Controlling Automatic Capitalization

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 11, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


7

As you are typing away on a document, you may have noticed that periodically Word will second-guess what you are doing and capitalize words for you. In general, Word does this when it thinks you are starting a new sentence. If you find yourself undoing Word's decisions on this issue quite a bit, you can turn off the feature completely by following these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Click Proofing at the left side of the dialog box.
  3. Click the AutoCorrect Options button. Word displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  4. Make sure the AutoCorrect tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)
  5. Figure 1. The AutoCorrect tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.

  6. Clear the Capitalize First Letter of Sentences check box.
  7. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6045) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

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

Printing Reversed Images

Ever need to print the mirror image of your document? This tip explains how to reverse your image so it can be used for ...

Discover More

Working with Multiple Conditions

When you apply conditional formatting, you are not limited to using a single condition. Indeed, you can set up multiple ...

Discover More

Displaying Letter Grades

Grading in schools is often done using numeric values. However, you may want to change those numeric values into letter ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Emoticons in Word

Like to add a smiley or two to your writing? Word makes it easy through creative use of the AutoCorrect feature.

Discover More

Automatic Italics of Newspaper Names

The AutoCorrect tool in Word is a great help in making sure that all instances of a name (such as a newspaper name) are ...

Discover More

Printing a List of AutoCorrect Entries

Want a printed record of the AutoCorrect entries you've created in Word? There is no built-in way to do it, but you can ...

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 seven more than 2?

2025-04-11 04:23:15

Barry

Rather 'late in the day' for Max and Janet; but this may help others?
To undo the automatic capitalisation of of any word - as long as it is done immediately, is to use the old faithful Ctrl+Z.
To capitalise names that are not currently triggered by Word; add them into the 'AutoCorrect, Replace text as you type..' list. Tedious if there are a lot in a single document, but you only have to add them once and they will be available across the whole MS Ofice suite.


2022-01-10 10:32:13

Andrew

Janet, on my system "july" and "samuel" autocorrected once, but then not again. I don't know why. But as for "august" and "john," besides being names these are also ordinary English words that are not always capitalized - e.g., "an august personage," "John went to the john," etc.

Andy.


2022-01-10 00:24:27

Janet

Is there a setting for Word to automatically change the first letter of a proper noun to a capital letter mid-sentence? It does so for some proper nouns like; Australia, England, Tuesday, Wednesday, Sydney, January, February but not july, august, Michael but not samuel but not john, janet, peter, . . . Some proper nouns it will recognise as a proper noun with a red underline but not change the first letter to a capital such as . . . july, samuel ... most people's names it doesn't even recognise as a proper noun.
So much inconsistency is frustrating to say the least . . . especially when writing a long story where you have to go back and check for red underlines and change the first letter ... but then sometimes it changes the first letter automatically ...
Hope you can help ... this problem is driving me, janet, insane!


2021-09-15 07:17:17

Eve Muoki

Thanks a lot! This has been of so much help.


2020-09-17 22:47:03

Ray

I agree with Max..
It is a useful feature, but occasionally annoying. I haven't found a temporary shortcut either.
Perhaps the easiest way around is to write a macro to turn it off and locate it to a keyboard shortcut.
It would be just as quick and effective, with probably the same number or keystrokes.
It works for me.


2020-06-02 09:05:37

Bren

THank you!!!!!


2020-04-08 16:26:54

Max

Allen, is there an easy way (i.e. a keyboard shortcut) to undo the auto-capitalization? I find leaving the feature on useful, but switching to the mouse and focusing over that tiny rectangle to undo a specific instance of auto-capitalization is tedious and annoying.


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.