Phrase and folder triggers

Triggers recall content without searching the full library first. This Free Beta guide covers hotkey and autotext for phrases and folders, plus collision choosers and pause controls.

Starter-library trigger examples stay disabled until you configure them on purpose.

Global controls

Open Settings → Triggers:

Keep Triggers enabled on. When off, phrase and folder hotkeys/autotext (and other trigger kinds) do not fire. The global palette hotkey still works.
Use per-kind toggles to disable only autotext, only hotkeys, and so on.
Pause triggers for 5–60 minutes when you need a temporary quiet period; Resume now ends the pause early.

Phrase triggers

Select a phrase and switch to Advanced.
Expand Triggers in the inspector.
Assign a hotkey and/or a distinctive autotext abbreviation.
Optionally limit firing with window scope (app or window title).
Test with non-sensitive sample content first.

Autotext tip: when Require trailing delimiter is on (default), type the pattern and then Space, punctuation, or Return — for example /sig then Space. Typing only /sig and waiting does nothing.

Template phrases that need values open the palette fill UI from a trigger instead of pasting raw {{placeholders}}. Fully automatic templates insert immediately.

Folder triggers

Select a folder (not a phrase) and expand Folder Triggers:

Folder hotkey — choose Phrase chooser or Detached palette when it fires.
Folder autotext — opens a compact phrase chooser for that folder (and subfolders). It does not insert a phrase by itself.

Using the phrase chooser

The chooser prefers a position near your caret when Accessibility can read insertion bounds.
Folder autotext (default): ambient open — a passive peek while you keep typing. Press ↑ or ↓ to arm keyboard control; Escape / Backspace dismisses without inserting.
Settings → Triggers → Folder Trigger Chooser → Folder autotext opens can switch to Active immediately if you want the chooser to capture keys as soon as it appears.
After arming, type to filter, Return or → to insert. While ambient, → still moves the caret in the host app.
Optional global library autokey (off by default) — e.g. ;; — opens an all-library chooser. Watch conflict warnings if the pattern overlaps other autotext.

When triggers collide

If several phrases share a hotkey or autotext, Astramar opens a compact chooser near the caret listing only the matches (folder path subtitles help when titles repeat). Collision opens armed for the keyboard because you finished a complete trigger on purpose.

↑ / ↓ move the highlight; Return or → inserts.
Backspace or Escape dismisses without inserting (typed autotext stays in place until you pick).
Settings → Triggers → Folder Trigger Chooser → Phrase trigger collisions can restore the legacy Main palette surface.

Folder-trigger collisions use the same chooser family (or a short disambiguation step when multiple folders match).

Pause and troubleshoot

When a trigger does not respond:

Confirm Triggers enabled is on and triggers are not paused.
Confirm the per-kind toggle for that trigger type is on.
Check for a conflicting macOS or application shortcut.
Confirm the phrase or folder trigger itself is enabled.
For autotext, try the trailing delimiter and a longer, more distinctive pattern.
Open the palette manually to verify the content exists.

Settings → Advanced → All Triggers lists every phrase and folder trigger with status and conflict warnings. Recent Activity keeps a short in-memory debug log for the current session (cleared on quit).

Outside this Free Beta guide

Scheduled triggers, clipboard-driven transforms, and deeper script or automation wiring remain opt-in or experimental. They are documented only after they are part of the approved public surface — see Free Beta surface.