Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a string, that when inserted in the buffer, expands into a longer and harder to type string. For example, you can define an abbreviation "sout" that expands to "System.out.println()" in Java mode.
There are two types of abbreviations; global abbrevs and mode-specific abbrevs. Global abbrevs can be expanded in any edit mode, and mode-specific ones only affect one particular edit mode.
Edit>Expand Abbreviation (keyboard shortcut: Control-/) will attempt to expand the word before the caret. If no expansion could be found, it will offer to create a new one. Existing abbreviations can be edited in the Utilities>Global Options dialog box.
Figure 4-5. The Add Abbreviation dialog box
If automatic abbreviation expansion is enabled, pressing the space bar will first attempt to expand the word before the caret, and only insert a space if no expansion was found. This is a very powerful feature, but it takes some getting used to, hence it is disabled by default. Enable it in the Global Options dialog box.
If automatic expansion is enabled and you want to enter a space without expanding the current word, press Control-E Control-V Space.
| Warning |
Automatic abbreviation expansion doesn't always work when done from a macro - don't rely on automatic abbrev expansion when recording macros. |