Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac
In many apps, you can automatically replace text and punctuation. For example, you can replace a double-space with a period and a space, teh with the, fwiw with for what it’s worth, or replace straight quotes with “curly” quotes (called smart quotes). You can also have internet addresses (URLs) converted to clickable links (called smart links).
Create text replacements
Automatically replace certain text with other text or symbols. For example, replace (c) with ©.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)If you’re working in an app, you can also choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, then click Text Settings.
Note: You don’t have to create a text replacement to be able to quickly end a sentence with a period and a space by pressing the Space bar twice. Instead, just go to Text Input on the right, click Edit, turn on “Add period with double-space,” then click Done.
Click Text Replacements on the right.
Click the Add button
in the dialog that appears, type the text to replace (such as teh) and its replacement (such as the), then click Add.Click Done.
To back up your text replacements or share them with other Mac users, see Back up and share text replacements.
If you use Chinese or Japanese input sources, your text replacements are included in your user dictionary. For more information about user dictionaries, choose Help from the Input menu while using one of the Chinese or Japanese input methods.
Tip: You can use iCloud to keep your text replacements up to date on all your Apple devices. Just set up iCloud Drive on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and sign in everywhere using the same Apple ID. When you add a text replacement on your Mac, it appears automatically on your other devices (and vice versa).
Use text replacements
In an app on your Mac, do one of the following:
Apply a text replacement to existing text: To use the text replacement in part of a document, select the text, choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, make sure the Text Replacement checkbox is selected, then click Replace in Selection. To use the text replacement in the entire document, click Replace All.
Set an app to always use a text replacement: In a document, choose Edit > Substitutions, then choose Text Replacement (a checkmark shows it’s on). To turn it off, choose the command again.
Use smart quotes and dashes
Automatically convert straight quotation marks to typographical (“curly”) ones, and double hyphens to em dashes (—).
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
Go to Text Input on the right, then click Edit.
Turn on “Use smart quotes and dashes.”
If you’re working in an app, you can also choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, then select the Smart Quotes and Smart Dashes checkboxes.
To choose a style for smart quotes, choose styles from the “For double quotes” and “For single quotes” pop-up menus, then click Done.
Tip: To apply smart quotes and dashes to existing text, select the text, choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, make sure the Smart Dashes and Smart Quotes checkboxes are selected, then click Replace in Selection. To use them in the entire document, click Replace All.
Use smart links
Automatically convert URLs or other strings to clickable links. For example, “apple.com” is converted to a link that opens that website, and “mailto:dawn_ramirez@icloud.com” is converted to a link that creates an email message for Dawn Ramirez.
In an app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Set an app to always use smart links: In a document, choose Edit > Substitutions, then choose Smart Links (a checkmark shows it’s on).
To turn it off, choose the command again.
Apply smart links to existing text: To use smart links in part of a document, select the text, choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, select the Smart Links checkbox, then click Replace in Selection. To use them in the entire document, click Replace All.
Text replacements, smart quotes and dashes, and smart links aren’t available in all apps.