Cannot add abbreviation to new autokey installatation

[John Kane]

I seem to have a problem with a new installation on 30 March 2012.
Note the 0.82.2-0~oneiric version just appeared in the Ubuntu repository
about 28 or 29 March 2012

My current setup (see below) came from there.
I earlier installed autokey fromthe autokey site and . I noticed that this did not upgrade autokey-common form  0.7??.
I did not save the old version number.

I can not add a new abbreviation. Strangely enough I have one abbreviation
there that I don't remember adding but it is definately mine. Perhaps a
left over from my attempt to get 0.7?? to work? However since updating autokey-common
it does not work.

What I do:
1. Start autokey
2. Add name to list of phrases
3. Click on Set for abbreviation
4. Click on Add
5. Type abbreviation
5  Click save.

Autokey wipes out the abbreviation and provides message:
You must specify at least one abbreviation.

Note I am a newbie at Linux so the obvious may be staring me in the face.

Setup
Ubuntu 11.10 (WUBI double boot with Windows 7)
autokey-gtk   autokey (0.82.2-0~oneiric) (via Ubuntu repository)
autokey-common autokey (0.82.2-0~oneiric) (via Ubuntu repository)
Python 2.7.2+ (default, Oct  4 2011, 20:03:08) [GCC 4.6.1] on Linux2


Possibly related issue?

Issue Issue 185 Cannot save abbreviation.
http://code.google.com/p/autokey/issues/detail?id=185
Marked as fixed in  0.82.2.

Suggestions would be appreciated.

[Chris D]

Have a read of the first item on this wiki page:

http://code.google.com/p/autokey/wiki/Troubleshooting

and then post your debug output here.

-- Chris

[John Kane]

On Wednesday, 4 April 2012 07:32:44 UTC-4, Chris D wrote:

Have a read of the first item on this wiki page:

http://code.google.com/p/autokey/wiki/Troubleshooting

and then post your debug output here.

