Voice to Text for TextExpander Users
TextExpander saves you time by expanding short abbreviations into longer text. But someone still has to create that longer text. That's where you get stuck. Blurt lets you hold a button, speak your snippet content, and release. Your text appears instantly, ready to save as a TextExpander snippet. No more typing out long-form expansions. No more staring at the snippet editor wondering how to word things. Just talk like you would explain it to someone, and Blurt gives you the text to expand.
The Typing Problem
Creating snippets takes longer than using them
You use TextExpander to save time. Type a short abbreviation, get a longer expansion. Brilliant. But creating those snippets requires you to type out the full expansion first. A snippet that saves you thirty seconds takes five minutes to create. The irony is painful. You end up with a library of snippets you wish you had, but never bother to actually make.
Long-form expansions are tedious to write
Your best snippets are the long ones: email templates, meeting agendas, onboarding instructions, process documentation. But typing three paragraphs into a snippet editor feels like work. You know exactly what the expansion should say. You could explain it perfectly out loud. But translating that into typed text drains your motivation before you finish.
Team snippet libraries stay half-built
Your team agreed to build a shared snippet library. Standardized responses, common explanations, frequently asked questions. Everyone was enthusiastic. Then the typing started. Three months later, the library has twenty snippets instead of two hundred. The best intentions die in the snippet editor because creating content is slow.
Updating snippets gets postponed indefinitely
Your snippets are outdated. Pricing changed, processes evolved, names were updated. You know which ones need fixing. But opening the editor, reading the old text, typing the corrections, and saving feels like too much effort. So outdated snippets keep expanding into outdated text, and you manually edit after the fact.
Good snippet ideas get forgotten before you can create them
You write the same response for the fifth time this week and think: this should be a snippet. But you're in the middle of something. By the time you remember to create it, you've forgotten the exact wording you wanted. The best snippet opportunities slip away because capturing them requires too much effort.
How It Works
Blurt turns snippet creation from a typing task into a talking task. Speak your expansion content, then paste it into TextExpander. Works anywhere you need to create or update snippet text.
Open the TextExpander snippet editor
Create a new snippet or edit an existing one. Put your cursor in the content field where the expansion text goes.
Hold your hotkey and speak the expansion
Press your chosen key and talk through what the snippet should expand to. Say it like you would explain it to a colleague.
Release and save your snippet
Your spoken words appear as text in the snippet editor. Give it an abbreviation, save it. Your new snippet is ready to use everywhere.
Real Scenarios
Creating email response templates
You answer the same customer question weekly. Instead of typing out the full response in the snippet editor, hold the button and explain it like you're talking to the customer. 'Thanks for reaching out. Here's how that feature works...' Release, and your natural explanation becomes the snippet content. Save it with an abbreviation like ';faq-feature' and never type that response again.
Building onboarding instructions for new hires
Your team keeps growing, and each new hire needs the same explanations. Open the snippet editor, hold the button, and walk through the process like you're sitting next to them. 'First you'll want to set up your development environment. Go to Settings, then...' Save it as ';onboard-dev' and every new hire gets consistent, thorough instructions.
Drafting meeting agenda templates
Your weekly standup follows the same format. Instead of retyping it each time or copying from last week, create a snippet. Hold the button and say the structure: 'What we accomplished this week. What's blocked. Priorities for next week. Any announcements.' Save as ';standup' and populate your agendas in two seconds.
Writing product descriptions for e-commerce
You sell products with similar descriptions. The core pitch is the same, just details change. Speak the template: 'This premium product features blank for blank. Perfect for customers who blank. Includes blank and blank.' Save it with fill-in fields, and product descriptions write themselves.
Creating code snippet libraries for developers
You write the same boilerplate code repeatedly. Open your snippet editor, hold the button, and describe the code structure: 'Function that takes a user ID, fetches from the database, handles errors with a try-catch, and returns the user object.' Blurt gives you the text description. Paste in your actual code template, add fill-in placeholders, done.
Building support response macros for team use
Your support team needs consistent responses. Instead of having everyone type their own versions, speak the ideal response once: 'I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing that issue. Let me look into this for you. Could you provide your account email so I can investigate?' Save it, share it with the team, and everyone responds consistently.
Updating outdated snippets in bulk
Prices changed, and twenty snippets need updating. Instead of typing the new price into each one, hold the button and speak the updated paragraph with the new pricing. Paste it into each snippet that needs it. A tedious hour of editing becomes ten minutes of talking and pasting.
macOS has built-in dictation, but it's designed for general text input. Blurt is built for fast, accurate transcription that works seamlessly with productivity tools like TextExpander.
| Blurt | macOS Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Activation method | Hold a customizable hotkey, release when done | Double-tap Control or click dictation icon |
| Input flow | Hold to record, release to insert. Single action. | Start dictation, speak, manually stop. Multiple actions. |
| Transcription speed | Optimized for quick bursts of text creation | General-purpose, variable latency |
| Snippet workflow | Designed to work with snippet editors and text fields | Basic text input, no workflow optimization |
| Accuracy for technical content | High accuracy for product names, technical terms | Variable accuracy, often misses specialized vocabulary |
| Pricing | $10/month or $99/year, first 1,000 words free | Free with macOS |
Frequently Asked Questions
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