Automated "Boilerplate"

Autotext and AutoCorrect in Microsoft Word

WORKING DRAFT - not ready for prime time (yet).

by Charles Kyle Kenyon, Esq.

This page last edited Monday 07 February 2005

There are no promises that this chapter is of the same quality and depth as the other chapters of this guide. That is because it was written by a single author not working with Microsoft. You will not find this chapter on the Microsoft site. Comments are welcome.

What You Will Learn

Boilerplate Macro Package (Commercial Add Ins)

(this guide table of contents) ------- (MS Word New Users FAQ)

Distinguishing Among AutoText, AutoFormat and AutoCorrect (Overview and definitions)

Where Are They?

AutoText is kept in templates. It is stored in normal.dot by default but is often better kept in a document template or in a different global template.

AutoCorrect is mostly kept in separate files. Formatted AutoCorrect entries, though are stored in Normal.dot. More.

AutoFormat is built into Word and switched on or off with options settings. See Tame AutoFormat.

Assign Your AutoText Entries to a Key or Key Combination

The following is taken from my response to someone on a newsgroup who wanted to assign keystrokes to superscripted numbers 1-4. She had asked to replace four of the symbols over the numbers on the keyboard with these and had been told by another (knowledgeable) user that this was not a good idea.

Start Word. If you are already in Word, exit and restart it. Then, type five words in a new document. If you will only be using these in documents based upon a particular template, base your document on that template. If you want to be able to share these with someone else or move them to a different computer, you do not want to store them in Normal.dot. See Template Basics information on Global templates.

Then insert the four superscripted numbers as if they were footnote references (that you were manually typing in rather than inserting footnotes). Then, in turn, select each of the superscripted characters and save them as AutoText entries named spr1, spr2, spr3 and spr4. (Insert => AutoText => AutoText) Make sure that the AutoText entries are being saved in the proper template if you are basing your documents on a special template. Then select the fifth word and assign it to autotext as spr5.

Once you have the AutoText entries, you are ready to assign them to keys. The method we will use will replace only one of your keyboard's built-in key assignments for all five of the AutoText entries.

Tools => Customize => Keyboard (button)

1. Make sure that you are saving in the proper template. Again, if this is for sharing or you want to be able to move it from computer to computer, you want to save these settings in a template other than Normal.dot.
2. In the window on the left (categories), scroll down until you find AutoText.
3. Select that and find "spr1" in the AutoText list on the right. 
4. Click in the input window that says "Press new shortcut key" and holding down the Alt key press the letter S. The window will show "Alt + S." (This picture shows "Alt+A.")
5. Underneath, Word will show you if this has been assigned to anything else. (On my system, it comes up with [prefix] indicating that our use may not interfere with whatever other uses the key has, because we will be using it as a prefix key as well.) Next press the 1 key. The window should now show "Alt + S, 1." Underneath it should say [unassigned]. 
6. Click on the Assign button. 

Next repeat this process for your other four AutoText entries, typing the appropriate number for each. Then click on the close button and close the customize dialog box as well.

Test your keys out.

First press Alt-S. Nothing will seem to happen. Then type a 1. It will be superscripted. Type something else immediately after the 1. That should not be superscripted. Test each of your numbers. Finally, test it using the number 5. We put in this last entry so that you could see that it is indeed using your AutoText, not just altering the numbers that we happened to use as trigger keys.

If you want, you can now go back into the AutoText dialog box and delete spr5. It has served its purpose.

You could assign these autotext entries to any keystroke or keystroke combination (including the keys you originally requested). You should be very careful, though, about replacing key bindings because it can be very tricky to figure out what is going on when you forget about them (or if someone else tries to use your computer). You may have noted that you could use the Customize Keyboard dialog to assign not only AutoText but macros, styles, fonts, or any Word command to a key.

You might want to copy these instructions to a text file called something like "Word key assignments.txt" and keep it, with any notes you care to make, so that you can backtrack later.

Create a Custom Menu to hold your AutoText Entries

There are (at least) two ways to do this, neither of which involve macros or VBA. The first method requires use of styles in both the creation and implementation of the AutoText entries. The second method require using the Customize... dialog under the Tools menu to create your menu. Once created, this menu works like any other Word menu. Both methods are demonstrated by the AutoText Sampler download. Both methods are intended for creation of a menu in a document template or global template; they will be used in your documents and templates. A custom Word menu is demonstrated in the Gender Toolbar template which has numerous fields saved as AutoText entries that are accessible from a custom menu.

Use the AutoText Entries drop down box (built-in field) in your text as a field

This method involves use of Paragraph styles in both the creation and use of the AutoText. Unless a paragraph mark is a part of the AutoText entry, the style in which the entry is created will have no effect on the formatting of the inserted text. It will, however, change the category under which the entry is classified by Word.

Creating your AutoText Entries so they will be placed in a category by Word.

