Microsoft Word 2003/2004

AutoCorrect: Corrections and Replacements

Selections made on the AutoCorrect tab designate corrections made as you type. Use the options in this section of the AutoCorrect dialog box to set up automatic correction of capitalization errors and commonly misspelled words. You can also create special characters. Several options are preset with Word, but you can delete and modify existing entries. This document discusses the options available and how to make changes.

Using the Options on the AutoCorrect Tab
Creating Exceptions to AutoCorrect Options
Overriding AutoCorrect
Creating Replacement Text Entries

Using the Options on the AutoCorrect Tab

You can use the AutoCorrect options that are appropriate for your work while turning off the others. This table shows the options and the automatic corrections Word makes when they are selected.

AutoCorrect Options

Option Selected	What You Type	AutoCorrection
Correct TWo INitial CApitals	TOday's meeting was cancelled.	Today's meeting was cancelled.
Capitalize first letter of sentences	departmental budgets are due.	Departmental budgets are due.
Windows only: Capitalize first letter of table cells	total cost	Total cost
Windows only: Correct keyboard setting	n/a	Automatically switches the keyboard setting to match the language you are using.
Capitalize names of days	Our staff will meet thursday.	Our staff will meet Thursday.
Windows only: Correct accidental usage of cAPS LOCK key	tHE GRADES HAVE BEEN TURNED IN.	The grades have been turned in.
Replace text as you type	Your their academic advisor.	You're their academic advisor.
Automatically use suggestions from the spelling checker	n/a	Works in conjunction with the Replace text as you type option, replacing misspelled text with words from Word's dictionary.

Selecting/Deselecting AutoCorrect Options

Windows: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect Options...
Macintosh: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
Select the AutoCorrect tab
The AutoCorrect options are preceded by checkboxes.
Click the checkboxes for the options you want to activate
NOTE: A checkmark in the box indicates an option is selected and active.
Click OK

To correct the accidental usage of Caps Lock key:

Windows only:

Correction occurs if the first letter is typed lowercase and following letters are uppercase, which is the case when Caps Lock is on and you press [Shift] to capitalize the first letter of a word. The correction makes the first letter uppercase and then turns off the Caps Lock. No correction will occur if the first letter is typed in caps.

Creating Exceptions to AutoCorrect Options

The AutoCorrect feature can save you time during editing. However, if you have special abbreviations or company names that are exceptions to the rules Word uses in determining corrections, the AutoCorrect feature may seem like a nuisance. Word allows you to record these exceptions so you can take advantage of the AutoCorrect feature without worrying about words or phrases particular to your work.

First Letter
Word normally capitalizes the next word after a period and a space. For example, if you use the abbreviation num. for number and type num. five, Word will correct it to num. Five. You can record your abbreviation as an exception so Word will not make the correction.

INitial Caps
Word will automatically correct two initial capital letters. However, if you use a word or company name that has two initial capital letters, you would not want the correction made. For example, if you correspond with a company called REmax, when you type the name, Word will correct it to Remax. You can record a name or term as an exception so Word will not correct it.

NOTE: Word does not correct two initial capital letters followed by a lowercase s (e.g., RNs).

To record exceptions:

Windows: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect Options...
Macintosh: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
Select the AutoCorrect tab
Click EXCEPTIONS...
The AutoCorrect Exceptions dialog box appears.
Select the appropriate tab
In the text box, type your exception
Click ADD
Click OK
Click OK

Overriding AutoCorrect

Word may sometimes automatically "correct" a word or phrase that you do not want changed. If you do not use the word often enough to warrant creating an exception, you can undo the individual AutoCorrection without changing AutoCorrect settings. You may also use this method to override AutoFormatting such as bulleted and numbered lists.

Move your mouse over the AutoCorrected word
A small rectangle appears under the first letter.
Move your mouse over this rectangle
A Smart Tag appears.

Click the» select the desired AutoCorrect option
Example of Smart Tag Options
Your options and the implications are listed here, using the example of automatically capitalizing the first letter of sentences.
For more information about Smart Tags, refer to The Office 2003 Environment: Smart Tags.

