The right snippet for each app
Limit a snippet to the apps where it belongs, keep it out of the ones where it doesn't, or give one trigger a different text in Mail and Slack.
Every snippet starts as Everywhere · Change it in the editor
;sig
Best regards, Sam Rivera Head of Customer Success · Acme (555) 014-2290
Everywhere;sig
– Sam
Only in SlackThree ways to scope a snippet
Everywhere
The default. The snippet expands in every app, the way snippets always have.
Badge: No badge
Only in…
The snippet expands only in the apps you pick. Everywhere else, typing the trigger does nothing.
Badge: Only in Mail
Everywhere except…
The snippet expands in every app apart from the ones you pick.
Badge: Not in Mail, Slack
Set it up in the editor
Open the snippet
Edit any personal snippet. Below Tags there's a new Apps row, set to Everywhere.
Pick a mode and add apps
Choose Only in… or Everywhere except…, then Add App. Pick from the apps you have open, or choose any app in your Applications folder.
Save
The snippet list shows a badge like Only in Mail, so you can see at a glance where each snippet works.
Four ways to use it
One trigger, two voices
Keep ;sig as your full signature everywhere, and add a second ;sig only in Slack that just says your first name. In Slack you get the short one; everywhere else, the full one.
Code where you write code
Limit ;log, ;todo or a boilerplate block to your editor and terminal, so the trigger stays free in every other app.
Keep a snippet out of one app
If a trigger gets in the way somewhere, like a game, a design tool or a remote desktop, set it to Everywhere except that app.
The same reply, per help desk
Support teams often answer in two places. Keep ;hi formal in your help desk and casual in chat, under one trigger you don't have to think about.
When two snippets share a trigger
The most specific snippet wins
If two snippets share a trigger and both apply, Only in… beats Everywhere, and Everywhere beats Everywhere except…. So a Mail-only ;sig wins in Mail, and the everywhere ;sig covers the rest.
No silent clashes
Retext won't let you save two snippets that would fight over the same app: two Everywhere ;sig snippets, or two Only in… lists that share an app. It tells you to limit one of them instead.
Nested snippets follow the app
A {snippet:sig} field picks the ;sig that applies in the app you're typing in, so a shared closing can pull in the right signature.
Questions? Answers.
What are per-app snippets?
Snippets that only expand in the apps you choose, or everywhere except the apps you choose. You can also give one trigger a different text in different apps.
Can two snippets use the same trigger?
Yes, if they apply in different apps, or one is a per-app override of the other. ;sig only in Mail plus ;sig only in Slack is fine, and so is ;sig everywhere plus ;sig only in Mail. Two snippets that would both expand in the same app, with neither more specific, aren't allowed.
Does it work per website?
No, per app. Chrome, Safari and Arc each count as one app, so a snippet limited to Chrome expands on every site you open in Chrome.
What happens to my existing snippets?
Nothing. Every snippet starts as Everywhere and keeps working exactly as before until you change it.
Can I set apps for team snippets?
Not yet. App settings are for your personal snippets; team snippets expand in every app. If your personal snippet and a team snippet share a trigger, the personal one wins in the apps it applies to, and the team one works everywhere else.
Do other trigger rules still apply?
Yes. Triggers that overlap, like ;sig and ;signature, still clash whatever apps they're set to, because typing one would always run into the other.
Go further with snippets
How Retext compares
See how Retext compares with other text expanders for Mac.
Put every snippet in its place
Download Retext, open a snippet, and choose the apps it belongs in.