9) Phrase Express Will Almost Write Your Emails for You —

I’m a long-term ClipMate user. Find Clipmate at…

http://www.thornsoft.com/

It’s basically a clipboard extender. You can easily see the last few versions of your clipboard (actually, you can see dozens and dozens past versions). You can also drag-and-drop those versions into other folders or “safer” holding tanks. You can also automate the paste process so that it pastes these versions, one at a time, or as a group. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen for making a clipboard truly useful. Microsoft’s built-in clipboard manager (in some versions of Office) attempted to mimic it but fell way short. I always immediately disconnect Microsoft’s version in favor of Clipmate — every time.

But recently, I’ve added yet another, similar-yet-different utility called Phrase Express:

http://www.phraseexpress.com/

You can use PhraseExpress for free if you use it for home or personal use only. (If you use it in a job for which you are paid, even if you work primarily for a non-profit or church, it’s still priced at a reasonable $49. See the definition at:

http://www.phraseexpress.com/freeware.htm#def

so my conscience prompted me to fork over the $49. I use it all the time in the job for which I’m paid — and also for Brigada.)

You can always try before you buy. Phrase Express helps you, in its simplest form, to create snippets or templates. These could be blocks of text you always paste into emails or letters, or URL’s to which you commonly refer your contacts. They could be phone numbers or addresses. Phrase Express can try to automate this process, by watching your natural language. (That method didn’t seem foolproof enough for me to use.) Alternatively, you can use a quick applet in the system tray with branching quick-draw-mcGraw-type folders to rapidly pump out the text snippets. Either way, it’s well-worth the $49. (On my current laptop, Phrase Express has already reportedly already saved me $70. That figure is calculated by Phrase Express automatically, by the way, based on your usage patterns.)

So try it. You’ll likely never look back… except to gloat over the time you’ve saved. Maybe you’ll finally be so happy, you’ll take a break now and then! :-)