Macros and Mellel (problems with the TextExpander)

Feature requests, and in-depth discussions of features and the way Mellel works

Moderators: Eyal Redler, redlers, Ori Redler

Post Reply
peter.malik
Already downloaded the guide
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:13 pm
Contact:

Macros and Mellel (problems with the TextExpander)

Post by peter.malik »

Hey folks,

I have already emailed our most amazing Redlers about this, but I was wondering if anyone had a similar experience.

I've just started using TextExpander for my macros, and, naturally, one of the commonest macro academics use is "--" leading into "—." This works fine in all other Mac apps, but, when I enter it in Mellel. I get strange results. What follows are a few made-up sentences where I illustrate what's going on:

"En-dash is customarily used for parenthetical purposes—not that it can’t be used for anything else--and as such it should appear both before and after the parenthetical remark. In this sentence, however, it appears only before, not after. This is disappointing--. As you can see, moreover, in this situation, the en-dash wasn’t converted at all. Does it have anything to do with the fact that the macro doesn’t work properly when immediately preceded by some text?"

Pete
rpcameron
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 980
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:48 am
Location: IE, CA, USA

Re: Macros and Mellel (problems with the TextExpander)

Post by rpcameron »

Two comments regarding you problems: 1. I've only ever seen the en-dash as a separator for thoughts in British Engiish, where it is surrounded by a thin space on each side; if it's been used immediately next to the word without space, it should be an em-dash. Otherwise the en-dash is used for compound words and between numbers. 2. Is it really that inconvenient to type the en-dash directly using Opt + - (or Opt + Shift + - for an em-dash)?
— Robert Cameron
peter.malik
Already downloaded the guide
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:13 pm
Contact:

Re: Macros and Mellel (problems with the TextExpander)

Post by peter.malik »

Yes, you're right, it's an em dash. English is my second language, so this terminology confused me. But the point still stands.
Post Reply