If you create custom AutoCorrect entries to speed up your typing in Microsoft Word as I described on Monday, you might need to move those entries to another PC someday.
Years ago, Dave Rado wrote a Word macro for backing up and restoring the program's AutoCorrect files. It still works for Word 2007--or at least it did on my PC.
First, make sure macros are enabled. In Word 2003, click Tools > Macro > Security > Security Level, and select either of the bottom two options. In Word 2007, click the Office button, choose Word Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Macro Settings, select "Enable all macros (not recommended; potentially dangerous code can run)," and click OK twice.
Make sure macros are enabled in Word before you run the AutoCorrect backup script.
(Credit: Microsoft)With Word's macros enabled, double-click the AutoCorrect.dot file inside the AutoCorrect.zip download. Choose Backup, and when the Save As dialog box opens, select the removable medium or network address you'll use to transfer the settings to the other system.
Run the AutoCorrect.dot macro to back up your settings and restore them on another PC.
(Credit: Dave Rado)Repeat the steps on the second system, but choose Restore rather than Backup when the macro runs, click Yes at the warning, point to the backup file you created, and click Open.
Tomorrow: a free program warns you about potentially dangerous sites just before you click the link.
If I had a nickel for every time I've typed the word "Microsoft," and another two cents for each occasion I've had to enter "Windows," I just might own the dang company by now.
I'll bet you've got your own list of terms you've typed so often you can barely see the letters on their keys anymore. But there's no need for you to spell them out each time you need to use them. Just enter them once in the AutoCorrect dialog box in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps along with the abbreviations of your choice. Then simply type the abbreviation to have the entire word (or words) displayed when you press the space bar.
Start by making a list of the longish terms you type repeatedly. (I'll use the 50 states as an example.) Then in Office 2003 apps, click Tools > AutoCorrect > AutoCorrect Options (or press Alt, T, A in succession). In Office 2007 programs, click the Office button, choose the options button on the bottom-right of the window, select Proofing, and choose the AutoCorrect Options button (or press Alt, F, I, press the down arrow to select Proofing, press Tab to select AutoCorrect Options, and press Enter).
In the Replace field near the middle of the window, enter the full term you want to create a shortcut for. In the With field, type the first two or three letters of the word or term (make sure it isn't itself a word you're likely to type, such as "to" or "of"). For example, I entered each state name in the Replace field, and its two-letter abbreviation in the With field, but I changed "me" to "mai" for "Maine" and "or" to "orn" for "Oregon."
Add the long words and phrases you type most often, along with a two- or three-letter abbreviation, in Office's AutoCorrect Options dialog box.
(Credit: Microsoft)After your custom list of terms and shortcuts have been added to those built into Office, simply type the shortcut and press the spacebar to enter the full term.
Tomorrow: Transfer your custom AutoCorrect list to another PC.
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