Quick Start Shorthand Guide

Shorthand saves time, and because you’re typing fewer letters, it often reduces typing mistakes too. Watch a whole sentence come from a few short words:

Shorthand is completely optional. TypeShort works great without it. Most users begin with just a few shortcuts, and many follow simple patterns, so you do not have to memorize hundreds of individual abbreviations.

Once you learn a pattern, you can use it with many different words, rather than memorizing each shortcut on its own.

Start with these two patterns. They work with hundreds of words, so learning just a few examples gives you a big head start.

These are some of the shortcuts you’re likely to use most often:

• afnnafnn means afternoon
• autlyautly means automatically
• avllavll means available
• bcbc means because
• blvblv means believe
• bwnbwn means between
• bxxbxx means beginning
• comffcomff means comfortable
• cvnncvnn means conversation
• d'td't means doesn’t
• idkidk means I don’t know
• ivbnivbn means I’ve been
• lmklmk means let me know
• obvyobvy means obviously
• plspls means please
• qnqn means question
• qrrqrr means remember
• thohthoh means though
• tmrtmr means tomorrow
• wdntwdnt means wouldn’t
• whhwhh means which
• woutwout means without
• wyywyy means Wednesday
• yyyy means yesterday

We believe shorthand should be learned gradually.

1. 1Step 1:

   Start with a few shortcuts for words you type often. Even “frequently” has one: freqly.

2. 2Step 2:

   Use them until they feel natural. Once a shortcut becomes automatic, it stops feeling like something you have to remember.

3. 3Step 3:

   Then learn a few more, whenever you’re ready. The patterns make each new one easier to remember (that’s qrr).

Learn a little, a lot, or not at all. It’s entirely up to you.

How do you know which shorthand to learn? When Learning Mode is on, TypeShort watches for words you type the long way when shorthand is available. After you finish the word, it briefly shows the shortcut under it.

Nothing in your writing is changed, and the suggestion disappears on its own. Over time, wyy becomes as familiar as typing Wednesday itself, and you learn shorthand while doing the work you were already doing.

TypeShort includes a large collection of built-in shorthand, but nobody types exactly the same things you do. Create shortcuts for a company name, a person’s name, a product, a technical term or any expression that matters to you. You decide what you type and what TypeShort writes:

• #mlb becomes Major League Baseball
• #tus becomes The United States