How To Avoid Repetitive Typing In Linux Mint

Here is a cool application that saves you time when you type a lot.

Autokey for Linux basically allows one to define shorthand for specific phrases which can be simply be used when needed.

To get started, first install Autokey in Linux Mint / Ubuntu by opening Terminal and typing :

sudo apt-get install autokey

Once installed, the program should show up in the Accessories list as below.

To begin using, open AutoKey and go to the My Phrases section as shown :

There are few default phrases that give you an idea of how you can use them. To make your own custom phrase, right click on the My Phrases and select New Phrase.

This asks for a phrase that you use often, in this example “in Linux Mint”. So that is what is entered in the phrase window and a corresponding shorthand or abbreviation is assigned as “ilm”. What this does is that by typing “ilm” every time, it is substituted by the original longer phrase.

However this is not the only way, you can also assign hot keys to specific phrases and also define where you need these phrases to be activated by something called as Window filter. This window filter will look for specific window titles (say Chrome, Firefox etc for browsers ) and activate the required phrases there only either through shorthand or hot keys.

Pretty awesome and saves ton of time.

So never type the same phrases ever again.  🙂