ActiveWords
What's it do?
ActiveWords monitors what you type and upon receiving a “programmed”
series of keystrokes, a specific action will be performed
Does it do what it promises?
Reviewer 1:. Many computer users rely
on someone else’s rules. This means browsing through different levels of
menus to get to the program or option you want. Once ActiveWords is
configured, a keystroke or two will get you to any menu level you want and
start the application. What you are actually doing is creating a script
where you define what actions you want performed. You actually “write” one
or more actions to any custom command. Each word or command you “script”
will be automatically added to its vocabulary, but you are not limited to
using words. You can also configure phrases to perform tasks. The Add
Wizard Utility covers most areas of your system and if you cannot find
something predefined, you can start the scripting option and define your
own series of commands to build a complex command.
Reviewer 2: Yes, and it does it
smoothly through an excellent, exceptionally well-designed user interface.
Reviewer 3: Yes.
Reviewer 4: ActiveWords is one of
those unexpected treasures that happens along once in a while, and
surprises you with the brilliance of its design and the myriad of ways
that it can make your computing time easier, more productive and actually
more fun. I have ActiveWords running in the background – the “Monitor Bar”
is attached to the top of my screen, and I am writing this review.
“ActiveWords” is a phrase that I am going to use frequently. So I define a
“Substitute Text”. I click on “add” on the “Monitor Bar” to bring up the
“Add Words” Wizard. In a few seconds I have added the word “awds” which
will change into “ActiveWords” each time I type it. That’s a pretty simple
example. But ActiveWords goes much further. For example, you can have
ActiveWords do spelling corrections on the fly with “Misspellings”, an
ActiveWords “add-in Application”. It will also do “contractions” (“dont”
changes into “don’t”), capitalizations: (“peter” changes into “Peter”),
math (to calculate the 7% General Sales Tax on your new DVD player, and
have the result in dollars, type “$199.99*.07 eval” and you will get “
$13.999”), and more. By typing in ActiveWords that you define yourself,
you can Launch a program (type “wrd” and your word processing program
opens up); tell ActiveWords to go the Neat Net Tricks Bulletin Board and
log you on (type “nntbb” ), or activate a Windows Setting (type in “desk”
and the “Activation Key” – F10 in my case –all windows are minimized and I
am at my Desktop.). I can go directly to the NNT Reviews folder, located
on my “E:” drive by typing in “nrv”. I can do all these things from
anywhere. I don’t have to be using this particular program, writing this
review. Using those same ActiveWords, for example, I can be doing my
accounting, reading a .pdf file, surfing the Web, or writing an email.
Reviewer 5: Yes. In fact, this may be
one of the few times I have come across software in which its marketing
and Web site possibly understates it capabilities.
Reviewer 6: Yes. This is an impressive
utility that simplifies common tasks for those who spend a lot of time
working at the keyboard.
Was it easy to install?
Reviewer 1: It was very easy to
install. Simply click on the executable, accept the default location and
upon a successful installation you will notice a new toolbar located at
the top of your monitor. This is the ActiveWords tool bar where you define
your scripts and add words and phrases to the vocabulary.
Reviewer 2: Yes, straightforward. I'd
have preferred it to continue the Installation script beyond the point at
which it asked if I'd like to enter ActiveWords. I replied "No", and felt
it rather left me hanging at loose ends. After that point I'd have liked
to see a tile with a few words about how to resume and what would be
involved at that point.
Reviewer 3: Yes, installation was fast
and simple.
Reviewer 4: Yes it was. I have it set
to start up when my computer boots up. This adds a bit of extra time to
the boot-up process, but for some reason, it is the last program to load.
So when I see the ActiveWords splash screen, I know that my computing day
is about to begin.
Reviewer 5: No. It was not until the
rather massive program at 9.73 MB was downloaded that I learned you could
install the program on a machine not running XP SP2. I was forced to
install on an alternative computer outside of my home and office.
Reviewer 6: Yes, it installed quickly
and with no problems.
Good points?
