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: Inserting Text with a Shortcut Key.

Inserting Text with a Shortcut Key

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 24, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007 and 2010


15

Brendan would like to know if there is a way to assign a shortcut of my choosing, say Ctrl+J, to a sentence. This would mean every time he hits Ctrl+J it would paste that sentence. Brendan knows about AutoText, but he can't see a way to assign a shortcut like Ctrl+J to a particular AutoText entry.

Actually, AutoText includes sort of a built-in shortcut key. Once you create the AutoText entry, you can type the mnemonic for the entry and press F3. Word expands the mnemonic to its longer form. If you want to have a special shortcut key for a particular AutoText entry, you can follow these steps:

  1. Define your AutoText entry as you normally would.
  2. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  3. At the left of the dialog box click Customize (Word 2007) or Quick Access Toolbar (Word 2010).
  4. Click the Customize button. Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  5. Figure 1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.

  6. Position the insertion point in the Press New Shortcut Key text box.
  7. Press the shortcut key you want to use. For instance, if you want to use Ctrl+J, then press Ctrl+J. Just below the Current Keys text box you should see the name of any commands currently using this shortcut. (In this case, Ctrl+J is used to justify a paragraph so you may want to use a different shortcut.)
  8. In the Categories list scroll down and select AutoText. The defined AutoText entries appear at the right side of the dialog box.
  9. In the list of AutoText entries, select the one you defined in step 1.
  10. Click the Assign button to assign the shortcut.
  11. Click on Close to dismiss the Customize Keyboard dialog box.
  12. Click on Cancel to dismiss the Word Options dialog box.

There are other options besides using AutoText, however. You could, of course, record a macro of you typing the desired text. The macro could then be assigned to a shortcut key and would be replayed (again typing the text) anytime you invoke the shortcut key.

Perhaps the easiest alternative, however, is to create an AutoCorrect entry for your text. All you need to do is come up with a non-ambiguous series of keystrokes, such as cj, and then have Word replace that text with something else. In other words, the program can "correct" the characters cj, replacing them with the longer sentence. There is no shortcut key to remember in this instance, just the short text you want "corrected." (How you create Autocorrect entries has been discussed in other issues of WordTips.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6829) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting Text with a Shortcut Key.

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. ...

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Comments

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What is nine more than 7?

2022-01-31 11:08:06

A

Autotext option doesn't exist in my version of Word


2019-06-13 03:06:28

Sarah

Is there an Autotext option that would work across all the programs on my computer (like Gmail, Word, Excel, etc.)? I do secretarial and bookkeeping work and I keep using the same phrases and email body text over and over again. It would be great to have hotkeys that would work across the board on my computer - not only on Word...


2018-05-17 04:42:36

Debra Goring

Oops, meant to say at the end there:
Sounds like if I'd bought another licence for Word 97-2013, I might've, nay would've, been okay.


2018-05-17 04:38:53

Debra Goring

Darn it, i've just bought a new laptop and Office Professional and there doesn't appear to be a workaround for inserting autotext entries, without actually going to some fiddly menu options and then actually selecting the entry you want from a scroll down list! How archaic is that? In Word 13, we could use F3 to enter the required text.

I've created hundreds of them now, and use them regularly, like everyday for my work. I managed to transfer Normal.dotx template file okay, after some wrangling - it didn't like it and tried to stop me deleting the current one on there - but I can only retrieve them sometimes bec it flashes up press return to enter the text, which is okay - will take getting used to after using F3 key a million times! - bu other than that, from the research I've done so far, there's no other way.

Can anyone help at all?
Sounds like if I'd bought Word 2010, I might've been okay. How annoying... altho hopefully not! Thanks in advance for any help received!


2017-06-13 06:44:56

Tom

Open Microsoft Word > File > Options > Proofing > Autocorrect options > in the 'Replace' field add the shortcut key and in the 'With' field add the phrase > Add > Ok.

This will replicate across all Microsoft applications.


2017-02-15 13:05:44

Marilyn

When using my building blocks suddenly it stopped working when I put in my shortcut words and hit f3. Won't work at all. Don't know what has happened.


2016-06-20 07:13:05

Ruud

Thanks for this usefull answer,
There is only 1 thing which I can't complete. In the custimize keyboard window I can't find the Autotext command.
You would make me really happy is you know what is causing this and how I could still apply it. (I am using Word 2010).
Thank you in advance


2016-04-12 21:35:28

David

The F3 short cut doesn't seem to work for Word 2016?


2015-10-02 10:52:45

Corey Merriter

lorac, Irene,

Look for "Building Blocks" if you cannot find Autotext.
It is toward the very bottom of the list for me.


2015-07-28 02:58:19

Rukaiya

Can you please explain a word or some word how to write using shortcut.
Ex: our address or name how can use through shortcut.


2014-11-06 20:41:01

lorac

i don't see autotext either as in step 7 and i definitely have insert on (not overtype)


2014-07-01 07:56:22

Irene van der Klugt

How come I don't see "Autotext" in the Categories list? (your step 7)


2014-06-16 17:10:23

CMatz

Susan: Sounds like you may be in the overtype mode. Press the Insert key to change to normal "Insert" mode.
The setting for using the Insert Key to toggle Insert/Overype is as follows:

To change the overtype settings so that you can access overtype mode by pressing INSERT, do the following:
1.Press ALT+F, T to open Word Options.
2.Press A to select ADVANCED, and then press TAB.
3.Press ALT+O to move to the Use the Insert key to control overtype mode check box.
4.Press SPACEBAR to select/check (or uncheck) the check box, and then press ENTER.

With the box checked, to turn Overtype mode on or off, press INSERT.

Mike: I often use autocorrect but prefer to use an unusual key combination like /j and when Word sees that with a space the text is inserted.

You can then consider using the / with several different letters for quickly remembering/inserting the text. For example you could use /abc to insert the signature for the initials abc.


2014-06-16 16:19:55

Mike Sherman

Hi: What am I supposed to do to carry out your first step in this process: "1.Define your AutoText entry as you normally would."?

Thanks, Mike S.


2014-01-14 19:27:03

Susan Hyer

but what shortcut key switches from "replace" text to "insert" text. My new typing is "replacing" text I'm trying to add when I type!


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