AutoCorrect...Do You Know How To Use It?
This tutorial will help you to understand what AutoCorrect is and how to use it effectively when working in Word. You can use AutoCorrect to help you catch common spelling errors, when you have to use a common term in documents on a daily basis, to save yourself some keystrokes for instances when you have to type a drug name or complicated medical procedure, for instance.
I've done an illustrated tutorial that will show you exactly what to do! So, before you go any further, go to the illustrated instructions:
http://www.jansfreecontent.com/autocorrect.doc
The instructions will open in a new window for your convenience. These instructions contain several pictures, so it might take several (long) seconds for the page to open. Once the page does open, then allow a few extra seconds for all the pictures to appear.
AutoCorrect is part of Microsoft Word and is initially programmed to “automatically correct” many common spelling errors. You may have noticed that when you type becuase the computer automatically corrects it to because (correcting ua to au in the word because). This is the type of automatic correction/change that AutoCorrect can be programmed to make.
For purposes of this tutorial, I'm going to create an AutoCorrect for a word that I repeatedly type incorrectly: health. (Please don't ask me why, it would probably mean years of therapy to unravel the root cause of my inability to spell it right.) When I type this word, I usually type helath (instead of health). I will add an AutoCorrect for this so that whenever I type helath, the computer will automatically fix it to health.
1. Go to Tools, and click on AutoCorrect. If AutoCorrect doesn’t immediately appear in the Tools drop-down window, then click on the arrows at the bottom of the Tools drop-down window and all of the selections will appear.
2. Click on AutoCorrect. Across the top, you’ll see four “tabs.” The AutoCorrect tab (see the red arrow in the illustrated instructions) should be the one that is already open. If it isn’t, then simply click on the tab, until you get a window that looks like the one shown in the illustrated instructions. Locate the field that is marked Replace (green arrow).
3. Type helath in Replace field. Then type health in the With field. This instructs AutoCorrect to “replace” helath “with” health.
4. Now, click on Add. And then click on OK.
You have now added an AutoCorrect! To test it, type helath and then hit the space bar. The computer will automatically correct it to health.
5. If you ever want to change or delete that same AutoCorrect, it is easy to do so. Go back to Tools, AutoCorrect, and in the Replace field, type in helath. Click on the row below the Replace/With fields that show the AutoCorrect that you created. This will highlight that row. Then you can either change the “with” field (see the yellow arrow in the illustrated instructions), or you can hit Delete (red arrow) and then OK (green arrow) to delete the AutoCorrect. This is a good idea if you've created an AutoCorrect that is specific to a particular document that you are writing, and you won't be using it after you finish the project.
AutoCorrect can be used for words, names, and terms that you need to use on a regular basis. For complicated strings of words that are more involved, especially if they use symbols, you might want to run a macro instead of using AutoCorrect. For the tutorial for macros, please go to: http://www.jansfreecontent.com/publish/jans_tips/Run_a_Macro.shtml
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