a folder to see its shortcuts.

Click the 📂 / ☰ toggle button in the popup header to switch between modes. Your preference is saved.

Creating a folder

In folder mode, click + New Folder. Give it a name and pick an icon from the picker. When you delete a folder, its shortcuts move to Uncategorized — they are never deleted.

Template Library

SmartText includes 5 built-in shortcut packs. Click the 📚 icon in the popup header to open the library.

PackShortcutsBest for
📧 Email Replies10Acknowledgements, OOO, signatures
🤝 HR & Recruiting10Shortlists, rejections, scheduling
💻 Code Snippets10Functions, hooks, try/catch
💬 Customer Support8Greetings, escalations, closures
✍️ Markdown8Headers, bold, links, code blocks

Installing a pack creates a matching folder automatically. Already-installed shortcuts are shown crossed out and skipped.

Variables

Variables are placeholders that get replaced when the shortcut expands.

VariableReplaced with
{{date}}Today's date (e.g. 11/04/2026)
{{time}}Current time (e.g. 2:30 PM)
{{email}}Your email from Settings
{{cursor}}Places your cursor at this position after expansion

Click the variable buttons (📅 🕐 ✉️ 📍) in the shortcut editor to insert them, or type them manually.

Example:

Meeting confirmed for {{date}} at {{time}}. {{cursor}}

Expands to: Meeting confirmed for 11/04/2026 at 2:30 PM. (cursor placed at end)

Rich Text Formatting

SmartText supports basic markdown-style formatting in the shortcut text. Use the toolbar buttons in the editor, or type the syntax manually:

SyntaxResult
**bold**bold (in rich text editors)
*italic*italic
`code`inline code
\n (↵ button)New line
Formatting renders in rich text editors (Gmail, Notion, Slack). In plain text fields (INPUT, TEXTAREA), formatting markers are stripped and only the text content remains.

Domain Restrictions

You can restrict a shortcut so it only fires on specific websites.

  1. Open the shortcut editor (create or edit a shortcut)
  2. Check Restrict to specific domains
  3. Enter the domains separated by commas: gmail.com, mail.google.com
  4. Save the shortcut

On all other domains, the shortcut will be ignored even if you type the key.

Use this to have separate work and personal signatures, or code shortcuts that only fire on GitHub and not in email drafts.

Floating Widget

SmartText adds a small A button on the right edge of every page. It gives you quick access without opening the popup.

  • Drag — drag the widget up and down the right edge. Position is saved.
  • 🔍 Search Shortcuts — opens the searchable overlay
  • Enable / Disable — toggles SmartText on/off for the current session
  • ✕ Hide Widget — hides the widget on all pages

To bring the widget back after hiding it, go to Settings → General → Floating Widget toggle.

Shortcuts Overlay

Press Ctrl+Shift+Q (Mac: Cmd+Shift+Q) on any page to open a searchable overlay of all your shortcuts. Press Esc to close it.

You can also open the overlay from the floating widget menu.

Dark / Light Mode

SmartText supports both dark and light themes. Toggle using:

  • The ☀️ / 🌙 button in the popup header
  • Settings page → General → Theme buttons

Your preference is saved and remembered across sessions.

Export & Import

Back up your shortcuts or transfer them to another device via the Settings page → Shortcuts Backup.

  • Export — downloads a .json file with all your shortcuts
  • Import — loads shortcuts from a .json file. Duplicates (same shortcut key) are skipped.
Settings are not included in export/import — only shortcuts. To transfer to a new device, export on Device A and import on Device B.

Keyboard Shortcuts

ShortcutAction
-key + SpaceExpand shortcut
-key + TabExpand shortcut
Ctrl+Shift+QToggle shortcuts overlay on current page
EscClose overlay