One of the great features of iOS is the automatic capitalization of new sentences (words following a period character). This feature is absent by default from OS X but the good folks over at Smile Software give us a way to implement it using TextExpander.
TextExpander is a system utility for Mac OS X that monitors your keyboard input and automatically inserts words or phrases, called “snippets,” based upon abbreviated keyboard input. For example, it can be programmed to replace any instance of “hhome” with your home address, or “ttime” with the current time. It also comes with some useful built-in options, such as preventing double capitals, and it allows you to sync your custom snippets between multiple Macs. Best of all, TextExpander works system-wide, with nearly all Mac applications.
The option we’ll be discussing today is Auto-Capitalization. First, if you don’t already have it, head over to Smile’s website and grab the free trial of TextExpander. It installs like most applications by simply dragging the application package from the downloaded disk image to your Applications folder. Once installed, launch TextExpander and go to Preferences > Options. In this window you’ll find an option to “Capitalize new sentences.” Check the box and new sentences typed anywhere inside OS X will start capitalized, just as they do in iOS!
Enable this option to bring iOS-style capitalization to OS X.
If you want this feature to be implemented in all applications, set “Correct capitalization in:” to “All Applications,” as shown in the screenshot above. You can also choose, using that same menu, to exclude certain applications or to create an inclusive list of only a few select applications.
This feature, and the many others included in TextExpander, will make typing faster and easier on your Mac. For iOS users, be sure to also check out TextExpander Touch (US$4.99 from the iOS App Store).