Beware of MacOS text replacement typing slowdown in Apple Mail, Text Edit, Safari and Pages

Greetings. Text replacement is a simple, easy way to program strings of letters to automatically expand out to words and phrases, such of turning btw into by the way, or o m g into Oh my God, when typing on your IOS or MacOS device.

I have an enormous text replacement data base. Over the course of many sleepless nights I programmed over 10,000 words and phrases, each with its own shortcut.

At the beginning of 2017, I bought a Macbook Pro, logged onto iCloud, and immediately began having severe typing slowdowns in Apple Mail, Safari, Text Edit and Pages. Today, after going for more than a year in circles with Apple technical support, I finally figured out that the problem was my enormous text replacement data base.

You can turn text replacement on or off in your menu bar edit pulldown under substitutions. Text replacement is the last substitution option.

The problem shows up when using VoiceOver as follows.

While you are typing, especially if you type very fast, VoiceOver begains repeating the word "busy". If your text replacement data base is large enough, and/or if you type fast enough, VoiceOver will keep saying busy busy busy for many seconds before it will let you move the cursor, continue typing, or do anything at all. If this happens t you, go to your menu bar, edit, substitutions, and arrowed down to text replacement and unchecked it. The busy busy problem will immediately vanish.

I don't know if anyone els is OCD or has sleepless nights like me, but if you ever encounter "busy busy busy" while you're typing, turn of text replacement, or spend a year on the phone with Apple technical support. Your call, but if I had to do it over again, I would turn off text replacement. Joy! Bruce