btText is a lightweight and accessible Windows desktop application for managing and reusing text snippets. It keeps frequently used text in a searchable database and can paste snippets into other Windows applications through the clipboard. Optional hotstrings and configurable global hotkeys make common snippets available without leaving the active application.
What's new in 1.3.1
changed: Large snippet lists now sort faster by preparing weight and name sort keys once per operation. The existing sort order, selection, and focus are preserved.
Changed: Large Markdown snippets with many paragraphs are now rendered faster as plain text, while preserving line breaks and indentation.
Changed: Copying, moving, or deleting multiple snippets now refreshes the category tree and hotstrings once per operation, avoiding repeated full reloads for every snippet.
Changed: Updated to Python 3.15.2.
Fixed: Invalid or unreadable settings no longer reset the database selection or privacy options. btText now reports the error and stops without overwriting the settings file.
Fixed: Delayed hotstring expansions are now cancelled if you continue typing or change the target input field, preventing text entered in the meantime or text in another field from being replaced.
Fixed: The Copy path, Open folder, and Close buttons in the database location dialog are now arranged without overlapping.
Fixed: Hotstrings now retain the originally typed punctuation mark even when modifier keys are released during a variable prompt. Cancelling the prompt also restores the correct character.
Fixed: Holding Shift while ending a hotstring with punctuation such as ? no longer changes the paste shortcut or inserts a control character instead of the snippet.
Fixed: If pasting a snippet or expanding a hotstring fails and the previous clipboard contents cannot be restored immediately, btText now retries restoration automatically. New clipboard contents copied by other applications are preserved.
Fixed: Databases with missing required columns are now rejected upon opening with an error message specifying the missing columns. This prevents btText from failing to load the main window. A different database can then be selected.
Fixed: Drag and drop now accepts only active internal category and snippet moves. Text dragged from other applications can no longer trigger unintended moves or errors.
Fixed: Hotstrings longer than 256 characters are now rejected when saving with a clear error message. This prevents saving triggers that cannot be expanded; your editor input remains available for correction.
Fixed: Characters entered with Ctrl+Alt, such as backslash (\) on a German keyboard, now work as hotstring ending characters, just like characters entered with AltGr. …
Added: Text snippets can now optionally be formatted using simple Markdown. When inserted, they are output not only as plain text but also as HTML and RTF, so that the formatting is preserved if supported by the target program. This allows for simple formatting (bold, italics, etc.), links, and citations.
Changed: Updated to Python 3.15.
Changed: Dependencies updated.
Changed: UPX is no longer used to compress the program files in order to achieve faster performance.
Fixed: Privacy settings for Windows clipboard history and cloud synchronization are now respected even when copying or pasting fails.
Fixed: Percent signs in database paths no longer cause unexpected issues.
Fixed: With hotstrings enabled, accents such as ´ were inserted twice instead of combining with the following letter (e.g. to produce é).
Fixed: A timing issue when pasting snippets could cause newly copied clipboard contents from other applications to be lost and replaced with older contents.
Fixed: The installer can no longer accidentally update portable versions of btText, which could lead to data loss.
1.2.1Aug 23, 2026
Improved: The installer now ensures that btText is not installed into an existing folder that does not contain btText itself. New installations and updates are still possible without any problems.
Fixed: Hotstrings now work more reliably during various system events, when switching between windows, and in conjunction with modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift).
Fixed: Pasting into other applications now reliably checks whether the window still exists.
Fixed: Changing the global keyboard shortcut might have caused a misleading error message to appear.
Frequently asked questions
Is btText free?
Yes. btText is free and open-source software released under the MIT license.
What is the latest version of btText?
The latest version is 1.3.1, released on Oct 27, 2026.
Is it safe to download btText?
The download button links to the official installer published on github.com, the same file Windows Package Manager installs. You can verify the downloaded file by comparing its SHA-256 checksum with abc77f0b495fb40d64194c01f504bd09115bd2617bca0a37806d344bca2c53d9.
Which Windows versions does btText support?
btText runs on Windows and is available for 64-bit (x64) systems.
How do I install btText silently?
Run the offline installer with "btText-1.3.1-setup-windows.exe" /S, or install it with Windows Package Manager: winget install --id=adkurz.btText -e --silent.
How do I uninstall btText?
Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find btText and select Uninstall. From the command line, run winget uninstall --id=adkurz.btText -e.
Alternatives to btText
Other Programming Languages programs for Windows from different developers.
