Keep repeated wording organised and ready to use

1 Getting started

The main window contains a ribbon, a folder strip, the phrase grid and an optional bottom action bar. The ribbon provides Layout, Data, Settings, Help, profile access and Search all phrases. Folder tabs switch between libraries or expand nested groups.

Create your first phrase

1. Right-click an empty phrase button and choose Edit, unless immediate right-click editing is enabled.
2. Enter a short, recognisable title.
3. Type the phrase in the first phrase field.
4. Choose OK.
5. Place the cursor in another application and activate the new button.

Normal phrase text is pasted as a block. Temporary paste is on by default: PhraseStow uses the clipboard only long enough to paste, then restores its previous contents. If you turn temporary paste off, most activated phrases remain on the clipboard.

2 Working with phrase buttons

The editor controls the title, phrase fields, currently displayed field, formatting, position, hotkeys, inline images and action tokens. A button can hold several related variants. Only the currently selected field is sent.

Drag text and images into PhraseStow

Drag selected text from another program onto a phrase button to store it. An empty button accepts the text immediately. For an occupied button, choose whether to replace its phrase content, use the next free button or cancel. PhraseStow can ask before expanding the grid when no free slot remains.

Inside the editor, dropped text is inserted at the caret. Text dragged from Ditto is read from its temporary text file automatically. Drag an image file, or paste a bitmap such as a screenshot, to attach it at the caret. Drag-and-drop requires tkinterdnd2 in a source-code installation and is included in the packaged application.

Drag a phrase into another application

With Drag-and-drop output enabled, drag an unselected phrase tile and release it over the exact destination field. PhraseStow sends its normal text and images there, then runs its ordered actions. Activate the field you drop into is on by default so later keyboard, delay, program, file and folder actions continue against that field. To rearrange tiles instead, first select them with Ctrl+left-click and drag a selected tile.

Formatting and display

Select text and press Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I or Ctrl+K for italic, or Ctrl+U for underline. With no selection, the shortcut starts or stops formatting at the caret. PhraseStow stores the formatting as *[bold]*, _[italic]_ and __[underline]__; the markers are hidden by default and can be shown in Settings, Text formatting. Rich-text targets preserve styling, while plain-text targets receive clean text.

Enter starts a new paragraph. Shift+Enter creates a line break within the same paragraph in rich-text applications; both appear as a newline in plain-text targets. Inline images can be pasted or dropped, and each image can have its own maximum output size. The global image-size setting applies when no per-image limit is set, and zero keeps the original dimensions.

Change output format

Output-format tokens transform everything between their start and end markers, including ordinary text and resolved placeholders. Use [[uppercase_start]]...[[uppercase_end]], [[lowercase_start]]...[[lowercase_end]], [[sentencecase_start]]...[[sentencecase_end]] or [[underscore_start]]...[[underscore_end]]. Right-click selected text and choose Change output format to add the markers. Without an end marker, the change applies to the rest of the phrase.

Single-use phrases and tiles

A single-use phrase is removed after it is sent and is marked with ①. A single-use tile remains ready for the next text you type, paste or drop; that new content is removed after use as well. Set Sends before removal to two or more when content should remain for a limited number of activations. Removed content can be recovered from the Recycle Bin.

Move and recover

Buttons can be duplicated, moved and selected in groups. Drag selected buttons onto a folder tab to use its first empty slots. Deleted phrases enter the Recycle Bin. Ctrl+Z undoes the last phrase or folder change, and Ctrl+Y redoes it.

3 Organising folders

Folders can be renamed, reordered, styled and moved inside other folders. A parent may contain both phrases and subfolders. Use the arrow or a double-click to expand and collapse its branch. Deleting a parent deliberately includes its complete branch and requires confirmation.

Layout controls add or remove grid rows and columns. Folder drops can expand a grid by a row or a column. PhraseStow supports up to 100 folders.

4 Finding and activating phrases

Search all phrases scans folder names, titles, phrase content and image markers. Flexible matching tolerates separated matching characters; Require exact order requires the complete query to appear contiguously in the same order and is remembered between searches. Activate sends the result to the previous application. Locate opens the correct folder and highlights the phrase without sending it.

The default search shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+Space. Global window, folder, button, tray-menu and always-on-top hotkeys are configurable. Shortcuts can be restricted so PhraseStow must be active.

