Text Expanders - Type Less, Bill More

You type the same phrases over and over. "Phone call with." "Review and revise." "Opposing Counsel." Every single day. Text Expanders fix that. Type a short abbreviation, and TimeNet Law instantly replaces it with the full phrase. Two keystrokes become twenty words. Your fingers will thank you.

How Text Expanders Work

The concept is dead simple. You define an abbreviation and the text it should expand to. When you type that abbreviation in any description field, TimeNet Law automatically replaces it with the full text. No special key combination needed. Just type the abbreviation, and it expands.

Text Expanders work in every text field where you write descriptions: time entries, expense entries, Quick Capture, the Full Entry window, and notes fields. Anywhere you type billing descriptions, your expanders are active.

Built-in Defaults

TimeNet Law ships with a set of commonly used legal abbreviations already configured. You can start using these immediately:

• pcw expands to Phone call with
• oc expands to Opposing Counsel
• rr expands to Review & Revise
• mtgw expands to Meeting with
• emw expands to Email correspondence with
• dft expands to Draft
• prp expands to Prepare
• rsch expands to Research regarding
• tlcw expands to Telephone conference with
• attn expands to Attention to

Creating Custom Expanders

The real power is in building your own library. Think about the phrases you type most often. Client names, opposing parties, court names, specific legal terms. Anything you repeat is a candidate.

A few examples to get you thinking:

• scny → Supreme Court of the State of New York
• msj → Motion for Summary Judgment
• mtd → Motion to Dismiss
• dep → Deposition of
• clnm → [Client Name]

Managing Your Expander Library

As your library grows, organization matters. The Text Expanders settings panel shows all your abbreviations in a searchable list. You can:

• Search by abbreviation or expansion text
• Edit any existing expander by clicking on it
• Delete expanders you no longer need
• Sort alphabetically or by most recently added

Tips for Building an Effective Set

• Start with your top 10. Look at your last month of billing. What phrases appear most? Those are your first expanders.
• Keep abbreviations short. Two to four characters is the sweet spot. Longer defeats the purpose.
• Avoid common words. Don't use the or for as abbreviations. You will trigger them by accident.
• Include trailing spaces. Add a space at the end of your expansion text so you can keep typing seamlessly.
• Build over time. Every time you catch yourself typing the same phrase twice, stop and make an expander for it right then.

Text Expanders vs. Shortcuts

Text Expanders and Shortcuts both save you typing, but they work differently:

• Text Expanders replace abbreviations inline as you type. They work inside any description field and expand individual phrases.
• Shortcuts are billing-specific codes that auto-fill entire time entries, including client, duration, and description. They are triggered from the shortcut field, not inline.

Use Text Expanders for phrases and sentence fragments. Use Shortcuts for complete, repeating billing entries. They work great together.

Keep exploring:

• Shortcuts for full entry auto-fill
• Quick Time Entry for the fastest manual entry method
• Keyboard Shortcuts for app-wide key commands