Make Word Work

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Let Word do the Typing

Microsoft Office has two easy tools -- AutoCorrect and AutoText-- to take work off your hands. Both have their advantages. I hope once you have tried them you will find using word a lot easier.

AutoCorrect lives in the "Tools" menu. Click on the double-down arrow if you don't see it in the initial drop down box. AutoCorrect is turned on from the first time you fire up Word or Excel. It does things like correct commonly misspelled words and typos and makes sure you start each sentence with a capital letter. You can very easily turn them off by unchecking the little boxes.

Usually that is as far as anyone goes however what if you're tired of constantly retyping your business or home address or even a letter your company sends out on a regular basis? Here's what you do:

1. Write the letter and highlight it.

2. Click on "AutoCorrect"  from the "Tools"  menu. Your highlighted text will appear in the box labelled "With".

3. Type the letters or numbers that will be your shortcut to the manifesto in the box marked "Replace". Hit "Add"  and then "Save".

And that is all there is to it.

AutoText cures one of the hiccups people often experience when using AutoCorrect. That is, every time you type your shortcut followed by a space or return, the letter appears whether you intended it to or not. To fix this create a shortcut that couldn't possibly be used in your text, or you can use AutoText.

Find AutoText in the "Tools" menu just like "AutoCorrect" and create your shortcut in a similar way. When you're done, you'll be able to produce your letter by typing your shortcut followed by the F3 key.

Hint:  If this is so liberating that you think you'll be using it all the time, hit "Show Toolbar" from the AutoText menu and you'll have mouse access even faster.

Y RETYPE?

You've just typed something and you have to type it again. There's already a shortcut for that.

Ctrl Y. No preparation required. Try typing “Hello World” once, and then hit the "Control" and "Y" keys together to reproduce the phrase as often as needed.

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