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Abbrio for Espanso

Abbrio help

Quick Search and the menu bar

Find and insert items with Quick Search, create items with Quick Define, and use the menu-bar companion and its configurable shortcuts.

Abbrio’s menu-bar companion keeps engine status and common actions available while the main window is closed. Closing that window does not quit Abbrio; choose Quit Abbrio from the menu to exit.

Press Control-Command-S to open Quick Search by default, or choose Quick Search from the menu-bar menu. Search results come from enabled sets that are included in Quick Search. Use the keyboard to select a result:

  • Return inserts the selected item into the app that was in front.
  • Command-Return opens the item in the main editor.
  • Escape closes Quick Search.
  • Type a full stop (.) to show recent items.

Plain-text items can be pasted by Abbrio. Items that use Espanso features need the engine and are run through Espanso instead. Regular-expression rules can be opened in the editor but are not inserted from Quick Search.

Quick Search panel with search results and insertion controls

Quick Define

Choose New Item from Clipboard or New Item from Selection from the menu-bar menu to open Quick Define. Enter an abbreviation, expansion, and optional description, then choose a set and save. Quick Define remembers the last set used. When a set has a prefix or suffix, check the full trigger shown before saving.

The two Quick Define commands have no keyboard shortcut until one is assigned in Settings → General. Shortcuts can be recorded there along with the Quick Search shortcut.

The menu can open Quick Search, create an item, pause or resume expansions, start or restart Espanso, open the main window, open Settings, or quit Abbrio. Use Start, Restart, Pause, and Resume only when you intend to change the separate Espanso service.

The status indicator distinguishes Running, Paused, Secure Input, Not running, and Not found. Secure Input is reported as a probable state based on the engine’s status information; if expansion is unavailable in one app, check that app’s input state and the engine status before changing configuration.