-- Chris

Thanks.  Here it is:
2012-04-05 08:42:45,206 INFO - root - Initialising application
2012-04-05 08:42:45,208 INFO - root - Initialise global hotkeys
2012-04-05 08:42:45,209 INFO - config-manager - Loading config from existing file: /home/john/.config/autokey/autokey.json
2012-04-05 08:42:45,212 DEBUG - config-manager - Loading folder at '/home/john/.config/autokey/data/My Phrases'
2012-04-05 08:42:45,219 DEBUG - config-manager - Loading folder at '/home/john/.config/autokey/data/Sample Scripts'
2012-04-05 08:42:45,224 INFO - config-manager - Configuration changed - rebuilding in-memory structures
2012-04-05 08:42:45,224 DEBUG - inotify - Adding watch for /home/john/.config/autokey/data/My Phrases
2012-04-05 08:42:45,225 DEBUG - inotify - Adding watch for /home/john/.config/autokey/data/My Phrases/Addresses
2012-04-05 08:42:45,226 DEBUG - inotify - Adding watch for /home/john/.config/autokey/data/Sample Scripts
2012-04-05 08:42:45,227 INFO - config-manager - Successfully loaded configuration
2012-04-05 08:42:45,227 DEBUG - inotify - Adding watch for /home/john/.config/autokey/data
2012-04-05 08:42:45,229 DEBUG - inotify - Adding watch for /home/john/.config/autokey
2012-04-05 08:42:45,229 DEBUG - config-manager - Global settings: {'showTrayIcon': True, 'windowDefaultSize': [1024, 576], 'undoUsingBackspace': True, 'enableQT4Workaround': False, 'promptToSave': True, 'interfaceType': u'XRecord', 'showToolbar': True, 'serviceRunning': True, 'columnWidths': [150, 50, 100], 'isFirstRun': False, 'sortByUsageCount': True, 'notificationIcon': u'autokey-status', 'hPanePosition': 240, 'menuTakesFocus': False, 'workAroundApps': u'.*VirtualBox.*'}
2012-04-05 08:42:45,230 INFO - service - Starting service
Xlib.protocol.request.QueryExtension
2012-04-05 08:42:45,310 DEBUG - interface - Modifier masks: {'<alt_gr>': 128, '<numlock>': 16, '<hyper>': 64, '<ctrl>': 4, '<shift>': 1, '<alt>': 8, '<super>': 64}
2012-04-05 08:42:45,391 DEBUG - interface - Alt-Grid: XK_Multi_key, 65312
2012-04-05 08:42:45,393 DEBUG - interface - [(92, 0), (92, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,394 DEBUG - interface - X Server Keymap
2012-04-05 08:42:45,394 DEBUG - interface - [\] : [(51, 0), (51, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,394 DEBUG - interface - [|] : [(51, 1), (51, 3), (94, 4)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,395 DEBUG - interface - [`] : [(49, 0), (49, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,395 DEBUG - interface - [1] : [(10, 0), (10, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,395 DEBUG - interface - [2] : [(11, 0), (11, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,396 DEBUG - interface - [3] : [(12, 0), (12, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,396 DEBUG - interface - [4] : [(13, 0), (13, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,397 DEBUG - interface - [5] : [(14, 0), (14, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,397 DEBUG - interface - [6] : [(15, 0), (15, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,397 DEBUG - interface - [7] : [(16, 0), (16, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,398 DEBUG - interface - [8] : [(17, 0), (17, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,398 DEBUG - interface - [9] : [(18, 0), (18, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,399 DEBUG - interface - [0] : [(19, 0), (19, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,399 DEBUG - interface - [-] : [(20, 0), (20, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,399 DEBUG - interface - [=] : [(21, 0), (21, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,400 DEBUG - interface - [~] : [(49, 1), (49, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,400 DEBUG - interface - [!] : [(10, 1), (10, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,400 DEBUG - interface - [@] : [(11, 1), (11, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,400 DEBUG - interface - [#] : [(12, 1), (12, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,401 DEBUG - interface - [$] : [(13, 1), (13, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,401 DEBUG - interface - [%] : [(14, 1), (14, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,401 DEBUG - interface - [^] : [(15, 1), (15, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,402 DEBUG - interface - [&] : [(16, 1), (16, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,402 DEBUG - interface - [*] : [(17, 1), (17, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,403 DEBUG - interface - [(] : [(187, 0), (18, 1), (187, 2), (18, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,403 DEBUG - interface - [)] : [(188, 0), (19, 1), (188, 2), (19, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,404 DEBUG - interface - [q] : [(24, 0), (24, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,404 DEBUG - interface - [w] : [(25, 0), (25, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,404 DEBUG - interface - [e] : [(26, 0), (26, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,405 DEBUG - interface - [r] : [(27, 0), (27, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,405 DEBUG - interface - [t] : [(28, 0), (28, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,406 DEBUG - interface - [y] : [(29, 0), (29, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,406 DEBUG - interface - [u] : [(30, 0), (30, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,406 DEBUG - interface - [i] : [(31, 0), (31, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,407 DEBUG - interface - [o] : [(32, 0), (32, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,407 DEBUG - interface - [p] : [(33, 0), (33, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,407 DEBUG - interface - [[] : [(34, 0), (34, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,408 DEBUG - interface - []] : [(35, 0), (35, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,408 DEBUG - interface - [a] : [(38, 0), (38, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,408 DEBUG - interface - [s] : [(39, 0), (39, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,409 DEBUG - interface - [d] : [(40, 0), (40, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,409 DEBUG - interface - [f] : [(41, 0), (41, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,409 DEBUG - interface - [g] : [(42, 0), (42, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,410 DEBUG - interface - [h] : [(43, 0), (43, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,410 DEBUG - interface - [j] : [(44, 0), (44, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,410 DEBUG - interface - [k] : [(45, 0), (45, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,411 DEBUG - interface - [l] : [(46, 0), (46, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,411 DEBUG - interface - [;] : [(47, 0), (47, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,411 DEBUG - interface - ['] : [(48, 0), (48, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,411 DEBUG - interface - [z] : [(52, 0), (52, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,412 DEBUG - interface - [x] : [(53, 0), (53, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,412 DEBUG - interface - [c] : [(54, 0), (54, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,412 DEBUG - interface - [v] : [(55, 0), (55, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,413 DEBUG - interface - [b] : [(56, 0), (56, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,413 DEBUG - interface - [n] : [(57, 0), (57, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,413 