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

Highlights about highlighting in Word

Hello Again:

In my last blog, I discussed the concept of making selections in Word or just about anywhere else you are working with text in a computer. I also differentiated the words "selection" and "highlight" and pointed out that there is actually a "highlight" feature in Word. Well sure enough, one of my great fans (and it's mutual), my brother-in-law Jan V. Nystrom commented on my post and questioned this highlighting feature. So for you Jan, and everyone else out there in blogland, here's some information about the Word "highlight" feature.

But first:

My mind drifts back...and for those of you old enough, you remember when one would emphasize text in a book by underlining it with a pencil or even a pen, or perhaps drawing brackets around the text in the margins of the page, etc. This was probably the case until 1963 when the Avery Corporation created the first "Hi-Liter", a felt tip pen with translucent-ink, which is what a highlighter pen is by definition.

The first felt tip pen was invented by Sidney Rosenthal in 1952. It was made with a wool felt wick and tip and a glass bottle filled with ink and was called a "magic marker" so named for it's ability to mark on any surface. Yes, the good ole "magic markers" and the living room carpet.

The modern fiber-tipped pen was invented by Yukio Horie in 1962. He worked for the Tokyo Stationary Company in Japan. His original pens used bamboo fiber for the pen tips although synthetic fibers later replaced the bamboo. His pens also were the first to use dyes rather than inks to get their pigment.

In 1978 the Avery Corporation introduced their first highlighters with fluorescent colors having various pastel shades. The first fluorescent color was yellow which is why most people stereotypically think of highlighters being yellow. So now in this modern world one "highlights" text with a highlighter to emphasize text in a book.

Sorry for the diversion of historical perspective.

Back to Word and highlighting. So YES, there is a highlight feature in Word with the same concept of "highlighting" text but in a document rather than book.

To "highlight" text in Word, click on the highlight button. In Word 2003 and earlier, it's the second button from the right in the formatting toolbar (looks like a highlighter pen on the button). In Word 2007, it's a button in the Font Command Group in the Home Ribbon. When over text in the document, the cursor will have a highlight pen icon; highlighting is "on". Then with the highlighter "on", select the text to be highlighted (see last blog about making selections). The default color is yellow (what-da-ya-know). The down-arrow for the highlighting button has various color options. To "remove" any highlighting that is already there, choose "no color" as the highlight and then select the text that has been highlighted to apply no color. Yes, we have no bananas...

Well, there are the highlights about highlighting...

Take care in the meantime until next time, Joel

Making selections in Word (and many other places)

Hello Again:

Alright, so I'm going to be a little picky here...

One of the things that comes up all the time is when I am working with someone in a Word document and they click and drag the cursor over some text and say "here, I highlighted the text ..." I usually at that point go into a discussion about concepts and semantics. I say "you mean you selected the text?" They look at me like I'm crazy and say "OK, but you see the text is highlighted, right?" I say "yes, but that is the result of you having 'selected' the text."

So what's the point here? Clicking and dragging over text "selects" the text. The software "highlights" the text to let you know it is selected. Just to be clear, there is a "highlighting" feature in Word. So knowing about this and in light of the discussion, when someone tells me they "highlighted" some text in Word, I have to question their meaning of "highlight"; do you mean highlight or perhaps select? See what I mean...semantics.

Now that I have cleared the air about the concept of selecting text, how might I make selections in a Word doc??

Below are ways to select anything in a document from a single character to the entire document:

Any amount of text: Click where you want to begin the selection, hold down the left mouse button, and then drag the pointer over the text that you want to select. Or Click at the start of the selection, scroll to the end of the selection, and then hold down SHIFT while you click where you want the selection to end.

A word: Double-click anywhere in the word.

A line of text: Move the pointer to the left of the line until it changes to a right-pointing arrow, and then click.

A sentence: Hold down CTRL, and then click anywhere in the sentence.

A paragraph: Triple-click anywhere in the paragraph.

Multiple paragraphs: Move the pointer to the left of the first paragraph until it changes to a right-pointing arrow, and then press and hold down the left mouse button while you drag the pointer up or down.

An entire document: Move the pointer to the left of any text until it changes to a right-pointing arrow, and then triple-click or CTRL+A.

Try 'em out. These methods usually work in any text editor, not just Word. Talking about improving efficiency!

Take care in the meantime until next time. Joel