To create the entries for your list, type them in a document where they would normally be used. This document should be based on a template other than Normal.dot. Then select a potential grouping of text that you want to fit into a particular category. For this exercise, be sure that the text does not include a paragraph mark. Go to the Format menu and select Style... 

A dialog box will pop up with your current style selected. Unless you have already created a style for this kind of entry, click on the New button. This will pop up another dialog box for the creation of a new style. Give your new style a name, i.e., "z Interrogatories - AutoText." The "z" is in the name to put it at the end of most Styles lists; the "AutoText" tag is to indicate the style's function.

Click on OK to close the New Style dialog box. Note that we didn't make any changes to the style, nor did we check the box about saving it to the template, we just gave it a name. That name will become the AutoText category for entries of this type. Click on the Apply button so that your current entry will be formatted using this style.

Then call up the AutoText dialog box. 

Tools menu -> AutoCorrect -> AutoText (tab)

Change the box at the bottom so that it says: Look In: your template's name. What you want here is the name of the template on which your document is based, not "All available templates," or "Normal.dot."

Click on the Add button to add your entry. Choose a name for your entry so that it will be clearly identifiable when you use it. (i.e., pid Expert - treating physician) 

Then select the other text that you want to use for entries, one word, sentence or paragraph (without the paragraph mark) at a time. Change the paragraph style of each paragraph to that of your category style and add the autotext entry, each time checking to make sure that it is being saved in your template.

At this point, close your document, without saving the changes to the document but saving changes to the attached template. You are now ready to create a drop down AutoText list based on the entries you just made.

You can include paragraph marks in your AutoText entries but if you do this, your text in that paragraph will maintain its style. If the style already exists in the document, it will use the style definition already in place. If the style does not exist, it will be imported. See the IncludeText field tutorial for examples of the sorts of result you will get.

Creating the drop-down AutoText list

Use File -> New and create a new template based on the template to which you just added the AutoText. (Click radio button for "New Template" instead of "New Document" in the bottom-right corner of the dialog box.)

(more to be written here) 

The text in teal which which follows is from the Word 2000 help screen on inserting a drop down field for AutoText:

1. On the Insert menu, click Field.
2. Under Categories, click Links and references.
3. Under Field names, click AUTOTEXTLIST.
4. Click after the field name in the Field codes box, and then type the text that you want to appear on the screen within quotation marks — for example, "Recipient List".

See also How to add pop-up lists to any Word document, so you can click your way through changes in seconds by Bill Coan, MVP.

Build your own custom menu(s) of AutoText entries by creating a toolbar

Here's how, in eight easy steps. 

First, I would recommend creating a new template to hold your AutoText and your toolbars. Then copy your AutoText entries to that template using the Organizer.

(Tools | AutoCorrect | AutoText (Tab) | Organizer (Button))

Second, use the Tools | Customize... command. Make sure that the template in which the customizations are to be stored is the template you want.

Third, create a new custom toolbar to hold your menu(s). This is done under the Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box.

Fourth, click on the second tab (commands) and scroll all the way to the bottom of the list on the left. You will find "New Menu." Select "New Menu" from the list on the _right_ (it's the only thing on that list) and drag it to your new toolbar. Right-click on it and change the name to whatever you want it to be.

Fifth, one of the other categories of commands which can be added to a menu is "AutoText." Click on that (left box) and then drag the autotext entries you want to use (right box) onto your menu.

Sixth, once you have your menu(s) on your custom toolbar, close the Customize dialog box and save your template.

Seventh, open the Customize dialog box again if you want your menu to appear under the Tools or Insert (or any other  built-in) menu. Holding the Cntrl key down, drag your menu to the built-in menu you want to use. Close the dialog and save again.

Eighth, save your template as a global. There are a number of ways to do this. Those ways and more on templates can be found at: http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm.

It is important to build the custom toolbar and to keep the custom menus on that toolbar even if they are going to be used in the built-in menus. This is because you can use the Organizer to copy custom toolbars but not to move customizations of the built-in menus. If you ever do move this toolbar to another template, be sure to move the autotext entries first.

See Moving / Copying / Sharing customizations for information on putting toolbars like this in a global template so that they are available in all of your documents.

Moving/Copying AutoText Entries

Using the Organizer to Copy AutoText

You can copy AutoText between templates. One of the most effective ways to do this is through the Organizer. The Organizer is a tool built into Word that allows you to quickly copy Styles, AutoText, Toolbars and Macros. You can access the Organizer in one of three ways:

Tools => AutoCorrect => AutoText (tab) => Organizer (button)

Format => Style... => Organizer (button)

Tools => Templates and Add-Ins... => Organizer (button)

from the Format menu, choose Style and click Organizer; or from the Tools menu, choose Templates and Add-Ins and click Organizer.

