Text shortcuts for Gmail
Gmail has “Templates”, but inserting one takes five clicks and they cannot ask for a name or calculate a date. A text expander turns the same reply into three keystrokes.
Gmail templates vs. text shortcuts
| Gmail templates | PhraseBolt shortcuts | |
|---|---|---|
| Insert | ⋮ → Templates → pick | Type ;fu |
| Inside a sentence | No, whole template | Yes, anywhere |
| Ask for a name/amount | No | Fill-in form |
| Dates like “next Tuesday” | No | {date:dddd +5d} |
| Also in LinkedIn, Outlook, CRMs | No | Yes |
Set up in one minute
- Install PhraseBolt; it starts with a few basics like
;tyand;date. - Open Gmail, click Compose, type
;ty. - Add your own in the dashboard: shortcut, name, text — with a live preview.
Templates to copy
;fu — polite follow-up
Hi {First name},
Just following up on my note from {date:dddd -3d}. Would {date:dddd +2bd} work for a quick call?
Best,
{snippet:;sig};thx — thanks + next step
Thanks {First name} — got it! I’ll {choice:Next step=send the proposal|review this|loop in the team} by {date:MMM D +2bd}.;ooo — out of office line
I’m out of the office until {date:dddd, MMM D +7d} with limited email. For anything urgent, please contact {text:Backup contact}.;intro — double opt-in intro
Hi {Person A} and {Person B},
As promised, connecting you two. {Person A} is {text:What A does}; {Person B} is {text:What B does}. I’ll let you take it from here!
{cursor}Tips for Gmail
- Start shortcuts with
;so they never fire in normal words. - Use
{cursor}to land where you usually personalise. - Gmail’s own keyboard shortcuts keep working — PhraseBolt only reacts to your shortcuts.
FAQ
- Does it work in Gmail’s reply box and pop-out compose?
- Yes, both are rich-text editors and PhraseBolt inserts into them like a paste, keeping line breaks.
- Can I insert HTML signatures?
- PhraseBolt inserts plain text with line breaks; keep your rich HTML signature in Gmail settings.
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