Reviewer 1. Any action you want to
define can have multiple commands or you can have the same command
attached to multiple actions. For example when ActiveWords sees that
multiple actions are associated to the current command, it will display a
dialog box asking what action you want performed. For example, I can have
BOPEN represent the command to open either Internet Explorer and go to
http://www.cnn.com or to open
Firefox and go to my hotmail account. ActiveWords will prompt me for what
action I want to perform. As you continue to use ActiveWords, the
vocabulary will increase in size and complexity, and the vocabulary can
easily be moved from computer to computer. ActiveWords is not based upon
what program you are in at the present time. It relies on custom key
commands to operate and not what program is open and what is running in
the background. What this really means is you can jump from application to
application and still have instant access to ActiveWords.
Reviewer 2: The user interface is
superbly well-thought-out and well-designed: it was helpful, generally
kept a very low profile taking very little or no window area, and provided
most any function needed in only a few clicks. If I needed it, it was
there or easily reachable, but when not needed it was very low profile or
not present. It was a joy to use! I believe ActiveWord's $50 price-tag is
definitely on the high side for the functionality it delivers; however,
with their policy of "The purchase of a single ActiveWords PLUS Version
License gives you the right to install and use the software on ALL the
computers you regularly use, for example; work, home, and laptop," it
becomes a very good deal! and a pricing model that other software
providers should emulate. Also, its 60-day trial use is remarkably
generous. I found Auto Sensing to be very helpful in generating a good
starter set of ActiveWords.
Reviewer 3: This is a powerful and
highly customizable program that can create text-based shortcuts known as
ActiveWords and apply them to a variety of actions in a Windows
environment. You can use it to run programs, open files, insert text, and
run batch files. The main limitation to what you will do with it will be
your own imagination. A 60 day trial of the full-featured program allows
thorough testing before purchase. The Website has a Users Forum where you
can browse to explore issues other users are dealing with, or post
questions of your own. The ActiveWords license allows installation on all
computers you use at home and work.
The “shortcuts” you set up with ActiveWords can be used within ANY windows
program. In the traditional use of this program, you type in the word that
you had selected to trigger a larger action. Remembering the exact
spelling you entered can be difficult, especially for terms you
infrequently enter. The solution to this is the “View Activewords” section
found in the “Menu” dropdown. This displays a list of all of the shortcuts
(ActiveWords) you set up and their linked action. You can select the
action from this list and run it from there directly.
Reviewer 4: When you first install
ActiveWords, the basic tutorial will begin and will take you through the
basic ideas and features of the program. It does take a bit of time, but
you will find that time well rewarded. As it is full of lots of
information, much of it new, of course, it is worthwhile to recall that
tutorial from time-to-time for things that you missed the first time
around. Support is excellent. Late evening I sent in a request for help
with a problem that I was having. Almost immediately, an auto-response
appeared so I knew that they had received my question. Early the next
afternoon, I received the first email response from a support person, and
from there on the problem was quickly cleared up. The following week, I
received a response within an hour of my request. There is also a Users
forum. Readers of the Neat Net Tricks Bulletin Board will recognize the
format and will find it easy to navigate this forum. Besides active
participation by the ActiveWords support people themselves, help comes
from other users as well. From time-to-time, you will receive an email
announcement of some other features of ActiveWords that you have probably
not yet noticed, or that you did not know about. For example, one of the
early announcements that I received told me of the misspellings
application, where to download it, how to test it and what it does.
Sometimes, when you start up the program, a little window will appear from
behind the ActiveWords Splash Screen, suggesting that you could add
another Active Word to your ever-growing list. For example, it noticed
that I was frequently going to a particular folder, and the Add Wizard was
ready to leap into action. I had, as always, the choice: Add it now,
Remind me later, or Don’t suggest this one again. I took advantage of this
help as, particularly in the beginning, I had not really realized that
this, too, could be a useful “Active Word”. “Knowledge Access” is a
wonderfully powerful addition. Once installed, you can choose your default
web “Information Engine” from nine possible choices; for example, Google,
Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, Webster’s Dictionary, etc. Type “ka” and your
“Confirmation Key”, and select your preferred “default.” Now, as you are
reading an email, Web page, Ebook, or anything else, highlight a word or
phrase that you want to know more about, press your Confirmation Key, and
your default engine displays the results of its search for you.
ActiveWords’ “Scripting Language” allows you to string together a list of
commands, with which you can automate repetitive tasks. Look at the
Scripting Demo on the Web site, then go to the Users Forum to see
discussion of various uses of scripting in a variety of situations. Look
also at the awesome blog for some in-depth discussion of many of the uses
of ActiveWords and its scripting language.
