Correcting Text Automatically

Word's AutoCorrect feature fixes spelling errors for you automatically. For example, if you type hte , AutoCorrect changes it to the . By default, AutoCorrect makes corrections based on suggestions from the spell checker. It also has its own list of many commonly misspelled words, and you can add your own favorite typos to the list. In addition, you can use AutoCorrect to automatically enter special symbols, long names , or phrases that you have to type frequently.

Follow these steps to add an entry to the list of words that AutoCorrect corrects automatically:

1. Choose Tools, AutoCorrect to display the AutoCorrect dialog box.

2. Scroll down the list at the bottom of the AutoCorrect tab to see what AutoCorrect knows how to fix. Word replaces the items in the left column with the items in the right column. At the top of the list are symbols, followed by a large number of commonly misspelled words.

3. To add an entry, click in the Replace text box and type the misspelling.

4. Click in the With text box and type the correct spelling (see Figure 8.1).

   Figure 8.1. Type the misspelling in the Replace text box and the correct spelling in the With text box.

   

5. Click the Add button. The new entry appears in the list.

6. Click OK.

Try typing the misspelled word. As soon as you press the Spacebar or Enter, Word replaces it with the correct spelling.

If you add an AutoCorrect entry and later decide to delete it, choose Tools, AutoCorrect, click the entry in the list in the AutoCorrect tab, click the Delete button, and click OK.

If you want to use AutoCorrect to insert a long name or phrase, type an abbreviation for the phrase in the Replace box, and type the full spelling in the With box. For example, you could type nabf in the Replace box and National Association of Bichon Fanciers in the With box.

If you enter an abbreviation for a long name or phrase in the Replace box, choose one that you don't ever want to leave "as is" in your document, because Word changes it to the full "correct" spelling every time you type it. (If AutoCorrect does make a change that you want to undo, however, you can always click the Undo button on the Standard toolbar or press Ctrl+Z to reverse the change.)