Turbo Type

Editors' ReviewDownload.com staffAugust 28, 2015Word completion features predict the word you're typing based on your keystrokes and the syntax of the sentence and fill in the rest of the word for you. Turbo Type adds word completion to all text editors. You can customize it by adding specific words or setting short key combinations to expand long words and text strings.We installed the free version of Turbo Type, but a pop-up advised us that it would stop working after two hours, after which we'd have to restart it or buy the full version. Some of the program's features are disabled in the free version, too, such as the learning mode. We opened a new text document and began to type. Whenever we'd pause in the typing, Turbo Type would pop up with a semitransparent box containing one, two, or three suggested words, numbered accordingly; all we had to do was click on the highlighted selection or enter its number to complete the word. Most of Turbo Type's suggestions were sensible and accurate, and the program modifies them as you type. Turbo Type is highly customizable: In addition to adding words and phrases, you can select how long the program waits before making suggestions, how many keystrokes before triggering suggestions, and the size, color, and transparency of the pop-ups. We also tested Turbo Type's functionality in other programs, including Word; it even worked with the Text tool in Photoshop. The endless pop-ups can be distracting and even a little annoying, though we found that they tend to be easier to take after using them a while. Once or twice the program got ahead of itself, entering a word we didn't mean to select simply because it was highlighted. We can see how some typists would welcome its help, though, and its ability to enter custom strings adds a useful macrolike capability.Turbo Type's settings seem capable of keeping up with the fastest typists, though whether skilled typists would need or want its help is uncertain. But if you like the free version, the full edition is inexpensive and adds what seem like useful functions not included in the time-limited free download.