Reviewer 5: This is one of those rare
programs that is not just extremely complex, full of multiple
applications, offers numerous users choices, and a plethora of options,
but it seems to do everything almost perfectly with very few serious
weaknesses and only a few things that might be improved upon. There is not
enough space here to literally describe all of its functions (and there
are literally hundreds of permutations with this program). Suffice it to
say, if you are one of those keyboard junkies who is a very fast touch
typist and sees the mouse as only an inconvenience or roadblock to slow
you down, then this program is for you. Think keyboard shortcuts on
steroids. These “shortcuts,” however you define and customize them, are
not simply limited to your Operating System applications. They can be used
for any application from installed programs to email to Web sites to
anything you can think of. You simply determine a word or a letter to
assign an application, type it into the ActiveWord monitor bar and the
application, Website, etc. opens . You can further customize it to open
individual applications, files, or folders within an application. A real
time saver is using it like a speed dial for your email address book:
assign a letter or word to represent an email address, type it in and your
email composition window opens with the email already addressed. There
are, as I stated above, many more specific functions available such as a
scripting engine that allows you to write scripts to automate repetitive
tasks. The best advice I can give you to learn more about what this
program can do is to simply visit their Web site. But be prepared to spend
some time there—maybe an hour or two—if you want to really explore this
program’s full potential. Especially notable with this software is 60-day
trial period, almost unheard of today. I don’t believe you will find more
support from any other software manufacturer. Not only is the support very
fast and responsive, but the chance of you needing it is probably going to
be rare because there is a user’s forum with around 400 members that seems
to have covered almost any conceivable question or concern a user could
have. If that is still not enough to solve your problem and the excellent
tutorial available upon installation did not resolve any issues, there are
exceptional (and rather entertaining) animated help videos available on
there we site. While less important to some, the End Users License
Agreement (EULA) is or should be becoming more and more important top
users today, especially with security issues being such an ongoing issue.
Not only is this a clean and clear EULA, but it has a print button which
allows you to print it for closer study, a nice touch. Another almost
unheard of option today is a license allowing the purchaser to install the
software on multiple computers to which I say, BRAVO!
Reviewer 6: ActiveWords Plus allows
the user to cut most mouse movements out of everyday PC tasks, assigning
tags to words that perform functions normally done through menus or mouse
clicks. You can launch Internet sites, programs, almost anything you can
imagine. This is almost the computer equivalent of shorthand; one tagged
key command can take the place of a series of clicks and navigation. It
can be customized with add-ins for particular tasks, such as Internet,
programming, and others to make it suit your personal needs.
Weak points?
Reviewer 1. Reviewer 1: The learning
curve is a bit steep and you will have to reevaluate how you use your
computer. Instead of selecting your browser, going to favorites and
opening a Web page, all of this is now defined with a keyword or custom
command, also known as a script. The scripting will take time to learn but
once mastered you will wonder how you got along so long without it.
Reviewer 2: ActiveWords’ documentation
content was excellent with lots of well-written topics with excellent
coverage; but it significantly lacks a roadmap for the reader. It
resembles a set of short topic papers written by different people arranged
in some hierarchical order for Website-building convenience with little if
any thought towards educating the user. I believe the User should be
directed not to the Help Files first, but to the "QuickStart & Help"
screen. It's rare for a product's principal documentation to be found on
Website; usually it's contained in an associated text document, or at
least in the program's Help Files or preferably a User’s Guide which can
be printed. Although the Support Webpage is thorough and well-organized,
problem turnaround time and service hours are not indicated.
Reviewer 3: ActiveWords tries be
helpful in suggesting actions to create a shortcut to each time it starts
up. I found this more useful in the beginning of the process and less so
as I went along. Initially, it suggested shortcuts to many of the programs
I regularly use. As I went along, this seemed to have converted to
suggesting shortcuts to website URLs I have visited, often weeks before.
Since I already have this function covered with my Favorites/Bookmarks,
this became more of an annoyance than a help. In trying to create an
ActiveWord for a Website, I tried to choose from my IE favorites. In the
Browse option, ActiveWords could only display a small portion of my rather
extensive Favorites list and none of the folders/subfolders. This can be
worked around by opening the desired site from the Favorites within IE and
then selecting the “Current” box on the ActiveWords window.
