This tool describes an abbreviation system to reduce the typing load for business and technical documents.
Part 1 deals quickly entering multi-word phrases that are often repeated in such documents. Part 2 deals with abbreviations for long words and words that are very frequently used. Part 3 provides a tool that automates the job of looking up and adding new abbreviations. Part 4 allows you to bulk import and export your abbreviations, and includes a dictionary of over 1000 abbreviations.
An abbreviation system has two important benefits:
- Using abbreviations increases your typing throughput, regularly used phrases and long words can be typed with just a few characters.
- Abbreviations makes typing more accurate because shorter words are easier type and the chances of needing to edit the word later are reduced.
AutoCorrect
AutoCorrect provides a general purpose tool for expanding an abbreviation to full text. For example the abbreviation "typpro" is expanded by AutoCorrect to be "typing productivity".
I had used AutoCorrect concept in the past, but found the experience frustrating because I could only remember a handful of abbreviations.
I propose the B2E system – a set of simple rules that allow you to generate the abbreviation in your mind as you generate content. They need to be simple so you can use them without being distracted as you type.
The B2E system – Part 1 - Phrases
The B2E system is intended for general purpose rather than specialist or high volume. It focuses on the big ticket items – speeding up the entry of regularly used phrases and long words.To use B2E, the abbreviation and its corresponding full text need to be loaded into the Word dictionary. This can be done manually or imported via a spreadsheet (see part 3). Once this is done, the abbreviations will be available in all Office apps (e.g. Excel, Visio ) provided you keep using the same dictionary.
Rule 1 – Three or more word phrases
Use the beginning letter of each of the words in the phrases. For example:- rar = roles and responsibilities
- isra = Information Security Risk Assessment
You can capitalise the full text if that is the way it is normally expressed
See also Rule 3 – Acronyms
Rule 2 – Two word Phrases
Use the beginning three letters of each word. For example:
- buspro = business process
- secreq = security requirement
Rule 3 – Acronyms and suffixes
If the phrase already has an acronym, use the lower case – it is generally easier to type. For example:
- iam = IAM
- owa =OWA
- owax = Outlook Web Access
- buspros = business processes
- secreqs = security requirements
- caa = certification and accreditation
- caac = Certification and Accreditation
Further Notes
Entry of Abbreviations
The quick addition of new abbreviations is essential for making full use of B2E. I like to have the autocorrect entry dialogue available with a single click on the Quick Access bar, it is too far buried to be useful in its natural location. See this Post which describes:- how to add the menu option to the quick access bar; and
- how to enter abbreviations.
Collisions
One of the problems with any abbreviation system is the management of collisions, this is where the abbreviation is itself a real word, or where the rules generate the same abbreviation for two different words. Both these are intrusive and prevent smooth typing. B2E does a reasonable job of keeping these to a minimum, and provides a generic method of dealing with them if they do.Part 2 provides more insight into what distinguishes B2E from other similar processes.
Typing Expanders
Abbreviation systems are often called typing expanders and work a little like the predictive text systems seen on smartphones. There are many typing expanders on the market, the basic model ones provide word choices based on dictionaries, while the more advanced ones learn from what you type and offer predictions based on context.There are two main issues I have with typing expanders:
- Typing expanders are not suitable for me because they require software to be installed on the device. I work on client sites and such installations are not possible.
- Typing expanders often rely on presenting narrowing choices based on the characters typed so far. I felt thinking about the list would distract me from creating the content.
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