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   TextExpander 6 Adds Teams and Subscription Billing

   Michael E. Cohen

   [1]Smile (a longtime TidBITS sponsor) has released the latest versions
   of its text expansion utility, TextExpander 6 for Mac, TextExpander 4
   for iPhone and iPad, and even a beta of TextExpander for Windows.
   Currently [2]available for download, the latest versions of the apps
   themselves are free, but now require a paid subscription account at the
   newly created [3]TextExpander.com. New users can try out the apps for
   30 days before having to purchase a subscription.

   New Syncing Features -- With this latest release, TextExpander users
   now sync their snippets among their devices via the servers at Smile's
   TextExpander.com site instead of services such as Dropbox and iCloud.
   Snippet data is encrypted end-to-end as it traverses the Internet, and
   while the TextExpander.com servers do not encrypt the stored snippet
   data on a per-user basis, server access itself is secured using both
   passwords and two-factor authentication.

   The TextExpander.com site, however, offers not just a syncing service,
   but a full-blown snippet management system. Users can organize, edit,
   delete, and add snippets through the Web app, as well as through the
   apps on their devices, and they can share them, with varying levels of
   permissions, with other TextExpander users.

   In addition to TextExpander subscriptions for individual users, Smile
   also offers team subscriptions to TextExpander. For team accounts,
   TextExpander.com provides shared snippets and snippet management
   features tailored to organizations, making it possible, for example,
   for the vast TidBITS and Take Control media conglomerate to establish
   groups of shared TextExpander snippets for use by authors and editors.
   Shared snippets are probably even more valuable in customer support
   teams, where they'll save time and standardize tone and writing
   quality. (One tip: sharing snippets requires some communication ahead
   of time, since you and your colleagues need to agree on abbreviation
   conventions.)

   Plus, the TextExpander snippet editor has been revised to make snippet
   editing easier, adding a toolbar that offers various snippet
   customization options. The editor is available both in the TextExpander
   app and on the TextExpander.com site, with almost identical
   functionality.

   [4][tn_textexpander-web-editor.jpg]

   [5][tn_textexpander-editor-mac.jpg]

   Subscription Plans -- Why is Smile moving to a subscription mode? Smile
   founder [6]Greg Scown explains:

     We've updated our pricing model to match our new service. Instead of
     license purchases and upgrades on an irregular schedule, we've
     switched to a subscription model where you pay monthly or annually
     for your TextExpander service. This lines up with the regular costs
     to provide an online service. It also frees you as customers and us
     as developers from the 'upgrade treadmill.' We can offer our apps
     free of charge. We can deliver incremental improvements as they're
     ready rather than wait and package them all into a new 'big' upgrade
     release. We're really excited about what this change will allow us
     to offer our customers, and we hope you are too.

   As mentioned above, the [7]TextExpander.com accounts come in two types:
     * A single-user Life Hacker plan that costs $3.96 per month, billed
       annually ($47.52 per year). If you prefer monthly billing, it's
       $4.95 per month ($59.40 per year).
     * A Team plan for organizations that costs $7.96 per user per month,
       billed annually ($95.52 per year). Again, if you prefer monthly
       billing, it's $9.95 per user per month ($119.40 per year).

   In addition, current users of TextExpander get a 50 percent 'loyalty
   discount' for the first year of their subscriptions, and those who
   purchased the previous version of TextExpander after 1 December 2015
   are eligible for 3 months free under the Life Hacker plan. For current
   users who choose a Life Hacker plan, the first-year loyalty discount
   means that you'll pay $1.98 per month (for an annual total of $23.76)
   if you choose yearly billing or $2.48 per month if you opt to pay by
   the month (which works out to $29.76 per year); for current users
   choosing a Team plan, the first-year rates are $3.98 per user per month
   ($47.76 if billed yearly) and $4.98 per user per month ($59.76 if
   billed monthly).

   It remains to be seen if the new subscription pricing model will prove
   popular, since it may alienate those who would prefer the option of
   purchasing upgrades only when they feel the need. For users to see the
   benefit, Smile will need to deliver substantive updates on a frequent
   basis. The current TextExpander 5 will continue working in OS X 10.11
   El Capitan, so some users may wish to delay an upgrade until they see
   what new features appear in updates to TextExpander 6, or until they
   see if version 5 has compatibility issues with Apple's next operating
   system upgrade.

References

   1. https://smilesoftware.com/
   2. https://textexpander.com/download/
   3. https://textexpander.com/
   4. http://tidbits.com/resources/2016-04/textexpander-web-editor.png
   5. http://tidbits.com/resources/2016-04/textexpander-editor-mac.png
   6. https://smilesoftware.com/software-releases/entry/the-new-textexpander
   7. https://textexpander.com/pricing/

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