How to Create a Snippet and Set Your Prefix

Snip-Its lets you create short triggers that expand into full blocks of text. This guide walks you through creating your first snippet and configuring the trigger prefix in settings.

What Is a Snippet?

A snippet is a pair: a trigger (a short abbreviation you type) and a body (the full text it expands into). When Snip-Its detects you typing a trigger, it replaces it with the body instantly. Snippets work system-wide, in any application.

Step 1: Open Snip-Its

Launch Snip-Its from your taskbar (Windows) or menu bar (macOS). The main window shows your snippet library. If this is your first time, the library will be empty.

Step 2: Create a New Snippet

Click the New Snippet button at the top of the snippet list. You will see two fields:

• Trigger - the short text you will type to activate the snippet. For example: sig
• Body - the full text that replaces the trigger. For example, your email signature.

Fill in both fields and the snippet is saved automatically. That is it - your first snippet is ready.

Step 3: Use Your Snippet

Open any application - an email client, a text editor, a browser form - and type the prefix followed by your trigger. With the default prefix of /, you would type:

/sig

Snip-Its detects the trigger and replaces it with the full body text. The expansion happens inline, wherever your cursor is. No pop-ups, no menus - just the text.

Understanding the Prefix

The prefix is a character (or characters) that tells Snip-Its a trigger is coming. It prevents accidental expansions. If your trigger is sig and your prefix is /, Snip-Its only expands when you type /sig - not every time the letters "sig" appear in normal typing.

The default prefix is / (forward slash). This works well for most users because it is easy to type and rarely conflicts with regular text.

How to Change the Prefix

If / conflicts with your workflow - for instance, if you frequently type file paths or URLs - you can change it to something else.

1. Open Snip-Its and go to Settings.
2. Find the Prefix field.
3. Replace the current prefix with your preferred character or characters. Common alternatives include ;, !!, or \\.
4. Close settings. The change takes effect immediately.

After changing the prefix, all your triggers use the new prefix. If you set the prefix to ; and have a trigger called sig, you would type ;sig to expand it.

Tips for Choosing a Prefix

• Pick something you rarely type. The prefix should not conflict with your normal writing or coding patterns.
• Keep it short. A single character is fastest. Two characters work if you need more separation from regular typing.
• Be consistent. Once you pick a prefix, stick with it. Muscle memory builds quickly.

Tips for Naming Triggers

• Keep triggers short. Two to four characters is ideal. The goal is to save keystrokes.
• Use memorable abbreviations. sig for signature, addr for address, ty for "thank you" responses.
• Avoid common words. Do not use triggers that overlap with words you type regularly, even with a prefix.
• Use folders to organize. As your library grows, group related snippets into folders - "Email", "Code", "Support", etc.

Example: Setting Up a Quick Reply

Here is a practical example from start to finish:

1. Open Snip-Its and click New Snippet.
2. Set the trigger to ty.
3. Set the body to: "Thank you for reaching out. I will review this and get back to you within 24 hours."
4. Open your email client and type /ty.
5. The full response appears instantly.

You just saved yourself from typing 80+ characters. Multiply that across dozens of emails a day and the time savings add up fast.

Next Steps

Now that you know how to create snippets and configure your prefix, explore more ways to use Snip-Its:

• Read 5 Text Expansion Snippets That Actually Save Time for practical snippet ideas.
• Check out Premium for unlimited snip-its and advanced variables like dynamic dates and clipboard insertion.
• Download Snip-Its if you have not already.