Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Using AutoCorrect to Start Macros.

Using AutoCorrect to Start Macros

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 17, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007 and 2010


4

William asked if it was possible to somehow tie the macros within Word to AutoCorrect entries. In that way, if an AutoCorrect entry is generated, then a macro could be started to process text or fill in information more complex than what a regular AutoCorrect entry allows.

Unfortunately there is no way to tie the two together. The closest feature within Word is the ability to set up shortcut keys for initiating macros. Exactly how you do this is discussed other issues of WordTips.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9446) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using AutoCorrect to Start Macros.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Copying a File in VBA

Need to have your macro copy a file from one place to another? It's easy to do using the FileCopy command, described in ...

Discover More

Searching for Text that Does Not Have a Certain Format

You can easily use Find and Replace to find text that has a particular format to it. Most people don't know you can use ...

Discover More

Matching At the Beginning or End of a Word

The pattern matching capabilities of Word's search engine are quite powerful. You can tailor your search pattern so that ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Removing Confusion When Using AutoCorrect

AutoCorrect is a great help when writing, as it can allow you to create regular blocks of text easily. This can cause ...

Discover More

Stopping Word from Changing Characters in an E-mail Address

When you type an e-mail address, Word generally recognizes it as such. What do you do, though, if Word changes the e-mail ...

Discover More

Printing AutoCorrect Entries

If you want to print a list of all the AutoCorrect entries in your document, Word doesn't provide a method. You can use ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four minus 0?

2023-06-17 11:31:55

Michael

Can this be faked with a content control event?
1) autocorrect inserts a building block
2) building block is a content control
3) contentcontrolafteradd is an event that can trigger a macro


2023-03-17 11:59:09

Graham

Could the 'Running Macros Based on Keywords' tip help here?
https://wordribbon.tips.net/T012375_Running_Macros_Based_on_Keywords.html
I haven't tried it, but I thought the macro there could be tweaked to suit? I may have missed the point, of course!


2014-08-30 19:10:46

Beverly

I use Word Autocorrect extensively as I am a transcriptionist for a Court Reporter. I use it as a text expander and it works great for this. I not only set up specific characters for specific words or often repeated phrases such as "idk" is short for " I don't know ". I leave of the caps because it may be in the middle of another sentence or phrase needing other punctuation. I have also set a keyboard shortcut key to open Autocorrect dialogue box. This way I can add words or phrases on the fly when typing a new document with different repeated names, phrases, etc. to open the Autocorrect dialog I use ctrl+1 but anything you are comfortable with works fine. I stay away from the function keys because word already has most of those used.
I have found this to be much quicker than the Autotext in Word or the Quick-words in WP.
To date my autocorrect dictionary is in excess of 100 pages when printed. And most of those have been put in over the past 5 years a few at a time from different documents. It's easier to add a few at a time and it becomes second nature to type the two or three or more characters to get the text you want memorized by your hands when a specific word or phrase comes up.
I can give more info on how I set the words up if you want.


2013-06-17 11:18:26

Ray

Shame. Word Perfect has "Quick Correct", analogous to Word's Autocorrect, and "Quick Words", which functions the way William is asking Word to do. This was a major reason I stuck with WP for the longest time.


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.