Reviewer 4: I really cannot find much
to fault in this program. It does take some getting used to, so there is
quite a learning curve. Unless you have experience with programming or the
use of HTML, you may find the scripting to be a bit daunting. But you can
start right away with features that will begin saving you time and
trouble. I still have fun watching it correct common spelling mistakes,
putting in apostrophes or launching a program from the middle of another
one, all without having to lift my fingers from the keyboard.
ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS: the existence and frequency of
suggestions is controlled on the “Assistants” tab of the Options dialog
under “Autosensing”. Also, users can simply drag’n drop all their
Bookmarks to the MonitorBar to create ActiveWords for them.
Reviewer 5: For this particular
reviewer, the most glaring weak point is that you must have installed the
SP2 update on your Windows XP in order for this program to operate. What’s
worse is that you do not find this out until AFTER you have downloaded
this very large file to your computer and an ActiveWords dialogue box
opens after accepting the EULA to advise you that you cannot install the
program because your computer does not meet the minimum requirements! I
find this inexcusable and a fatal problem of “too little, too late”! There
are still some free-thinking individuals who assess and analyze each
update or patch for its validity vis a vis their own individual platform
and use. In the very least, this very unusual requirement should be stated
clearly and visibly before downloading.
ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS: We are not aware of this issue. Would the reviewer
be willing to send the error messages/dialogs received when installing
ActiveWords PLUS on Windows XP computer that does not have SP2 installed?
We cannot duplicate the issue. ActiveWords PLUS is designed to operate on
Windows 95 through XP, regardless of Service Pack (except that NT users
need SP3 or higher). Be aware that if you are using an
ISP—rather on dialup or broadband—the convenience of this program is lost
as the monitor will not install on your ISP desktop. While your default
browser may still be IE (such as in the case of AOL, for example), you
will need to open your separate IE browser (or Firefox or Opera, etc.) or
your main Windows Desktop in order to use Active Words.
ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS: While certain “shell”
software like AOL may prevent the ActiveWords MonitorBar from displaying
ActiveWords itself will operate so long as Windows is running concurrently
with the “shell” software. So, even with AOL running you should be able to
enter and trigger your ActiveWords, even though the AOL shell hides the
MonitorBar (something we can’t do anything about). I found
that ActiveWords did not integrate into my Firefox browser nearly as
easily as it did with both IE and Opera. It took some tweaking to make it
work properly with Firefox. I was able to find the solution on the Forum,
but I don’t think I should have needed to, as Firefox is no longer an
obscure toy for techies and geeks only but has really become a part of the
browser mainstream. I think to appeal even more to the average user,
ActiveWords needs to populate their word base with a lot more common words
and jargon as well as allowing adding to the word base a bit less
cumbersome. I would like to be able to disable the tool bar (if there is a
way, I couldn’t find it). It is not needed at all times and it occupies
valuable real estate on my screen. Currently, there are two options: dock
to the toolbar at the top of the screen or dock the toolbar at the bottom
of the screen. You can select to autohide it but then, of course, you are
back to using your mouse (hover to open)!
ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS: To hide the MonitorBar select “Menu” from the
MonitorBar then “AWMonitor bar>Hide AWMonitor”. To bring the MonitorBar
back right click on the ActiveWords System Tray icon and select “AWMonitor
bar>Show AWMonitor”. Also, the scripting language contains a command to
toggle the MonitorBar: <HIDE SHOW AWMONITOR>. This is built into the
AWCONTROLS application available here:
http://www.activewords.com/applications.html#programs . The
EULA states that the user license is dependent upon the current policies
of the sales department and thus does not state specifically how many
computers the program can be used on. This is a real marketing flaw since
it is very liberal in this regard; however, based on the EULA, it rather
becomes buyer beware. ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS:
This is only to provide flexibility going forward and the buyer does not
need to beware. The license purchased is the license purchased and cannot
revert to something else. So, when we say that the buyer can install and
use ActiveWords PLUS on any computer for their exclusive use that means
now and in the future. If we ever change the terms any new terms will only
apply to new customers who purchase under the new terms.
Active Words does have a performance impact on your computer. This is
especially noticeable if you allow the default option of adding itself to
your autostart. It seriously delayed boot up time. Finally, $50.00 seems a
high price to pay for a program that, while possibly very convenient for
some, is a bit limited to who can use it effectively or at all.