5 Quick Insert by phrase name

Quick Insert sends a saved phrase while you remain in another application. With the default setting, type a colon followed by the phrase title without spaces. For example, a button titled Hello World is activated by typing :HelloWorld. Matching is not case-sensitive.

1. Place the text cursor where the phrase should appear.
2. Type the activation character. The default is :.
3. Type the complete phrase title without spaces.
4. PhraseStow removes the activation text and sends the active phrase field. If several phrases match, choose one from the list.

Open Settings, Features and formatting, Quick Insert to turn the feature on or off, change the one-character activation character, disable automatic title matching, or give individual buttons shorter manual names. A manual name takes priority over the title and works even when title matching is off. Type it without the activation character.

Backspace corrects the name while you type. Space, Enter, Tab, Escape, a Ctrl or Alt shortcut, or a character that can no longer match a name stops listening and leaves the typed text in place. Quick Insert does nothing while PhraseStow itself is active.

If one name is the beginning of a longer name, the shorter complete name activates first; give one button a distinctive manual name to avoid the collision. If several phrases have the same complete name, PhraseStow asks you to choose one.

Quick Insert sends the active phrase field, including images. It does not run a separate web-search action attached to the button. Prompted [[input placeholders]] are collected before sending, actions inside || || run in order, and {{cursor}} sets the final caret position. Turn off Run || || actions in Quick Insert phrases to insert action tokens literally instead. Because the typed trigger replaces highlighted text, [[selection]] in a Quick Insert phrase uses the last copied text.

6 Placeholders and reusable input

A token such as [[first_name]] asks for a value at activation time. Repeated instances reuse the same answer, and one form collects every unique placeholder in first-appearance order.

An optional Feature syntax setting can prefill a phrase’s single placeholder from selected text. It does not apply to phrases with several placeholders, and the complete prefilled value is selected so typing replaces it.

Saved values can be selected again later. Input interfaces can provide ordinary text or purpose-specific choices such as dates and times. Use placeholders for genuinely changing values, not stable wording.

7 Abbreviations and live values

Custom abbreviations expand named tokens into longer content. The date and time settings control the plain date, time and datetime tokens. Explicit tokens such as date_iso and time24 keep their stated format.

8 Keyboard output and ordered actions

Normal text is pasted at once. Quoted keyboard output is typed character by character. Key combinations, typed text, delays and actions are processed in the order written.

• ||ctrl+s|| sends a key combination.
• ||"shell:startup"|| types literal text.
• ||delay:500|| waits 500 milliseconds.
• The Browse file control inserts an action that opens the selected local file.
• The Browse folder control inserts an action that opens the selected folder.
• The Browse EXE control inserts an explicitly selected program action when the optional feature is available and enabled.

Website and web search buttons

Website actions open an address in the selected browser. A web search button combines a search URL with a query template. The query can use prompted input, abbreviations and [[selection]]. Use {query} where the URL-encoded query belongs.

Executable actions can be disabled without deleting their stored tokens. Only add executable actions you understand and trust.

9 Profiles and preset folders

Profiles keep separate phrase libraries, folders, images, abbreviations and placeholder presets. They can represent different clients, roles or personal and work contexts. Settings can remain profile-specific or selected interface and behaviour settings can be shared.

Data, Add preset shows built-in, imported and saved presets in a searchable list. A preset can contain several folders. Add them as new folders or merge all buttons into empty slots in an existing folder without overwriting its content. Presets can retain formatting, colours, title and button styles, per-button hotkeys, images and web-search settings.

Use Export folders as preset to create a reusable .phrasestow.preset.json file. Use Import preset for that format, or Import folder backup as preset to reuse a compatible folder backup.

Generate your own presets with AI

Open Data, Add preset, then Import preset. Copy the official PhraseStow preset-generation prompt, replace the request at the bottom with a plain-language description of the preset you want, and submit it to an AI assistant. Paste the returned code block into PhraseStow’s preset importer, review the entries, and choose Import from text. The prompt includes your current grid size so the generated folders fit your layout.

The default syntax types are:

• [[name]] creates an input placeholder that PhraseStow asks the user to fill in.
• [[selection]] inserts highlighted text, while [[clipboard]] inserts copied text.
• {{date}}, {{time}}, {{cursor}} and similar {{abbreviations}} insert automatic values.
• ||action|| runs keyboard, delay, website, program, file or folder actions.

