Alpha Tester Guide
Private Alpha — April 2026  ·  Thank you for being here early.
⚡ You're one of the first people to use Trigr

This is a closed alpha — that means rough edges are expected and your feedback is genuinely shaping what gets built next. There are no wrong answers. If something confuses you, that's a bug, not a user error.

What is Trigr?

Trigr lets you assign shortcuts to anything you type or do repeatedly on your computer. Instead of typing the same email sign-off, support response, or boilerplate phrase 50 times a week — you set it up once in Trigr, then trigger it instantly with a hotkey.

It lives quietly in your system tray (bottom-right of your taskbar) and works in every app — your browser, email client, CRM, wherever.

01   Installation

Step 1 — Install Trigr

1
Open the installer link sent to you by Rory.
2
Run the .exe file. Windows will show a security warning — this is expected for new apps. Click "More info", then "Run anyway".
3
Trigr will install and launch. You'll see the Trigr icon appear in your system tray (bottom-right, near the clock). That means it's running.
🛡️ About the Windows security warning

Windows shows this warning for any newly published app that doesn't yet have a full certificate. Trigr is safe — Rory built it. The warning will go away in a future release once the certificate is in place. If you're unsure, ask Rory directly before installing.

02   Getting Started

The basics in 60 seconds

When Trigr opens, you'll see a keyboard layout in the centre of the screen. Each key on that keyboard can have a shortcut assigned to it. Click any key to assign something to it.

On the left side is your profile list — think of profiles like different sets of shortcuts for different contexts (work, personal, a specific app). You start with a Default profile.

In the top bar you can search, toggle settings, and switch between the keyboard view and a flat list view.

03   Your Test Tasks

Work through these tasks in order. They get progressively more open-ended. Don't worry about doing them perfectly — the point is to see what feels natural and what doesn't.

1
Set up a text expansion — type less, say more
Text Expansion

A text expansion lets you type a short phrase and have Trigr automatically expand it into something longer. Think of it like autocorrect, but one you control completely.

Do this:

1
Click + New (top bar) → choose Text Expansion.
2
In the Trigger field, type a short abbreviation. Something you'd never type accidentally — like /sig or /ty.
3
In the Expansion field, type what you want it to expand into.
4
Click Save. Now open any text field (Notepad, your browser address bar, an email draft) and type your trigger exactly. Watch it expand.

Suggested expansions to try — pick ones that feel relevant to you:

Trigger: /sig → Expands to: your full email sign-off (name, title, phone, company)

Trigger: /ty → Expands to: "Thank you for reaching out — I'll get back to you within 24 hours."

Trigger: /meet → Expands to: your standard meeting confirmation message

Trigger: /addr → Expands to: your office or home address

Or ignore those suggestions and set up something you actually type every day. That's more useful data for us.

2
Set up a hotkey — launch something instantly
Hotkey

A hotkey lets you trigger an action — open a website, type text, run a command — using a keyboard shortcut you define.

Do this:

1
Click any key on the keyboard canvas — or click + NewHotkey.
2
Choose a key combination (e.g. Ctrl + Shift + G) and give it an action.
3
Try assigning it to Open URL — paste in a link you open every day (your CRM, your inbox, your calendar).
4
Save it. Press the key combination from anywhere on your computer. The page should open.
Ideas:
Open your CRM dashboard · Open your email · Open a frequently-used doc or form · Open your calendar
3
Use Quick Search
Quick Search

Quick Search is an overlay that lets you find and trigger any shortcut without remembering what key it's on.

1
Press Ctrl + Space anywhere on your computer.
2
A search bar will appear. Type the name of a shortcut you set up in Tasks 1 or 2.
3
Select it and press Enter to trigger it.

This is useful when you have lots of shortcuts and don't want to remember every key combination.

4
Free exploration — set up something genuinely useful to you
Open-ended

Forget the instructions for a moment. Think about your actual work day — the things you type or click over and over. Try to set one of those up in Trigr from scratch, without any guidance.

This is the most valuable part of the test. We want to see what you reach for, what you try to do, and where you get stuck.

Prompts to get you thinking:

What phrase do you type more than five times a day?
What website do you open every morning as part of your routine?
Is there a reply you send to customers that's almost always the same?
Is there a document, folder, or tool you navigate to constantly?

There's no right answer here. Just try something real and see what happens.

04   Feedback

Once you've worked through the tasks, please fill in the feedback form linked below. It takes about 5 minutes and every response makes the next version better.

📋 Submit your feedback

Feedback form: Click here to open the feedback form
Or email Rory directly: [email protected]

If anything went wrong during install or testing, attach your log file if you can find it — Rory can help you locate it.

05   Common Questions

Is Trigr running right now?

Check your system tray (bottom-right of the taskbar, near the clock). If you see the Trigr icon, it's running. If not, open it from the Start Menu.

I triggered something by accident — how do I undo it?

Use Ctrl + Z in whatever app you were in, just like normal. Trigr just simulates keypresses — it doesn't do anything that can't be undone.

How do I pause Trigr temporarily?

Right-click the Trigr icon in the system tray and click Pause. All shortcuts stop firing until you resume. Useful if you're in a meeting or doing something where you don't want shortcuts active.

Something's wrong — what do I do?

Message or email Rory directly. Don't suffer in silence — a broken experience is exactly what we're trying to find at this stage.