DEBUG - interface - [m] : [(58, 0), (58, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,414 DEBUG - interface - [,] : [(59, 0), (59, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,414 DEBUG - interface - [.] : [(60, 0), (60, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,415 DEBUG - interface - [/] : [(61, 0), (61, 2)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,415 DEBUG - interface - [Q] : [(24, 1), (24, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,416 DEBUG - interface - [W] : [(25, 1), (25, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,416 DEBUG - interface - [E] : [(26, 1), (26, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,417 DEBUG - interface - [R] : [(27, 1), (27, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,417 DEBUG - interface - [T] : [(28, 1), (28, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,417 DEBUG - interface - [Y] : [(29, 1), (29, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,417 DEBUG - interface - [U] : [(30, 1), (30, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,418 DEBUG - interface - [I] : [(31, 1), (31, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,418 DEBUG - interface - [O] : [(32, 1), (32, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,418 DEBUG - interface - [P] : [(33, 1), (33, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,419 DEBUG - interface - [{] : [(34, 1), (34, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,419 DEBUG - interface - [}] : [(35, 1), (35, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,419 DEBUG - interface - [A] : [(38, 1), (38, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,420 DEBUG - interface - [S] : [(39, 1), (39, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,420 DEBUG - interface - [D] : [(40, 1), (40, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,420 DEBUG - interface - [F] : [(41, 1), (41, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,420 DEBUG - interface - [G] : [(42, 1), (42, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,421 DEBUG - interface - [H] : [(43, 1), (43, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,421 DEBUG - interface - [J] : [(44, 1), (44, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,421 DEBUG - interface - [K] : [(45, 1), (45, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,422 DEBUG - interface - [L] : [(46, 1), (46, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,422 DEBUG - interface - [:] : [(47, 1), (47, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,422 DEBUG - interface - ["] : [(48, 1), (48, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,423 DEBUG - interface - [Z] : [(52, 1), (52, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,423 DEBUG - interface - [X] : [(53, 1), (53, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,423 DEBUG - interface - [C] : [(54, 1), (54, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,423 DEBUG - interface - [V] : [(55, 1), (55, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,424 DEBUG - interface - [B] : [(56, 1), (56, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,424 DEBUG - interface - [N] : [(57, 1), (57, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,424 DEBUG - interface - [M] : [(58, 1), (58, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,425 DEBUG - interface - [<] : [(94, 0), (59, 1), (94, 2), (59, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,425 DEBUG - interface - [>] : [(60, 1), (94, 1), (60, 3), (94, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,426 DEBUG - interface - [?] : [(61, 1), (61, 3)]
2012-04-05 08:42:45,429 DEBUG - iomediator - Set modifier <capslock> to False
2012-04-05 08:42:45,429 DEBUG - iomediator - Set modifier <numlock> to True
2012-04-05 08:42:45,433 DEBUG - interface - Grabbing hotkey: [u'<super>'] u'k'
2012-04-05 08:42:45,435 DEBUG - interface - Grabbing hotkey: [u'<shift>', u'<super>'] u'k'
2012-04-05 08:42:45,437 DEBUG - interface - Grabbing hotkey: [u'<ctrl>'] u'<f7>'
Xlib.protocol.request.QueryExtension
2012-04-05 08:42:45,470 INFO - interface - XRecord interface thread starting
2012-04-05 08:42:45,472 INFO - service - Service now marked as running
2012-04-05 08:42:45,514 DEBUG - phrase-menu - Sorting phrase menu by usage count
2012-04-05 08:42:45,602 INFO - root - Entering main()
2012-04-05 08:42:58,728 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:04,103 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:07,601 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:08,757 DEBUG - service - Raw key: u'<enter>', modifiers: [], Key: <enter>
2012-04-05 08:43:08,757 DEBUG - service - Window visible title: u'*Untitled Document 1 - gedit', Window class: 'gedit.Gedit'
2012-04-05 08:43:08,758 DEBUG - service - No phrase/script matched hotkey
2012-04-05 08:43:08,759 DEBUG - service - Input stack at end of handle_keypress: ['\n']
2012-04-05 08:43:09,500 DEBUG - service - Raw key: u'<enter>', modifiers: [], Key: <enter>
2012-04-05 08:43:09,501 DEBUG - service - Window visible title: u'*Untitled Document 1 - gedit', Window class: 'gedit.Gedit'
2012-04-05 08:43:09,502 DEBUG - service - No phrase/script matched hotkey
2012-04-05 08:43:09,503 DEBUG - service - Input stack at end of handle_keypress: ['\n', '\n']
2012-04-05 08:43:24,797 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:39,129 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:39,299 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:53,382 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:43:53,564 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:05,937 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:16,687 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:21,201 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:28,835 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:32,005 INFO - root - Displaying configuration window
2012-04-05 08:44:39,062 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:41,877 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:45,396 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:49,602 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:51,321 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:52,126 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:52,291 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:44:56,477 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:45:00,157 DEBUG - service - Raw key: u'/', modifiers: [], Key: /
2012-04-05 08:45:00,158 DEBUG - service - Window visible title: u'Set Abbreviations', Window class: 'autokey-gtk.Autokey-gtk'
2012-04-05 08:45:00,584 DEBUG - service - Raw key: u'0', modifiers: [], Key: 0
2012-04-05 08:45:00,585 DEBUG - service - Window visible title: u'Set Abbreviations', Window class: 'autokey-gtk.Autokey-gtk'
2012-04-05 08:45:00,691 DEBUG - service - Raw key: u's', modifiers: [], Key: s
2012-04-05 08:45:00,692 DEBUG - service - Window visible title: u'Set Abbreviations', Window class: 'autokey-gtk.Autokey-gtk'
2012-04-05 08:45:00,943 DEBUG - service - Raw key: u'v', modifiers: [], Key: v
2012-04-05 08:45:00,944 DEBUG - service - Window visible title: u'Set Abbreviations', Window class: 'autokey-gtk.Autokey-gtk'
2012-04-05 08:45:02,476 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:45:03,970 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:45:04,802 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:45:07,727 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
2012-04-05 08:45:09,773 DEBUG - service - Received mouse click - resetting buffer
 

