Yojimbo - Like no other

This product aims to be a repository for a wide variety of information. I suppose it is the hotkey version of a dictaphone. Ever been working away at your machine and thought of something that you should follow up on? Well this product provides the repository for these thoughts.

The key to this product is the ease with which these ideas, or nuggets of information, can be captured. I’ve used the default function key to call up the app and enter details though this is configurable. A “Drop Dock” is also available, though I have disabled this as it adds clutter to my desktop.

One feature that I have used is the ability to print a PDF document into the Yojimbo repository, handy in my case for tracking software receipts received online.

I have yet to purchase the software ($39), I’m still using the Demo version. The functionality available in the tool is certainly available in a range of tools that I already own, however its beauty is that it a central repository, accessible through hotkey from anywhere. I’ll let you know if I do find that value that warrants the investment...

TextExpander - Ultimate timesaving tool?

The latest episode of the

MacBreak

podcast features a very handy tool if you spend a lot of time typing text at your Mac. The team run through the features of the product, which principally allows you to shortcut pieces of text into a document (email, Word doc etc) by means of a shortcode.

Ever found yourself typing the same piece of text over and over, perhaps email responses to technical queries? With a small number of keystrokes you can drop in a preformatted response.

Technical writer? You can use the tool to drop in standard code and have the cursor locate to the logical position within the code in order to continue with the context relevant entry.

Configuration is via a Systems Preference panel, which includes a number of examples, such as time and date fillers.

The application can be downloaded from Smile on my mac and costs £16.22.