Weekly Newsletter
 
  • Tip of the Week: Have Word do your Typing for You
  • Headwhack of the Week: Keep Word from Messing with your Document!
  • Geek Speak of the Week: Macro
  • Small Business Tip of the Week: Software Licensing
  • News: Windows Mail Bug may Expose Vista Users
  • News: Trojan Horse Targets Skype Users
  • News: Windows has Fewest Security Holes
  • Weekly Advice Column: How do I Create Panoramic Images?
  • This Week's Show: Office 2007
Tip of the Week: Have Word do your Typing for You

If you've used a word-processing program for any length of time, it's likely you've had to type a word or phrase repeatedly in the same document. Murphy's law states that in this situation, that word or phrase will be the hardest word or phrase to spell correctly, regardless of past aptitude. Here at Data Doctors, we find ourselves typing "Data Doctors Computer Services" quite a bit, and misspelling it almost as often. Misrosoft Word has a feature that can be leveraged to help out in this situation. The tool is called 'AutoCorrect'. AutoCorrect was designed to automatcially correct (I bet the name makes sense now, doesn't it) common spelling mistakes as you type, but it can just as easily change an easy-to-type series of characters, such as 'dd' to something more complex, such as 'Data Doctors Computer Services'. To add your own rule:

  1. Select Tools » AutoCorrect Options… from the menubar.
  2. Select the AutoCorrect tab.
  3. Make sure the Replace text as you type option is checked.
  4. In the Replace box, enter the word you want to change, in this case, 'dd' (without the quotes).
  5. In the With box, enter the phrase to change it to, i.e. 'Data Doctors Computer Services'.
  6. Click the Add button.
  7. Click OK.

Now, when you are typing, if you type 'dd' and follow it with a space, Word will automatically change it to 'Data Doctors Computer Services', although I'm sure you have better ideas for what word to change to what phrase.

Headwhack of the Week: Keep Word from Messing with your Document!

Much like the AutoCorrect tool referenced above, Microsoft Word does a number of things automatically in an attempt to help you create a cleaner, more professional document. Unfortunately, Microsoft has to create these tools to work for the average user, which, ironically, most users aren't. Word has a laundry list of things it will 'make better' for you without asking. If you visit the Tools » AutoCorrect Options… from the menubar, the tabs AutoFormat and AutoFormat As You Type contain a plethora of options that may or may not strike your fancy. Most users wind up here after a bout of extreme frustration as Word continually changes their document, so a preventative visit now m