Where does OS X store Text Shortcuts

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Level 1

5 points

Where does OS X store Text Shortcuts

Hi guys,

Yesterday, I decided to restore my Mac (reinstall OS X Mavericks) and have used a Time Machine backup to restore ALL files back. But, I just found out that my Text Shortcuts have disappeared.

When I say "text shortcut," I mean, the custom Text Shortcuts for typing (eg "omw" will become "on my way")

Most of the shortcuts I stopped replacing the text so I went into the Keyboard settings to check it. Inside "System Preferences > Keyboard > Text," most of my shortcuts have been removed from the list, and only ones I've added in the past month are there.

Since I remembered that the shortcuts are shared across all iCloud devices, I started to go through ~/Library to see whether I can find a file that stores the shortcuts there, but had no luck of finding it.

Since it's obvious that OS X HAS TO store the file somewhere, does anyone know where that directory may be?

I had over 50 shortcuts, and now have less than 10 remaining, and it'd be a PAIN to remember what was lost.

Thanks!

(And apologies if I've posted in the wrong section, I really don't know what section this thread should be in)

Posted on Jul 15, 2014 10:22 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 8, 2017 7:59 AM in response to Kappy

Not sure why you bothered to try to answer this question in the first place--you continued to not have a clue and kept lobbing in inane answers, which just wastes everyone's time, especially mine in this case.

I see you have lots of "points"...too bad there isn't a way to remove some for inane answers.

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Answer 2

Aug 8, 2017 8:01 AM in response to izaakm

I saw this from another thread. Theoretically it could work, but I've got four different places it could go and it's unclear which is the correct place. (By "place" I mean parent or grandparent folder.)

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Answer 3

Aug 8, 2017 8:13 AM in response to helpmehelpu212

helpmehelpu212 wrote:

Not sure why you bothered to try to answer this question in the first place--you continued to not have a clue and kept lobbing in inane answers, which just wastes everyone's time, especially mine in this case.

I see you have lots of "points"...too bad there isn't a way to remove some for inane answers.

You're responding to a post that's two years old. Kappy and the OP were having a civil dialog. You don't have to read it. In future, look for the posts marked "Solved", "Helpful" or "Apple Recommended". Just read those and you'll significantly cut down on time spent reading conversations between humans.

I believe have a misunderstanding of how points are accrued. Points are given by the original poster to posts they believe either solved their issue or were helpful. In the event there is a post that solves the issue but the OP never marked it, Apple may, at their discretion, mark it as recommended.

Rather than reply to a thread that has been dormant for two years, you may want to start your own thread.

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Answer 4

Aug 8, 2017 12:54 PM in response to meteochu

The keyboard shortcuts are stored in the local Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences (hidden) file, along with other current parameters that are unique to the current system. Time Machine won't restore this, and if it did, it would overwrite the current file, destroying other settings.

Similarly, the suggestion that the keyboard shortcuts are stored in a sqlite3 database in one of the replies, is no guarantee that simply copying this database to an identical location on a different Mac, will solve the issue, because it won't repopulate that .GlobalPreferences file, may contain other platform specific data, and manipulating it requires a thorough understanding of sqlite3.

If you can get your hands on that .GlobalPreferences.plist from the Time Machine restore, you can view the keyboard shortcuts that are set in it, and from that list, enter them individually in the current machine's Keyboard preferences. There is no merging of this data.

Though I show the local Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist in the following example, see if you can get it from Time Machine onto your Desktop as just GlobalPreferences.plist and use that name and location instead.

/user/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "print NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems" ~/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist | awk '/replace|with/ {print $0}' > ~/Desktop/shortcuts.txt

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Answer 5

Kappy

Level 10

361,879 points

Jul 15, 2014 10:24 PM in response to meteochu

Keyboard preferences, Shortcuts.

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Answer 6

meteochu Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 15, 2014 10:45 PM in response to Kappy

I need the actual file that stores the shortcuts (so I can fetch an older version from my Time Machine backup that has the undeleted shortcuts)

Keyboard Pref > Text simply only has the less than 10 shortcuts I mentioned in the OP.

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Answer 7

Kappy

Level 10

361,879 points

Jul 15, 2014 10:55 PM in response to meteochu

Having never had the need to find it, I have no idea where to find it. Could possibly be in a preference file

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Answer 8

Kappy

Level 10

361,879 points

Jul 15, 2014 10:56 PM in response to meteochu

I'm guessing that if you restored your system from a backup, and your original changes are gone, then the data are stored in the utility rather than a separate file. If it were a file then it should have been restored from your backup.

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Answer 9

meteochu Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 15, 2014 10:57 PM in response to Kappy

I've already went through ~/Library/Preferences, ~/Library/SyncedPreferences, and also ~/Library/Mobile Documents (iCloud folder) but with no luck 😟

Currently searching through /Library and /System/Library :/ But it seems impossible to find.

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Answer 10

meteochu Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 15, 2014 10:59 PM in response to Kappy

The only shortcuts found in Settings are the ones I added over the past month, meaning it must have downloaded from another device with iCloud. So, what I'm trying to find is that, where exactly does it put that file once it downloads from iCloud.

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Answer 11

Kappy

Level 10

361,879 points

Jul 15, 2014 11:04 PM in response to meteochu

If they are synced to iCloud, then that's where they are located. If you have turned on iCloud, then they should sync back. I did not think that data were synced to iCloud from the computer. What you might do is open iCloud preferences, click on the Manage button, then select your Documents & Data to see if it's there.

I would expect the data to sync back when iCloud was activated after you restored OS X, if that is where it is.

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Answer 12

meteochu Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 15, 2014 11:21 PM in response to Kappy

The problem is, iCloud has deleted all the old ones, meaning all my devices now have less than 10 shortcuts.

That's why I wanted to know where the actual file is located on the drive so I could fetch it from a Time Machine backup.

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Answer 13

Kappy

Level 10

361,879 points

Jul 16, 2014 12:08 PM in response to meteochu

I understand. Sorry I can't help you out, but I don't have the answer either. I've checked my system to try and find them, but so far no luck, either.

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Answer 14

izaakm

Level 1

4 points

Nov 12, 2015 6:09 PM in response to meteochu

Your keyboard shortcuts are in a database (SQLite), stored in the following directory:

~/Library/Dictionaries/CoreDataUbiquitySupport/

Apparently, you can transfer a database from one computer to another.

Source for this answer: https://superuser.com/questions/889774/where-are-keyboard-text-shortcuts-stored- in-mac-os-x

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Answer 15

Aug 8, 2017 8:03 AM in response to meteochu

Did you ever solve your problem? If so, how?

I have a slightly different issue. iCloud kept mine and they are available on iOS devices, but just not on Mac, which is frustrating.

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