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Have you ever noticed how Microsoft Word will automatically correct a misspelled word as you type or perhaps offer a Screen Tip predicting what you are about to type? These are both features of Microsoft’s AutoCorrect Options. Let’s take a look at both of these and see how they differ.

AutoCorrect is used to detect typos, misspelled words or incorrect capitalization. It can also be used to add accented characters, symbols or short formulae quickly and easily, e.g., résumé, ©, H₂O. Words are only evaluated after pressing the spacebar or hitting a punctuation key. AutoCorrect entries can be created or modified using the AutoCorrect Options dialog box. I would encourage you to become familiar with this feature and not simply discard it because it may seem irritating. If you are constantly disrupting your thought process to routinely format text, this is a great tool for you. Please notice that there are formatting features available within AutoCorrect Options (e.g.,“smart quotes”,fractions, hyperlinks) that can be individually enabled or disabled.

You can undo formatting or turn options on or off by clicking an option on the AutoCorrect Options button. The button first appears as a small, blue box when you rest the mouse pointer near text that is automatically formatted, and it changes to a button icon when you point to it.

AutoText is useful for saving keystrokes while typing in your document. An AutoText entry is composed of an abbreviation and an associated phrase. This is an excellent way to reduce the number of keystrokes for frequently used phrases such as your department name, the University’s address, and a signature block on a letter. AutoText entries can include both text and graphics. AutoText allows you to retain the formatting (i.e., font, size, justification) used when you created the entry or match the entry to the current document’s formatting. Once an entry is created, it can be used throughout the current document and other documents associated with the same template. Screen tips are available after typing the first four unique characters of an entry, e.g., Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University entries would offer no screen tip until the first unique word is typed.

If you find yourself using quite a few AutoText shortcuts you might want to insert them using keyboard shortcuts or customized toolbars. Let us know and we’ll be happy to assist. As always, if you have tips you would like to share, add a comment below.