Two small keyboard features can save you real time on a Mac: Text Replacement (type a short code, get a full phrase) and autocorrect (macOS fixing typos as you go). One is underused; the other sometimes gets in the way. Here is how to set up both, and how to switch off the parts that annoy you.
Text Replacement: type a code, get a phrase
Text Replacement lets you define a short trigger that macOS automatically expands into longer text, system-wide. Type omw and get On my way! Type @@ and get your full email address. It works in Mail, Messages, Notes, TextEdit, Safari form fields, and most apps built on Apple’s standard text tools.
How to add one (current macOS)
- Open the Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
- Click the Text Replacements… button.
- Click the + (plus) button. In the Replace field type your short code; in the With field type the full text.
- Click Add, then Done.
Shortcut: hit Command–Space for Spotlight and search “text replacements” to jump straight to this screen. (New to Spotlight? See our guide to using Spotlight.)
Pick codes that won’t misfire
The one mistake everyone makes: choosing a trigger that is also a real word or the start of one. If you set addr to expand to your mailing address, typing “address” will trigger it. Make triggers distinct:
- Double the first letter: aaddr, eemail.
- Add a prefix you’d never type by accident: xsig, zphone, ;omw.
The replacement fires when you press Space or any punctuation right after the code.
Ideas worth setting up today
- Your full email address, phone number, and mailing address.
- An email sign-off (“Thanks, followed by your name on a new line”).
- Hard-to-type symbols you use often: → ° — ✓ ®.
- A canned reply you send constantly.
The gotchas nobody warns you about
- It syncs over iCloud. Replacements you add on the Mac show up on your iPhone and iPad (Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement on iOS), as long as iCloud is on.
- It doesn’t work everywhere. Many third-party apps — especially Electron apps like Slack, VS Code, and Discord, and often Chrome — have spotty or no support. It shines in Apple’s own apps.
- Plain text only. No bold, links, dates, or clipboard content — for that you’d need a dedicated snippet app.
Autocorrect: keep it, tame it, or turn it off
Autocorrect is a separate feature that fixes spelling as you type. It’s independent of Text Replacement — your replacements still fire even with autocorrect off. If autocorrect keeps “fixing” names, code, or slang into the wrong word, here’s how to stop it.
Turn it off for the whole Mac
- Open System Settings > Keyboard.
- Under Text Input, click Edit… next to Input Sources.
- Turn off Correct spelling automatically, then click Done.
Turn it off for just one app
Open the app, then choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Correct Spelling Automatically from the menu bar. When the checkmark is gone, it’s off for that app only — handy when you want autocorrect in Mail but not in a code editor.
The bottom line
Set up five text replacements this afternoon and you’ll feel the payoff by tomorrow. Turn autocorrect off where it fights you, and leave it on where it helps. These features work identically on every Mac Apple sells — so even a budget machine from our Apple clearance section types just as smart as the priciest one.
Writing a lot? See our pick of the best Mac for writers and the 30 Mac keyboard shortcuts that matter. All guides →
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn’t my text replacement working in Chrome or Slack?
Those apps (and most Electron-based apps) don’t fully support macOS Text Replacement. It works reliably in Apple’s own apps — Mail, Messages, Notes, TextEdit, and Safari form fields. For universal expansion, a dedicated snippet app is the workaround.
What’s the difference between Text Replacement and autocorrect?
Text Replacement expands a code you defined into text you chose. Autocorrect changes what it thinks are typos automatically. They’re independent — you can run replacements with autocorrect completely off.
Do my replacements sync to my iPhone?
Yes, over iCloud. Add one on your Mac and it appears on your iPhone and iPad, and vice versa, as long as iCloud is enabled for keyboard data.
How do I stop autocorrect from changing a specific name?
Turn off autocorrect (system-wide or per app as above), or add the name as a Text Replacement that maps to itself so macOS stops “correcting” it.