How to set up text replacements on a Mac

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-set-up-text-replacements-on-a-mac/ · Checked October 2026 · MacBook Neo · macOS 27.0.1

8 of 8 steps with real screenshots · 2 official sources below

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)

App

System Settings

Real screenshots

8 of 8 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings

   Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.

   Done

2. 

   Click Keyboard in the sidebar

   Keyboard is near the bottom of the sidebar, so you may need to scroll.

   Done

3. 

   Click Text Replacements…

   The Text Replacements… button is lower down in the Keyboard settings.

   A list of your replacements opens, with Replace and With columns.

   Done

4. 

   Click the plus button

   It is at the bottom left of the list.

   On our MacBook Neo the list already held one entry: omw, replaced with On my way!.

   Done

5. 

   Type the short code and the full text

   Type the short code in the Replace field and the text it should become in the With field. Choose a code you would never type by accident.

   On our MacBook Neo, macOS 27 opens a small separate window with Replace and With fields rather than an empty row in the list.

   Done

6. 

   Click Add

   Add only becomes available once you have typed in the fields.

   On our MacBook Neo we used hts1 as the code and How To, Simply test as the text.

   Done

7. 

   Check the list and click Done

   The new entry appears in the list alongside the existing ones.

   On our MacBook Neo hts1 appeared above omw.

   Done

8. 

   Try it

   Open an app such as TextEdit, type the short code and press the Space bar. The full text replaces it.

   On our MacBook Neo typing hts1 and a space in a new TextEdit document produced How To, Simply test.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• No empty row after clicking plus In macOS 27 the plus button opens a small window with Replace and With fields and Cancel and Add buttons. Type your entry there.
• Add is greyed out Add stays dimmed until you have typed in the fields. Fill in Replace and With, then click Add.
• Keyboard is not in the sidebar Type Keyboard into the Search field at the top of the System Settings sidebar.

If this does not work

• The code is not replaced Type the code on its own and press the Space bar after it. Apple says text replacements do not work in every app, so test in TextEdit, where it worked for us. Source: Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac · Source: Back up and share text replacements on Mac
• The replacement text is wrong Open Text Replacements…, select the entry, click the minus button (−) to remove it, then add it again with the correct text.
• It works in some apps but not others Apple says that in some apps the choices are in the Edit menu under Substitutions, Show Substitutions. Check that text replacement is turned on there. Source: Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac · Source: Back up and share text replacements on Mac

About this guide

A text replacement turns a short code into a longer text as you type, which saves time with email addresses, greetings and phrases you write often.

Screenshots: MacBook Neo, macOS 27.0.1, dark mode.

Good to know

Text replacements do not work in every app. Apple says so itself. In some apps the choices are in the Edit menu under Substitutions, Show Substitutions.

With iCloud Drive set up on your Mac, iPhone and iPad and the same Apple Account on each, a replacement you add on one device works on the others as well.

To copy your replacements to another Mac, select them in the list and drag them to the desktop. That creates a file you can drag into the Text Replacements window on the other Mac.

To remove a replacement, open Text Replacements…, select the entry and click the minus button (−).

Start short codes with an unusual letter pair, such as xx, so that ordinary words never trigger them.

Text replacements sync to your iPhone through iCloud: how to create text shortcuts on iPhone.

Autocorrect changing words you meant? How to turn off autocorrect on a Mac.

In short: System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacements… > + > Replace and With > Add > Done.