ActiveWords

http://activewords.com

Function
ActiveWords lets you define a word or phrase as a shortcut for applications, files, Web sites, text substitutions, a set of actions, and more. It can be run on a Windows XP/Vista Tablet PC or UMPC with the ActiveWords InkPad utility.

Use
Words you type are active ANYWHERE you type them. Others in my family have difficulty remembering what to do to invoke the scanning software on my PC, so I added the ActiveWord “scanner” to launch it, and checked the “confirm” option. So I can type scanner, followed by a space, and the toolbar will tell me I’ve typed an ActiveWord, and if I then press the ActiveWord Key (set to F8 by default – change with Menu, options, monitor Bar, Set ActiveWords Key), the action associated with that ActiveWord is performed. In this case, my scanning program, HP Director, launches, and the word scanner I just typed is erased. If I don’t press the F8 Key, no action is taken, and the word scanner is treated as an ordinary word. If I hadn’t chosen the confirm option, the action is automatic without using F8. This is commonly used to correct misspellings or for other text substitutions.

Misspellings? ActiveWords spelling correction has a wordlist of over 7000 common misspellings which apply ANYWHERE you type – in a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a chatroom, a fill-in Web form, entered from a keyboard macro, etc.

One of the misspellings in the included wordlist is “thru” which is corrected to “through”, so I had to edit the wordlist and either remove that item or mark the confirm option for it (I tried it both ways) to let me use the name of one of Computer Outlook’s sponsors, Data Drive Thru (the Tornado).

To get to the misspellings wordlist, type the word misspellings followed by your ActiveWord Key (F8).

The misspellings module can also correct double caps at the start of a word, which can occur if you’re not quite quick enough releasing the shift key. For those in the computer field, this can be a problem – OSes gets changed to Oses, etc. I shut it off with Menu, options, services, and unclicked the relevant box.

ActiveWords will suggest setting an ActiveWord for an action after it’s seen you do it 3 times. You can change this number with Menu/options/Assistants.

There are some specialized applications – ABA codes gives American Bar Association billing codes from words such as depositions; C++ programming help expands from shorter words; spellings; capitalization; ASCII codes, etc.

You can use the same keyword for multiple possible actions – e.g., “shop” could then give you options of Amazon.com, buy.com, tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, etc. Or you can use multiple keywords for the same action – cnn and news could both take you to cnn.

Report (Menu/Productivity) – quantifies savings based on certain assumptions about typing speed and hourly rate (user-changeable)

Appearance
ActiveWords places its toolbar at the top or bottom of windows screen, full width. You can set it to autohide (Menus/options/monitor bar, click autohide box), which keeps it from covering other items you want to see, but makes it harder to notice the confirmation prompt. However, autohiding the menu means you only see the “ActiveWord entered” item, without the description and prompt saying to Press F8 to use it. You need to hover by the hidden toolbar so it unhides to see the rest of the info.

Marketing
ActiveWords is marketed by “word-of-mouth” or “buzz” (and by Buzz – Buzz Bruggeman, founder of ActiveWords), rather than traditional media. A review in USA Today resulted in 32 downloads, but a post by blogger Robert Scoble resulted in over 300.

OSes
Now – Windows 95-Vista, including Tablet/UMPC

Plans/vision - cell phone, PDA device, desktop PC (Windows/Mac), or other networked device. iPhone, Treo, Blackberry, TV, Tablet, PocketPC. From their website: “The Treo is one of those pervasive computing devices that one day will be using ActiveWords!”

Getting It/License
http://activewords.com/compare.html
60 day free trial – nag screen every time you boot up, requires clicking on “Trial” to proceed. You receive an immediate 5 day trial without registering, or you can register to extend your trial for 60 days. The trial is risk free and fully functional. Buying the software removes the nag screen.

Comparison – Enterprise version has a shared Wordbase Manager, allowing use with both individual and shared wordbases.

Individual user - $49.95 for ALL your computers
Enterprise - $29.95 per seat