Summary

Espanso match editor and utility suite

EspansoEdit is a freeware front-end editor and utility suite for Espanso users. It is a Windows program with a quick and easy GUI to edit and manage Espanso match files. Key features include dedicated YML file handling, syntax highlighting, code folding, a clickable treeview of triggers, a clickable list of labels and matches from all YML files including import files and packages, a menu for creation of match types and a GUI match builder dialog. There is easy navigation between key Espanso folders and a Favorites menu for files and folders. A handy find function is included to search for text across all your match files. A cookbook is included with a wide range of examples of Espanso matches. The Packages menu enables browse and edit of installed Espanso packages and the Imports menu provides quick access to linked external match files. Customized match lists can be created. Matches can be sorted and match keys can be reordered. There is a dialog with a date and time string builder. There is a dialog for conversion to and from Hex and Unicode character codes. Autotext from other text expander programs can be imported from the Convert menu, which also includes export to CSV. There is a backup facility. Dark and light themes are included with a choice of 18 palettes.

Screenshot

Main program window:

Features

Features of the program include the following:

• By default the program lists match files to edit from the Espanso user folder (but any folder can be selected).
• The built-in editor displays match files with highlighting of keywords, comments and strings specific to Espanso.
• Syntax highlighting is also included for Markdown files, batch files and PowerShell scripts, as these can be useful to get the most out of Espanso.
• The editor includes advanced functions such as SyncEdit, column selection and incremental search.
• There is a menu of match types to streamline creation of new matches.
• The match builder dialog enables you to build a match using a graphical interface with over 30 configurable “building blocks” (Espanso code constructs).
• You can open multiple match files for simultaneous editing.
• Each match file is displayed alongside a treeview of triggers contained in the file. The treeview is clickable for quick navigation between triggers.
• The matches dialog displays all matches in the active folder. Double-clicking any of the matches will open the containing file in the editor with the relevant trigger highlighted.
• There is an inline dialog to find any file in the active folder that contains a given text (e.g., an Espanso trigger).
• The folder menu enables easy navigation between the key Espanso folders (default, config, portable and packages folders). Files and folders can be added to the Favorites menu.
• The packages menu enables browse and edit of installed Espanso packages. A list of all matches by package can also be generated.
• A cookbook is included with a wide range of examples of Espanso matches, all of which can be copied or adapted.
• The List tab allows for creation of a list of Espanso matches in the active folder. There are several enhancements to the list that can be created using the built-in Espanso match list command.
• The sort function generates a sorted copy of matches from the current file.
• Word triggers and/or case propagation can be applied to all matches in the current file.
• Top-level keys can be reordered for all matches in the current file.
• The indent function enables quick switch to either standard or minimum indentation of the current file.
• The Tools menu includes a check for duplicate triggers in matches from the match files in the active folder.
• An Imports menu provides quick access to external match files which have been included as imports from one more files in the active folder.
• There is a dialog with a date and time string builder.
• There is a dialog for conversion to and from Hex and Unicode character codes.
• Key Espanso commands can be run without leaving the program, with the output sent to a new editor tab. The Espanso log can also be viewed in a tab.
• Matches can be imported from export files created in other text expander programs. The current file can be exported to CSV.
• There is a backup function to save all match files in the active folder to a ZIP file in a selected location.
• The program is fast and light on resources with no dependencies. It is also compact, as it is contained within a single EXE file of size less than 9 Mb.
• The program is fully portable and can be run from USB without creating any files on the host system.
• An update check for a newer version can be made within the program.

For more detail on some of the Espanso-specific features, refer to key features.