Practice: Copy AutoText Using the Organizer

1. From the Tools menu, choose Templates and Add-Ins.
2. Click Organizer.
3. Select the appropriate tab for items that you want to copy. For example, to copy AutoText from one template to another select the AutoText tab.
4. To copy AutoText from your current attached template to the Normal.dot template which makes the AutoText available each time you start Word, select the AutoText and click Copy. (Note: It is recommended that you store your AutoText entries in either an attached template or a global template other than Normal.dot.) If your current attached template is Normal.dot, both windows will show Normal.dot. Close at least one of these templates!
5. To switch to a different template click on the Close File button under the window you want to use for that template. Then click the same button again (except this time it will say Open File) and pick a template file from which (/ to which) you want to copy your AutoText.
6. Generally, you do not want to have two AutoText entries with the same name available to your document at the same time. This means that if you are copying from Normal.dot to another global template, after you save that template with the changes, you will want to delete the AutoText entries from Normal.dot. If you have an AutoText entry with the same name in your document's attached template as one in a global template, Word will use the one in the attached template.
7. Click Close.

(note: The above section on using the Organizer was based on the similar section in the Styles chapter.)

See also Moving / Copying Customizations (including AutoText) to another template.
 

Using macros to insert AutoText from a global or document template

Recorded macros don't work for this and they are not portable. See the Knowledge Base article on this. You can download a template with concise portable code from the Word FAQ downloads page.

Using AutoCorrect to insert paragraph borders (fancy lines)

It's easy to add a variety of horizontal divider lines to Word documents. To create a solid, black line for example, type three HYPHENS (-) at the beginning of a new paragraph and then press ENTER. Typing three UNDERSCORES (_) will make a thicker line, and so on. (If you type more than three, it will still work.) 

See the table below for a guide to the types of lines you can create:

If you're having trouble making this tip work, try this:

1. Select AutoCorrect from the Tools menu.
2. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
3. Then select the Borders check box under the Apply as you type heading.

Note: These can be very disconcerting if you don't know that this is what is happening. For that reason, many experienced Word users turn this option off. If you want to not apply these (or any other AutoCorrect) press Ctrl-Z immediately after Word makes the change. You can also add a space after your three (or more) characters and Word will not convert the characters to a paragraph border. If you are past the point where Ctrl-Z will help, you can get rid of one of these borders by placing your cursor in the text line above the border and using Format => Borders and Shading. Make sure that the apply to box says "paragraph" and click on the box for "none."

(This section from a tip submitted by Collin Delker of Salinas, Kansas to the Microsoft Office site.)

Where Are AutoCorrect Entries Stored?

Unformatted AutoCorrect entries are stored in .acl files. These files are language-specific. That is, if you change the language setting for your text, a different .acl file will be used (or generated).

Formatted AutoCorrect entries are stored in normal.dot.

See also What Files Do I Need to Back Up?
 

Moving or Copying AutoCorrect Entries

USE THE AUTOCORRECT UTILITY FROM THE MVP SITE

This utility supplants and improves the utility from Microsoft. It copies your AutoCorrect Entries into a Word table.  They can be viewed and edited in that table. Then the utility can put your edits into your AutoCorrect all at once. You can also copy the table to a different computer and use the utility to copy your AutoText onto that computer. Easy to use. Free!
 

(The following is from the Chapter on Numbering:)

Use AutoText to Create Sequence Fields for Interrogatories and More

A Sequence field tracks differently numbered lists within a document. Combining Sequence fields and AutoText entries give you a fast and easy way to insert Interrogatories, Requests for Production, and Requests for Admission.

Practice: Use Sequence Fields

1. Type INTERROGATORY NO. followed by a space.
2. Press CTRL+F9 to insert field characters.
3. Type SEQ Rog within the field characters.

To use the AutoText entry, simply type rog and press F3.

How to Print AutoText Entries

You can print all AutoText entries (in the attached template and any global templates) using:

File > Print

In the print dialog box toward the lower left you will see "Print what" answered with "Document." Change that to "AutoText entries." Click on OK.

To Print AutoCorrect Entries

Use the AutoCorrect backup utility you can download from the MVP FAQ site to create a table with your AutoCorrect entries. Print that table.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting AutoText

Multiple AutoText Entries with the same name?

Weird formatting?

Troubleshooting AutoCorrect

Troubleshooting AutoFormat

Turn it off!

Style changes can seem like they must be AutoFormat gone whacky! The following is from the Chapter on Styles:

A style has changed unexpectedly

Check to see if automatic updating is turned on for the style. With automatic updating, a style is updated automatically when you make additional changes to the style, meaning that every paragraph in your document assigned to that style will change automatically. To turn off this feature, click the Format menu, and choose Style. Select the style in the Styles box, and then click Modify. If the Automatically update check box is selected, clear it.

If the template that contains the style definitions is missing or damaged, styles in the current document use the style definitions from the Normal template.

Applying a style turns off bold, italic, or underlining

Article http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q170/7/26.ASP 

Article: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q176/6/92.ASP 

since 14 April 2004