Selected text examples

Google selected text

||https://www.google.com/search?q=[[selection]]||

Wikipedia selected text

||https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=[[selection]]||

YouTube selected text

||https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=[[selection]]||

Gmail selected-text search

||https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/[[selection]]||

Simple template

Hello [[first_name]],

Thank you for your message. I will respond by {{date+7}}.

{{cursor}}

Action sequence

||windows+r||||delay:500||||"shell:startup"||||delay:500||||enter||

{query} is reserved for PhraseStow’s dedicated Web Search-button editor. In portable preset replacement text, place [[selection]], [[clipboard]] or an input placeholder directly inside a URL enclosed by || || instead.

The generated block uses this structure and must retain the exact base CSV header trigger,replacement:

Preset: <short descriptive preset name>
<<First folder name>>
trigger,replacement
<<Second folder name>>
trigger,replacement

Repeat a folder marker and header for each folder. With no folder marker, PhraseStow creates one folder named after the preset. A surrounding Markdown code fence is accepted automatically. Turn on Include color formatting before copying the prompt when you want the optional color column.

Fields containing commas, quotation marks or line breaks must follow standard CSV quoting. Review every AI-generated preset before importing it, particularly actions that open programs, files or folders, or execute keyboard shortcuts.

For advanced combinations, read the complete PhraseStow syntax documentation and the preset-import documentation.

10 Import export backup and recovery

When you export or import, PhraseStow first asks which file format to use, with the PhraseStow library format preselected. Use it for backups and for moving between PhraseStow installations; use CSV to move phrases to or from spreadsheets and other snippet software.

Create a manual backup before a large import, folder restructure or syntax change. The Recycle Bin can restore deleted phrases and folders. If an original slot is occupied, choose another empty destination.

11 Appearance window and tray

Appearance includes Light, Dark, Blue, Orange, Green and High contrast presets, plus individual colours for window and interface areas. Fonts, sizes, emphasis, alignment, borders, button height, widths, spacing and ribbon wrapping can be adjusted.

PhraseStow can use the taskbar or a notification-area icon. It can start with Windows, stay always on top and centre on the display containing the pointer. Compact ribbon mode places the ribbon in the title area while keeping window movement and edge resizing available.

12 Settings guide

General

Window placement, startup, taskbar or tray mode, close behaviour and close after sending.

Display and appearance

Button sizing, previews, cycle controls, themes, fonts, colours and formatting markers.

Output and web actions

Drag-and-drop output, temporary paste, timing, image size, browser choice and website behaviour.

Hotkeys and navigation

Global window and search shortcuts, tray menus, folders, buttons and keyboard navigation.

Features and syntax

Quick Insert, abbreviations, placeholders, date and time, delimiters and executable actions.

Licence and edition

Edition, licence status, activation and deactivation.

Abbreviations, placeholders and keyboard output can be enabled or disabled and assigned distinct delimiter pairs. When a feature is disabled, its syntax is sent as ordinary text. Back up the library before changing delimiters.

13 Local data firewall and output

In the current version, PhraseStow keeps its working library on the computer. It is not presented as an encrypted vault. If the computer is shared, managed, backed up elsewhere or connected to a synchronised folder, those systems’ permissions and data-handling arrangements also apply.

Users can choose to create a Windows Firewall blocking rule. The main library features are designed to remain usable without a continuous connection, but a block may prevent licence activation, update checks and downloads. Website actions are handed to the configured browser. Firewall behaviour can depend on Windows and other security software.

Clipboard and focus

Temporary paste is on by default. It restores the earlier clipboard content after a configurable delay. If you turn temporary paste off, most activated phrases remain on the clipboard so they can be pasted again. Increase the restore delay if a slow destination pastes old or incomplete content. Character-by-character output may also need longer timing in remote desktops or older applications.

14 Licensing updates and support

Licence and edition shows the current status, licensed user, licence ID and any relevant trial or tester expiry. An internet connection may be required to obtain or activate a licence. Requirements may vary by edition and version.

Help includes searchable tips, a navigation shortcut reference, update checks, the PhraseStow website and an email support action. Keep a current native export before updating.

15 Troubleshooting

16 Shortcut quick reference

Pressing Enter before anything is focused activates the first phrase in the current folder. Arrow keys move through buttons, folders and ribbon controls when navigation is enabled. The Settings window focuses its search box when opened; type to filter, then press Enter or Down to move into the results. Many shortcuts are configurable, so use the built-in reference and Hotkeys and navigation settings to confirm the keys on your installation.