[Chris D]

I don't really see any problems in the log. Looking again at the steps you provided, it looks like you're missing a step. After you click add and type the desired abbreviation, you must first click elsewhere in the dialog or press Enter to accept the abbreviation so it is added to the list. Then you can click OK and all should be well.

-- Chris

[Johnny Rosenberg]

I think you are right. Having to hit Enter after typing the
abbreviation confused me too quite a bit with the new abbreviation
input dialogue.

Kind regards

Johnny Rosenberg
ジョニー・ローゼンバーグ

[jos...@main.nc.us]

I had a lot of trouble with this same behavior until I figured it out. I
think the ui can be improved. The item appears in the box like it's been
added, but it hasn't been. Maybe an "OK" or "Save" button would make this
behavior more explicit.

Joe

[John Kane]

Thanks very much.  I can see several happy hours getting some useful text into Autokey.  It seems to be working just as I had hoped.

It just was not obvious that I need to hit Enter or click somewhere else. 

[Chris D]

I'm open to suggestions as to how to improve this ambiguity. One thing that is not possible (as far as my current investigations show) is to have the text be automatically added to the list without needing to press Enter. The GtkTreeView treats any clicks outside itself while in editing mode as an 'editing cancelled' event and I can't see any way around that.

[littl...@gmail.com]

If you can't add another button (Add, Set, Remove or maybe Add, Accept, Remove), then perhaps you could add placeholder text into the editor that says something like, "Type abbreviation here and press the Enter key to accept it." If that's not possible, could you add some helpful text up where it says "Abbreviations" or beneath the buttons? I wrestled with this for quite some time, too, before finally figuring it out quite by accident. Thank you for the program, by the way.

[Joe]

We can't document everything. What would be the fun of that? ;) But,
seriously, that problem is an original "feature".

Your idea (or a similar tool tip) is a good one. If you want the
developers to see it (they don't generally hang out here), you can file
an enhancement issue here:

https://github.com/autokey/autokey/issues

or chat with them about it on Gitter:

https://gitter.im/autokey/autokey

Joe

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[Little Girl]

Ah, thanks. I thought Chris D was one of the developers. I've now added it as an enhancement request: https://github.com/autokey/autokey/issues/220

[Joe]

My bad. I just realized that this feature is already fixed. Sorry to
make you do unnecessary work.

The problem is that Ubuntu or Debian further upstream still (at least as
of 18.04) packages 0.90.4 which is ancient and should be allowed to R.I.P.

I just attempted to send them a message about it, but I don't know how
to contact the packagers directly, so we'll see if the message ever gets
to the right people.

Joe

P.s. I like your avatar on GH. It's sort of the opposite of Alice in
Dilbert.

[Joe]

Forgot to add: Chris D was the original author of AutoKey. He left the
project (on good terms) a few years ago. Luckily, we were able to find
several new talented developers to pick up where he left off.

Joe

On 11/25/18 3:35 PM, Little Girl wrote:

[Little Girl]

Oh, no problem. I didn't notice either and I had even done a search for it in that bug report interface to check if it already existed. I must have missed it entirely. That's a shame that 18.04 still uses the old version. Luckily, the person who replied to the bug report gave instructions for us to upgrade to the latest version.

