If you have blocks of text that you need typed out frequently in your documents, you can use AutoText in Word to insert them by typing a short code instead. The following articles discuss utilizing AutoText in Word, storing entries efficiently, and more. Once you understand AutoText, inserting blocks of text into your document will be a snap.

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'AutoText' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Backing Up Your AutoText Entries
Got a bunch of AutoText entries defined for your system? You'll undoubtedly want to back them up at some time. Here's how to do it.

   Changing Fonts for AutoText Entries
If you use AutoText entries a lot, you may wonder if you can change the formatting stored with your existing entries. The answer lies with Word's inability to allow any editing of AutoText entries.

   Correctly Repeated Words
There are times when you need to repeat a word in a document, but doing so triggers an "error reaction" from Word's spelling checker. Here are some ways that you can force Word to accept your intentional repetitions.

   Creating an AutoText List
The AUTOTEXTLIST field is one of those esoteric fields that you may know nothing about. The cool thing it does is it allows you to define a drop-down list that automatically displays options based on AutoText entries in your document.

   Creating and Using Standardized Tables
If you have a common table layout that you want to use again and again, you'd benefit by having an easy way to save that layout. The easiest way is to use building blocks.

   Deleting an AutoText Building Block
At some point you may want to delete an AutoText entry you previously created. Here's the steps to follow.

   Inserting Text with a Shortcut Key
The AutoText capabilities of Word are quite powerful, allowing you to insert all sorts of "boilerplate" information in your document. Expanding an AutoText entry is easy when you use the F3 key, but there are ways you can create special shortcut keys for individual AutoText entries.

   Printing AutoText Entries
If you want to print a list of the AutoText entries on your system, you can do so quickly by making one change on the Print dialog box. Just use the Print What drop-down list to indicate what you actually want to print.

   Restoring AutoText Entries via Macro
AutoText has been a powerful feature in Word for decades. If you've spent countless hours developing your AutoText entries, it is natural to want to protect them so that you don't have to recreate them from scratch if something happens to your Normal template. This tip examines two ways you can approach protecting your AutoText entries.

   Saving AutoText Entries with Each Document
AutoText can be a great way to add consistent, common text to a document. Unfortunately, you cannot save AutoText entries with an individual document. Instead, you need to focus on saving them in templates, as described in this tip.

   Store Common Addresses in Building Blocks
Do you write letters to lots of different people? One good place to keep those addresses is in Building Blocks. They are easy to create by applying the techniques discussed in this tip.