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AutoText is accessed from the Options icon on the display. Here is an excerpt from the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 Smartphone User Guide:

AutoText is designed to replace specific text that you type with preloaded AutoText entries. If you type text that can be replaced with an AutoText entry, the text changes after you press the Space key.

Your BlackBerry® device has built-in AutoText entries that correct common mistakes. For example, AutoText changes hte to the. You can create AutoText entries for your common typing mistakes or for abbreviations. For example, you might create an AutoText entry that replaces ttyl with talk to you later.

 AutoText has a user-managed list of words that is accessed by doing: Options (home screen icon) > AutoText. Entries can be added, edited, or deleted. Entries can be made literally or as Macros, using Specified Case or SmartCase.

Literal substitutions replace a (typically very short) hand-entered string with a (typically longer) string from the list.

Macros are not simple word substitutions but replace a mnemonic text string with a system variable. Macros are inserted into the with: field by pressing the BlackBerry/Menu key and selecting Insert Macro. System variables provided are:

• Short Date (%d) (default entry set to )
• Long Date (%D) (default entry set to ld) (formatted like: Wed, Dec 5, 2007)
• Short Time (%t)
• Long Time (%T) (default entry set to lt) (formatted like: 8:02:44 AM)
• Owner Name (%o) (default entry set to usrid) (defined in Options > Owner)
• Owner Info (%O) (default entry set to sig) (defined in Options > Owner)
• Phone Number (%p) (default entry set to mynumber)
• Handheld PIN (%P) (default entry set to mypin) (prepended by string pin:)
• Backspace (%b)
• Backspace then Right Parenthesis (%b)) (default entry set to rb) [Not a system variable but is a factory default setting in AutoText list]
• Delete (%B)
• Version, Model Number/BBOS (%V) (default entry set to myver)
• % (%%)

Specified Case uses capitalization exactly as typed when the substition is entered into the list (e.g., ftp is replaced with ftp and never capitalized; www is replaced with www and never capitalized).

SmartCase uses capitalization based on context (e.g., first word in a sentence begins with a capital letter).