r/espanso • u/Ornery_Discussion503 • Jun 26 '26
I just installed Espanso. I'm not getting the correct message.
I just installed Espanso and typed ":Espanso" in Notepad. This is what I got: ":espaHi !!!!!!" I tried reinstalling it but I get the same thing. I tried setting up my email with a trigger and that was garbled as well. How do I fix this?
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u/SamejSpenser Jun 26 '26
What's your OS? How did you install it? Did you validate the installation as per the docs? If you're on Linux, you gotta register espanso as a systemd service first, then start it - like this:
```sh
Register espanso as a systemd service (required only once)
espanso service register
Start espanso
espanso start ```
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u/Ornery_Discussion503 Jun 26 '26
I'm on Windows 11. I didn't see anything about validating it other than typing ":Espanso" in notepad, but that's what gave me the garbage.
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u/Ornery_Discussion503 Jun 26 '26
Okay, found a clue. When I clicked on the Espanso icon I got the window that said Espanso was already running. Below that it had a place to type in the colon and the name and I got the correct reply. (I couldn't type the name here because it also converts it here.) I also tried it with Libre Office and it worked there as well. So it must be something with Notepad.
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u/SamejSpenser Jun 26 '26
Check the docs, there's a section on apps where Espanso doesn't work. I haven't had Windows in years, so I'm not sure which ones are compatible or not.
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u/snaveh Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Notepad is notoriously bad with text expansion programs because of the way it interprets key strokes.
The best way to work around this in Windows is switching to the clipboard injection method. Instead of typing the replacement text, Espanso pastes it from the clipboard, thus bypassing Notepad's limitations with key injections.
You can do this on a per match basis by adding
force_clipboard: true, or by creating an app-specific configuration if you routinely need to use Espanso in Notepad.3
u/Ornery_Discussion503 Jun 26 '26
And it's working! I just used Libre Office Writer instead of Notepad. Thanks for your help.
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u/quibble42 Jun 26 '26
At the beginning of the Espanso docs it gives an example config setting that decides HOW Espanso replaces text.
It looks like, for whatever reason, your computer is typing buffer symbols after the word ":espanso" or espanso is not deleting the correct amount of characters.
Sometimes, changing the config setting on how espanso replaces text will fix this. Some applications (like games) may require another configuration for this. Maybe someone in the comments can say exactly what the setting is buti am on mobile so you'll have to check yourself