We’ve been exploring TextExpander’s many Fill-in features, such as:
Now we get into one of TextExpander’s more unique features: Optional Sections. An Optional Section is just what it sounds like: An optional addition to a Snippet that you can either include or not include in your expansion. Here’s a video demo of how they work:
For an example of how this looks, see the com.intro Snippet we use for introducing ourselves. You can add it by subscribing to the TextExpander Community Public Group.
Each line with a checkbox by it is an Optional Section. When checked, the Optional Section is highlighted in green to indicate that it’ll be included in the expansion. When unchecked, it’s highlighted in red to let you know that it will not be included.
Optional Sections can include any other sort of Fill-In. In the example below, the three Optional Sections include Single Line Fields and Multi Line Fields.
Let’s see how it looks in the Snippet Editor.
Note the optional sections above: Optional Hobbies, Optional Food, and Optional Vacation. In the editor, the optional sections act as parentheses, beginning with the name of the Optional Section and ending with (end optional).
Adding Optional Sections
To add an Optional Section in the Snippet Editor, click the menu icon and choose Optional Section.
Enter a name and click OK. I like to add Optional to my names for clarity.
After the Optional Section is inserted, the cursor is placed inside the Optional Section block. You can then type or insert whatever optional content you want to include.
