Following the news that TextExpander touch had to be “revised significantly” in order to receive an update on the App Store, Smile has today released version 2.3 of the app, which includes a new SDK for developers to integrate in their apps. The app no longer uses the Reminders database to store snippet data and it requires manual user intervention to set up snippets in compatible apps.
From Smile’s blog:
We have come up with an alternative to using Reminders, which will require you to take action to update your snippets and keep them updated. This will have to be done via apps you use with TextExpander integration. There will probably be a “Get Snippet Data” button in the app’s settings, but that depends on how the developer chooses to handle this.
And an important note on developers:
We have also provided an updated TextExpander touch SDK to third party developers so that they can revise their apps. As developers ourselves, we know this sort of unexpected and unscheduled change is difficult to accommodate even under normal circumstances. At this time of year, with impending holidays and year-end obligations, it’s even more difficult. You might want to let the developers of your favorite apps know that you would like to see updated TextExpander support, but please be patient with them as they work out how to fit that into their development schedules.
As a result of this change, apps that used to work with TextExpander touch 2.2 won’t expand snippets with TextExpander touch 2.3 unless they update to support the new system. Looking at the SDK documentation on GitHub, it appears that Smile is now using x-callback-url to handle the initial setup of snippets between TextExpander and compatible apps which, as Smile initially suggested, shouldn’t allow for constant sync of snippets – i.e. if you change a snippet in TextExpander, you’ll have to run the snippet setup again in a third-party app.
It’s unclear how developers will settle on this new implementation and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an open-source solution for TextExpander snippet setup appearing soon. I’m not aware of apps compatible with TextExpander touch 2.3 at the moment and Smile also reset the list on their website.
TextExpander touch 2.3 is available on the App Store; for more on TextExpander touch and iOS limitations, check out episode 24 of The Prompt.