Reviewer 6: I had no real complaints
about ActiveWords. It does what it claims to, and though a bit obtrusive
at first, it quickly becomes second nature.
Other comments.
Reviewer 1. One of nice surprises is
the ability to add multiple tags to a specific action or to a single
action. If you take a bit of time to learn ActiveWords, it will allow you
to use your words to make your computer behave the way you want it to. No
more will you be reliant upon how some programmer in a far off corner of
the world wants you to access different functions. During your daily
activity, the program monitors your activities and it will prompt you to
create an ActiveWord when it sees you are performing repetitive tasks. If
you accept the prompts, the action is filled by a wizard and added to the
Word Base. ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS: I don’t want
to give users the idea that the Autosensing function can produce “scripts”
in the sense they are created using the scripting language. Specifically,
the Autosensing function will create suggestions for Web Sites, files,
folders, and programs you use frequently. This is how the
program will “learn” the way you operate. The program monitors your
activities but not in an intrusive way. It does load at startup, but I
have not found any drain on my resources at all. It remains in the
background until you ask for it or it sees repetitive tasks.
Reviewer 2: In the End User License
Agreement (EULA), n its EULA, the statement "copies in use limited to
those permitted in AWS sales policies", is not explicitly defined.
Reviewer 3: Despite my appreciation of
the power and potential usefulness of this program, I never got into the
swing of using it anywhere near its full potential. Since I have been
working with Windows for many years, I’ve become very accustomed and
accomplished with working in a GUI environment. I’ve customized Windows XP
so that my favorite or most often-used programs are on my QuickLaunch
Toolbar and are just a click away. I’ve organized my Start menu similarly.
My browser favorites are also organized into folders so they are easily
clickable. My files on my hard drive are also very well organized and I am
used to looking under the file heading to find my most recently opened
documents. All of these tasks could be simplified by an entry into
ActiveWords, but I find myself not doing it because it’s already easy by
taking advantage of the tools I already have in hand. I believe I would
use ActiveWords more if I were a more prolific writer and especially if I
typed the same phrases over and over.
Reviewer 4: I often complain about the
limitations of the software licenses of products we review. ActiveWords is
one of the rare programs that not only allows you to install it on more
than one computer, but lets you know right upfront. Here’s the quote from
the “ActiveWords for the Individual” page of their site: “As an
ActiveWords PLUS customer, you can use the software on all the computers
you use.” They suggest that typically this could be your home desktop,
your laptop and your work computer. At $49.95 US, it’s certainly worth
every cent.
Reviewer 5: There is a lot to like
about this program and very little to dislike. My only real caveat to
recommending it without reservation (aside from the aforementioned SP2
problem) is that unless you are an excellent touch typist, this program
will slow you down rather than speed up your computing. If you are only a
moderately good touch typist or “hunt-and-peck”, you will find that it is
much easier to use your mouse than to have to type in another word or
letter and then hit F8 (or other assigned shortcut key) to open the
application you want. This reviewer was not able to investigate this
program as fully as he normally does simply due to the fact that I had to
install it on an alternative computer not in my home due to the SP2
requirement. This inconvenience prevented me from spending as much time
with the program as I would have liked and which I normally am able to do.
Had I realized that this requirement existed, I would simply have not
agreed to review. ACTIVEWORDS RESPONDS: See
note above on this topic. We will clarify this in the EULA.
Reviewer 6: This is one of those rare
products I consider revolutionary. It makes common PC tasks so much
simpler in such common sense ways; you wonder why no one thought of it
before.
Will you continue to use it?
Reviewer 1: As a long time computer
user who is set in his ways, I am always looking for something new to try.
Yes, I will try this. For now, it has allowed me to experiment with
different commands to perform specific tasks.
Reviewer 2: No. The design and
direction it prides itself on, using keyboard rather than mouse clicks, is
fundamentally against the grain of Windows design and the vast majority of
usability studies. Perhaps if I forced myself to use it over several
months, there might be more benefit than I can foresee, but I don't think
it's a good enough bet to pursue.
Reviewer 3: Yes.
Reviewer 4: Yes! ActiveWords is now
one of my “Top Ten” essential programs.
Reviewer 5: No. This reviewer, an
excellent typist, found no advantage in expediency or efficiency using
this program.
Reviewer 6: Yes.
OPERATING SYSTEMS USED IN THIS REVIEW
Windows XP Pro, XP Home
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