Core Features
Matching & Triggers
Configure how your snippets are triggered when you type.
Snipset monitors your typing in real time. When what you type matches a snippet's keyword, expansion fires. But how exactly does Snipset decide it's a match? The Matching settings give you precise control over this behavior.
How Snipset Monitors Your Typing
Under the hood, Snipset uses a global keyboard hook to read your keystrokes.
- It maintains a rolling "typing buffer" (a temporary memory of the last few dozen characters you typed).
- When the characters at the end of this buffer match a recognized keyword, the snippet is triggered. Snipset then simulates pressing the Backspace key to erase your keyword before inserting the new content.
- Buffer resets: The typing buffer is automatically cleared when you use your mouse, press the arrow keys, press Escape, or pause typing for a few seconds. This prevents old, irrelevant keystrokes from causing accidental matches.
Strict Mode vs. Loose Mode
This is the most important matching setting. It determines where a keyword is allowed to trigger.
| Mode | Behavior | Example (Keyword: `sig`) |
|---|---|---|
| Strict (Default) | The keyword must be typed as an independent word. The character before it must be a space, a newline, or nothing at all. |
Triggers on ` sig`. Does NOT trigger inside the word `de<strong>sig</strong>n`. |
| Loose | The keyword matches anywhere in the buffer, even if it's attached to the end of another word. |
Triggers on ` sig`. ALSO triggers inside the word `de<strong>sig</strong>n`. |
Case Sensitive vs. Case Insensitive
- Case Insensitive (Default): The keyword
hellowill trigger whether you typeHello,HELLO, orhello. - Case Sensitive: Only exact case matches work.
hellowill only trigger if typed exactly in lowercase. Enable this if your keyword happens to be a common acronym where case matters.
Smart Case Matching
Snipset automatically adjusts the capitalization of your output text based on how you typed the keyword. This is a built-in smart feature of the engine and requires no configuration.
- Type
//TY→ Output is uppercased:THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME - Type
//Ty→ Output is titlecased:Thank You For Your Time - Type
//ty→ Output uses original case:thank you for your time
Space-as-Trigger
By default, Snipset fires the exact millisecond the full keyword is matched. However, the engine is smart enough to understand space-as-trigger natively without any settings. If you intentionally type the keyword and then press the Space key, Snipset will consume the space and insert your snippet cleanly.
- This is useful if your keyword is short and you want to prevent false positives.
- The space character itself is "eaten" by Snipset—it won't be printed after your snippet content.