AutoCorrect
in Word is just one of the tools in the Microsoft Office suite that
allows the software to "think" for you. In
other words, this tool can correct errors while you type, and
chances are you won't even know you made an error. There are
some default settings in AutoCorrect that you may wish to change
which can wreak havoc in your documents. It should be
mentioned that most of these features are available in recent
previous versions of Word and can be found by choosing the AutoCorrect
tab in the Tools/Options dialog box. For my
purposes here, I'm using Word 2002. Let's take a look at the
available options.
Exploring
AutoCorrect Options
To
locate the options, choose AutoCorrect Options from the Tools
menu. The AutoCorrect dialog box displays as shown
below.
The
options outlined in yellow above are the ones that seem to give
users the most headaches. Here are the options explained in a
nutshell:
Show
AutoCorrect Options Buttons: This is a new feature for
Word 2002, and gives users a convenient way to stop using
features of AutoCorrect or change back items to the original
typed word(s). For example, in the sentence below, I
purposely misspelled "and" and it was corrected by
AutoCorrect. Notice the small blue box below the word
"and":
Now
if I hover my mouse over the blue box, an AutoCorrect Options
Button appears with a clickable drop-down arrow:
If
you would rather not see these boxes and buttons, simply clear the
checkbox for this option.
Correct
TWo INitial CApitals: Often when typing a sentence,
users hold Shift down just a bit too long and end up with
two initial capital letters on a word. This option
automatically corrects this as you type.
Capitalize
first letter of sentences: This one is nice, but only
if whatever you are typing is entirely written in sentences.
Users frequently tell me that when they are typing a list of
items, Word keeps capitalizing the first word of the item.
Since they do not want the word capitalized, this can get very
annoying! This AutoCorrect option is the culprit, because
it is on by default. To correct the problem, this checkbox
must be cleared.
Capitalize
first letter of table cells: This option could be
equally troublesome if you don't want the first letter in a
table cell capitalized. Clear checkbox to turn off.
Capitalize
names of days: The days of the week are always
capitalized, so if you forget or miss the Shift key, Word
does it for you with this option.
Correct
accidental usage of the cAPS LOCK key: The Caps
Lock key is dangerously close to the Tab and Shift
keys, and when I used older versions of Word, I would look up to
check my work and find that I had been typing with the Caps
Lock key on for an entire paragraph! Word recognizes
when you've mistakenly hit the Caps Lock key, corrects
the word, and turns the key off. A great feature, unless a
unique proper name requires you to type out of the norm -- as
with some dot.com names.
Automatically
use suggestions from the spell checker: This option
simply suggests words from the spell checker when you
right-click on a misspelled word (indicated by those red "squigglies").
It allows you to just select the word from the shortcut menu
rather than having to retype.
Work
with the Exceptions button and discover some useful ways to
work with the Replace text as you type feature on page 2.
Notice: You have the author's
permission to use the tutorials on this site for your personal
use only. If you would like to use these tutorials for
training classes or other commercial use, please contact kstille@esmartweb.com.
Distribution in print or on the Web without the author's permission
is strictly prohibited.
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