Modula
Modula documentation
The tools
Expander
The Expander replaces a keyword with a piece of text while you type, in any field on any website. It's the fastest tool once you know your keywords: no menu to open, no mouse.
Typing a keyword Starter
Give a SmartText a keyword. Wherever you type that keyword — an email, a form, a chat — it is erased and replaced by the SmartText's content.
Camille answers customers every day. Her “Signature” SmartText has the keyword !sig. She ends an email by typing !sig: the full signature — name, job title, phone — takes its place.
- Open a SmartText (or create one) in Modula's Options.
- Fill in the Expander keyword field, for example
!sig, then save. - On any website, in an input field, type
!sig.
No prefix is required, but start your keywords with ! or :: they can't fire in the middle of a word you're actually writing. A keyword like thanks would fire every time you write “thanks”.
A keyword can't start with *: that character is used for searching by category.
When the SmartText contains fields Basic
If the SmartText contains dynamic fields (a name, a number, a date…), the keyword first opens the insertion form. You fill it in, confirm, and the complete text is inserted.
The “Delivery tracking” SmartText, keyword !track, contains the Tracking number field. Camille types !track, pastes the number into the form, presses Enter: the complete sentence is inserted with the number.
See The insertion form and Dynamic fields.
Choosing when the keyword fires Advanced
By default, the replacement is instant: as soon as you type the keyword's last letter. You can require a confirmation key, to stay in control.
| Trigger | The text appears… |
|---|---|
| Instant (no separator) (default) | as soon as the keyword is complete |
| Space | when you press Space after the keyword |
| Tab | when you press Tab after the keyword |
The three can be combined: tick one or more.
- Open Modula's Options, then Settings → Toolbox.
- Expander tab, Expansion triggers section: tick your triggers.
If your keywords look like real words, switch to Space: nothing fires until you confirm.
Several SmartTexts for the same keyword Expert
Two SmartTexts can have the same keyword — that's the case for every copy made with Duplicate. When you type that keyword, a small list opens below the cursor: choose the SmartText to insert.
Camille has two signatures, “Signature — English” and “Signature — French”, both on !sig. She types !sig and picks the right one from the list.
In the Options lists, a red ⓘ icon flags shared keywords. The edit form shows it too, while you type the keyword.
A keyword that overrides another Expert
With instant triggering, the replacement happens as soon as the typed word matches a keyword. If one keyword starts with another, the longer one is never reached.
Camille has !ord (“Order”) and !order (“Order tracking”). Typing !order, !ord fires at the fourth character: “Order tracking” is never inserted.
- Choose a keyword that doesn't start with the other one — for example
!odrinstead of!ord. - Or switch to the Space or Tab trigger: both keywords can then coexist.
Modula warns you: the edit form says so while you type, an amber ⚠ icon marks the overridden keyword in the lists, and Data health reports it.
Turning the Expander off on certain sites Expert Pro
On some sites, ! or : are part of what you type (a code editor, a spreadsheet). You can switch the Expander off there without stopping it elsewhere.
- Settings → Restrictions, Expander line.
- Choose Block only on these sites and add the addresses concerned.
See Site restrictions.
Where the Expander doesn't work Basic
Some sites isolate their input fields in a closed area (a shadow root). The Expander can't read what you type there: a message warns you on the spot. The other tools work normally there — use the Launcher, the Sidebar or RightClick.
Chrome's internal pages (chrome://…) are off limits to every extension. And a page already open when Modula was installed must be reloaded once.