Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Making Sure Word Doesn't Capitalize Anything Automatically.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 13, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365
Jim wants to know how he can prevent Word from capitalizing proper nouns (proper names) such as David, Shirley, Robert and so on. He has turned off the feature that capitalizes the first letter of sentences, but Word still capitalizes proper nouns for him. Jim doesn't want Word to capitalize anything at all.
There are a couple of things to try. First, make sure you turn off all the "usual suspects" regarding capitalization. You've already turned off the setting that capitalizes the first letter of sentences, but there are others as well. Follow these steps:
Figure 1. The AutoCorrect tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.
It is the last item (step 8) that is probably the culprit in Jim's case. If proper nouns are being capitalized, it is probably because they have been added to the spelling dictionary and Word is correcting the capitalization on them automatically.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8997) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Making Sure Word Doesn't Capitalize Anything Automatically.
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