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Frisco, CO, United States
Hi, I'm Joel Levy owner of PC Applications. I have been providing quality Windows and MS Office Training and Consulting services to Central Colorado for over 16 Years. I have been specifically teaching computer classes since 1993 and bring incredible enthusiasm in a relaxed, laid back style that makes the learning fun and enjoyable. My personable teaching style makes it easy to understand concepts of how the software works, not just what buttons to click. My experience in working with Windows and ALL of the MS Office Applications at ALL levels allows me to explain things from a broad perspective comparing and contrasting MS Office features. Check out our website www.pcapplications.com

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Take Control of AutoCorrect Options

Hello Again:

If you have used MS Word, then you have experienced "AutoCorrect". As one may be aware, there are many things that become Automatically "corrected" when typing in a Word document (and other Office Applications). This can be good news or bad news, there are the pros and cons, the yen/yang, the double edged sword...

Microsoft (as always) has made some important decisions for you about the AutoCorrect feature. And, as most of the time, you have options about these decisions.

To get to the option settings in Word, in version 2003 and earlier, Tools>AutoCorrect Options (AutoCorrect Tab) and in 2007 Click the Office button and choose Word Options in the lower right-hand corner of the menu then click Proofing Options (on the left), you will then see a button to get to the AutoCorrect options dialog box. In the AutoCorrect dialog box, there is a tab with the AutoCorrect options: Here is where you can see the specific options that are ON by default. Clearly, here is where you have the option to turn things OFF if you don't want the AutoCorrect feature. Be aware that the AutoCorrect options can be set through any Office Application and the current settings effect all of the Office Applications.

Specifically you have access to the Replace Text as You Type feature which can be used to replace common typos or what ever you want. For example you could setup replace Breck with Breckenridge to save some typing time. You can also delete entries in the list (select and entry in the list and click Delete) or turn the feature OFF if you don't want to use the replace as you type feature at all.

Another handy option is the Exceptions which applies to Capitalize first word of sentence, Correct Two Initial Capitals, and Other Corrections. After a period (.) Word is set to automatically capitalize the next word (assumes a new sentence). This is fine except for after abbreviations where the next word is not Capitalized and thus enter these Exceptions in the list. You can also list words with two capital letters that are NOT to be "fixed" such as "ID's" as well as Other Corrections as Exceptions to AutoCorrect options that are ON.

So, by "tweaking" these options, you can get Word (and the other Office Applications) to do what you want them to do as far as AutoCorrect options. Getting the settings to work for you can create tremendous efficiency.

Take care in the meantime until next time, Joel

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