Netspeak no more

Abbreviations have become a pretty common part of online communication, but so-called Netspeak is not without its detractors; linguistic purists insist that it's an affront to the English language. If you want the economy of keystrokes provided by abbreviations without sacrificing proper word use, try InstantType. This simple utility will automatically paste the full text of whatever abbreviations you type, allowing you to save time and still sound literate.

There's not much to InstantType, really; when it's running it appears as an icon in the system tray, and right-clicking on it brings up a Settings menu. Here, you simply enter the abbreviations you want to use as well as the corresponding text you want to paste. Thus, typing "IDK" can automatically insert "I don't know" in its place. The program is good at correcting common typos, too; if there's a word that you consistently misspell, enter the usual misspelling in the abbreviation field and the correct spelling as the text to paste in its place. InstantType works just about everywhere: browsers, Microsoft Office products, chat and e-mail clients, and any other program you could conceivably type text into. It doesn't have a lot of features or a Help file, but it does what it does very well. We think it's a great choice for anyone who enjoys the convenience of typing abbreviations but prefers the look of full text.

InstantType installs and uninstalls without issues.