Option	Implication
Undo Automatic Capitalization	Selecting this option affects only this occurrence of the capitalization in the current document.
Stop Auto-capitalizing First Letter of Sentences	Selecting this option corrects this occurrence and turns off this option for all documents.
Control AutoCorrect Options...	Selecting this option takes you to the AutoCorrect dialog box, where you can choose from multiple AutoCorrect options that will affect all documents.

Creating Replacement Text Entries

Word provides several preset entries for commonly used plain text, formatted text, and misspelled words. In the AutoCorrect dialog box, you can view the list of preset entries by scrolling through the list. What you type appears on the left and Word's replacement text appears on the right. If you regularly use the copyright symbol or misspell words like achieve and knowledge, you will want to select this option.

NOTE: Word's preset entries can be added to, modified, or deleted, depending on your needs.

Considerations

If the name is typed in lowercase, it is not case sensitive.
If the replacement text contains at least one uppercase letter, typing the text in all lowercase will not convert it completely.

AutoCorrect can correct only one problem at a time.
EXAMPLE: If you are trying to type "America" and type "ameria," the AutoCorrection would be "Ameria." The AutoCorrect will only correct the capitalization and will not correct the spelling error. However, if you later use the spell checker, the spelling error will be detected.

What You Type	AutoCorrection	What Was Corrected
the	the	spelling
Ameria	America	spelling
ameria	Ameria	capitalization only

When creating replacement text entries, two options are available: plain text and formatted text. The plain text is primarily phrases, while the formatted text can often be symbols. For formatted text, you must first select the text.

Creating a Replacement Text Entry: Plain Text

If you frequently type the same phrase in many of your Word documents, you can create a replacement text entry and save keystrokes.

Windows: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect Options...
Macintosh: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
Select the AutoCorrect tab
In the Replace text box, type the keystrokes to be replaced
EXAMPLE: Type UWEC
In the With text box, type the word(s) to be used as replacement text
EXAMPLE: Type University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Click ADD
Click OK
NOTES:
Each time you type the keystrokes followed by [Space] or [Enter] they will be replaced by the text you specified.
If desired, you can override the AutoCorrect options. For more information, refer to Overriding AutoCorrect.

Creating a Replacement Text Entry: Formatted Text

If you regularly use a symbol in your documents, you can define the symbol as replacement text.

Considerations:

If Formatted text is selected, the symbol (or text) you selected in your document will retain its formatting (e.g., font and size).
If you select Plain text, what you have selected in your document will be stored without formatting and will assume the formatting of your document when later inserted as replacement text.
These options are available only when you are working with a selection in your document.

From the Insert menu, select Symbol...
The Symbol dialog box appears.
Select the desired symbol
Click INSERT
Click CLOSE
Select the symbol you just inserted
Windows: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect Options...
Macintosh: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
Select the AutoCorrect tab
The selected symbol appears in the With text box.
Select Formatted text
In the Replace text box, type the keystrokes to be replaced by the symbol
Click ADD
Click OK
NOTES:
Each time you type the keystrokes followed by [Space] or [Enter] they will be replaced by the text you specified.
If desired, you can override the AutoCorrect options. For more information, refer to Overriding AutoCorrect.

Creating a Replacement Text Entry: Symbol Dialog Box Option

From the Insert menu, select Symbol...
The Symbol dialog box appears.
Select the desired symbol
Click AUTOCORRECT...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
In the Replace text box, type the keystrokes to be replaced by the symbol
Click ADD
Click OK
The Symbol dialog box appears.
Click CLOSE
NOTES:
Each time you type the keystrokes followed by [Space] or [Enter] they will be replaced by the text you specified.
If desired, you can override the AutoCorrect options. For more information, refer to Overriding AutoCorrect.

Editing a Replacement Text Entry

You can make changes or corrections to your replacement text entries.

Windows: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect Options...
Macintosh: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
Select the AutoCorrect tab
From the scroll box, select the entry to be changed
In the Replace and/or With text boxes, make the desired change(s)
Click ADD
Click OK
Your old entry is replaced with the edited one. The revised entry will be used in all future text replacements.

Deleting a Replacement Text Entry

Windows: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect Options...
Macintosh: From the Tools menu, select AutoCorrect...
The AutoCorrect dialog box appears.
Select the AutoCorrect tab
From the scroll box, select the entry to be deleted
Click DELETE
Click OK
The entry is deleted.