Thanks for the avatar comment. It's something I quickly doodled one day long ago and have just continued using.

[Little Girl]

Thanks for the additional information on Chris D and his replacements. I'm glad he created it and that they're still working on it. I got totally spoiled by software similar to it in Windows on my work computer and was very glad to find that there was something like it in GNU/LInux. Once you get used to customized text replacement, it would be almost barbaric not to have it. I do a lot of writing, copying, and pasting, so this is the kind of software I get excited about.

When I was referencing different parts of it yesterday for that bug report, I ended up exploring the example phrases that come with it by default. I'm really floored by those and am kicking myself for not having explored them sooner. I had no idea an abbreviation could launch a command and pop up an interactive dialog box. That opens up a whole world full of possibilities. I like to code little interfaces for myself that do repetitive or (what I consider to be) vital tasks and it would be glorious to have some of those open up automatically when something is typed. You can imagine what I'll be doing for the next couple of days on and off.

[Joe]

That was me. :)

Keep in touch if you have other questions, issues, etc.

Joe

[Joe]

You're welcome. I would be lost without AutoKey. I have relatively few
phrases and scripts, but they get used many times every day.

If you really want to get blown away by what's possible with pop-ups,
take a look at yad. It's a dialog utility (similar to zenity and
kdialog). It's relatively easy to use and you can run it from within a
script with subprocess(). It can do anything from a simple information
box to a multi-panel application interface. I saw an example that was a
whole simple media player front end.

I do a lot of coding in bash and I use yad to make some of my bash
scripts totally GUI and callable directly from the desktop.

There are a lot of example AutoKey scripts in our wiki.

https://github.com/autokey/autokey/wiki

They're scattered over a number of topics.

If you ever feel so inclined, we can always use help with organizing the
Wiki and with adding explanations and tutorials - especially for beginners.

I think a lot of users probably never get past phrases because they
think writing a script is too difficult - when (at least for a lot of
simple things), it's pretty easy.
Not all users are programmers.

FYI: If that "Windows software" was AutoHotKey, I recently wrote a very
limited bash script which converts AHK phrases to AutoKey phrases. It
ignores almost all of AHK's many options, but it can still save a lot of
typing. The current version cannot handle phrases with more than one
line of replacement text.

Joe

[Little Girl]

Ah, I should have guessed from the similarity in names.

[Little Girl]

You'll probably end up with more, or at least different phrases, as time goes by. I know that mine change over time. In fact, I just thought of another one I need to add (résumé as a replacement for resume) since I currently copy and paste every time to write it with the accents.

I also make Bash scripts with various types of dialogs in them. YAD looks interesting. I've explored Dialog, KDialog, matedialog, and Zenity (and a couple of others I can't remember right now) and created a huge blog post on KDialog. I hadn't checked out YAD since it's not installed by default, but I suppose I should now that I've taken a quick look at it.

Thanks for the wiki link. I took a look and can already see that there are a few scripts I'm going to want to try out and use as creative starting points to head off in other directions from as well. I may help with editing the wiki at some point, but right now I'm on the hunt for a paying gig since I'm between jobs for the moment.

You're right about not all users being programmers. I'd probably figure that most aren't. I'm not an official programmer, but I love to tinker with various languages to make cool stuff for my own use and some cool (but not fancy) stuff to share with others, and am also studying front end/full stack (haven't decided yet whether to stop at front end or keep going) development.

The Windows program I use on my work computer is FastFox, which is commercial software. It's versatile and powerful, but could benefit by learning a trick or two from Autokey. I didn't even know that such a thing as text expanders existed until I grumbled about my job requiring me to copy and paste data repeatedly which resulted in someone I know telling me that Mac has a text expander by default and then describing exactly how those work. I don't have a Mac, but that description was enough to get me to immediately go on the hunt for a Windows program and I grabbed the first one I could find.

After very quickly falling in love with the power and speed of having those expansions at my fingertips on my work computer, I wanted the same experience on my GNU/Linux box since that's where I spend the bulk of my time. It was so nice to find that Autokey exists and even has new nooks and crannies for me  to explore.

[Joe]

How about a link to that blog post? I'd like to read it.

Joe

[Little Girl]

It's on the https://mostlylinux.wordpress.com/bashscripting/kdialog/ page. I haven't updated it in a while, but it's got many scripts, each of which has detailed descriptions to get pretty much anybody started using it. I can imagine quite a few uses for it in combination with Autokey, like giving kudos, offering encouragement, providing updates at specified increments, offering choices, etc.