After a year of extensive testing and development alongside the ActiveWords community, we're proud to introduce ActiveWords 5. It is a free upgrade for every existing user and the biggest step forward for ActiveWords in years.
ActiveWords 5 keeps the familiar idea at the heart of ActiveWords: type a Word, trigger an Action, and keep moving. Version 5 extends that idea with a more capable ActionPad, better ways to work with selected text, improved hotkeys, new calculation tools, and a stronger foundation for building and organizing Actions.
A More Capable ActionPad
The expanded ActionPad is one of the biggest changes in ActiveWords 5. It is now a central, keyboard-driven place to search, calculate, discover, and act.
- Trigger your Words and Actions
- Find applications, files, folders, and Start Menu items
- Perform advanced calculations and date calculations
- Work with Selected Text actions
Learn more in the ActionPad FAQ.
Selected Text Becomes Central
Selected Text, previously called ActionText, is now easier to understand and more central to the ActiveWords workflow. Highlight text almost anywhere on your computer, then use ActiveWords to search, look something up, send the text into a custom Action, or display it in Large Type.
Selected Text actions can also appear in the ActionPad, bringing search, selection, and action together in one place.
Improved Hotkey Management
Hotkeys in ActiveWords 5 are more flexible and less confusing.
- The ActionPad hotkey is configured in one place
- Individual Actions can have their own hotkeys
- Multiple Actions can share a hotkey and present a Pick List
New Tools for Everyday Work
ActiveWords 5 adds several practical capabilities that help in the middle of real work:
- Advanced Calculator for more complex numeric expressions
- Date Calculations in the ActionPad and in Actions
- Large Type for displaying selected text clearly
- Optional audio feedback when text expansion completes
Easier Organization and More Powerful Actions
Tags now have a new interface in the main window, making larger collections of Actions easier to manage.
The Wizard helps you build more advanced Actions with less guesswork. It can insert syntax for scripting and prompted input, giving both new and experienced users a clearer path into deeper automation.
Important Structural Changes
ActiveWords 5 also includes changes to how data is stored and managed:
- The folder structure has been simplified
- The internal database format has changed
- Actions created or modified in ActiveWords 5 are not compatible with ActiveWords 4
These changes support future development, but they are important to understand before switching versions.
