Use the same snippets at the office and at home (sync)

Manage snippets on the website and let linked PCs keep them in sync, with notes on plans and privacy.

This page was machine-translated from English. The English and Korean texts are authoritative.

Many people work on more than one computer: a desk at the office, a laptop at home, perhaps a second desk for a part-time job. Retyping or copying snippets between machines is exactly the kind of chore a text expander should remove. This article explains how Pine Shortcut keeps your PCs in sync with Pro, and what to know before you rely on it.

One place to manage everything

Your snippets and folders are managed on the Pine Shortcut website after you log in. You do not edit local files on each PC. When you add, change or delete a snippet on the website, the PCs linked to your account update automatically. That means the opening line you improved on Monday at the office is already the same at home in the evening.

The same website lets you import and export your snippets as CSV or JSON. That is useful in two situations: moving a larger collection in from a spreadsheet you have already built, and keeping a backup file of your snippets that you control.

Which plan fits which setup

Free: no ads, up to 5 snippets, one PC.
Pro: $9.99 per year, unlimited snippets, account sync and multiple devices.
Multi: seats for several PCs. The price per PC drops as the number of seats grows, which suits a small office or a person with several machines.

If you only ever use one computer and a handful of snippets, Free is enough. If you switch between an office PC and a home PC regularly, you need Pro (or Multi when you buy several seats) so that both stay linked and in sync.

What is and is not sent to the server

It is natural to wonder what a text-expander sends over the internet. In Pine Shortcut, the keystrokes you type are never sent to the server. Detection of your trigger runs on your PC. What does travel is your snippet library itself, the triggers and texts you saved, so that your linked PCs can show the same list.

This is also why you should not store sensitive information in snippets. Anything saved as a snippet is part of that library. Passwords and card numbers do not belong there, whatever the tool; the privacy article in this section explains safer alternatives.

A sensible way to set up two PCs

Log in on the website and build your core snippets once, preferably in a few folders by topic.
Link your second PC and check that the same list appears.
Choose hotkeys that make sense on both machines. Avoid combinations that clash with a program installed on only one of them.
Test a few snippets in the programs you use at each location, for example a different mail client at home.

Example

/wfh

Hello [Name],

I am working remotely today, [Date]. I can be reached by email and phone at 000-0000-0000, and I will reply to messages within a few hours.

Kind regards,
[Your name]

Example

/back

Hello [Name],

I am out of the office from [Start date] to [End date] and will answer your message after I return on [Return date]. For urgent matters please contact [Colleague] at [Email].

These two are good examples of text you may need at either location and that you want to be worded identically no matter which computer you happen to be on.

If something does not match

If a snippet seems to be missing on one PC, first check that you are logged in to the same account on both, and that the PC is online so it can receive changes. Then check the website: if the snippet is there, the PC will receive it.

Practical tip: keep an export of your library as a JSON file once every few months. It takes seconds, and it gives you a fallback copy of the wording you have spent time perfecting.