Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac
In many apps, you can automatically replace text and punctuation. For example, you can automatically replace a double-space with a full stop and a space, teh with the, 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 ©.
Note: You don’t have to create a text replacement to be able to quickly end a sentence with a full stop and a Space by pressing the space bar twice. Instead, just select the “Add full stop with double-space” tickbox in the Text pane of Keyboard preferences.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Text.If you’re working in an app, you can also choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, then click Text Preferences.
Click the Add button
in the lower left, then type the text to replace (such as teh) in the Replace column, and its replacement (such as the) in the With column.To back up your text replacements or share them with other Mac users, see Back up and share text replacements on Mac.
If you use Chinese or Japanese input methods, 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 devices. Just set up iCloud Drive on your Mac, iOS and iPadOS devices, 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 tickbox 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 tick 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
> System Preferences, click Keyboard, then click Text.If necessary, select “Use smart quotes and dashes” (a tick shows it’s on).
If you’re working in an app, you can also choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, then choose Smart Quotes and Smart Dashes.
To choose a style for smart quotes, choose styles from the pop-up menus.
To use smart quotes and dashes in part of a document, select the text, choose Edit > Substitutions > Show Substitutions, make sure the Smart Dashes and Smart Quotes tickboxes 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, “www.apple.com” is converted to a link that opens that website. Or “mailto:karina_cavanna@icloud.com” is converted to a link that creates an email message for Karina Cavanna.
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 tick 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 tickbox, 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.