Restoring AutoText Entries via Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 1, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Robert uses AutoText quite a bit, and therefore has many AutoText entries (hundreds of them). Every so often Word crashes and Robert loses his Normal.dotm template. He is pretty good at exporting his macro modules, so it's not too much trouble to restore all of them. However, he can't seem to get back all of his AutoText entries. Robert wonders if there is a macro he could use to automate restoration if he had those entries stored, say, in a two-column table in a different document.

AutoText entries are stored within your Normal template. It is certainly possible to create a macro that will do what Robert is looking for, but it may be overkill to do so. The easiest approach is to simply back up your Normal.dotm template regularly. You could even create a batch file (done at a command-prompt level in Windows) to automatically copy the template on a routine basis. Just make sure that you do something to the name of the copied file so that you can identify the order in which they were copied. (For instance, add the date of the copy to the filename.) That way you've always got your most recent backups of Normal.dotm to rely upon if something untoward occurs.

If you are looking for a different way to backup just your AutoText entries, then you may want to consider a third-party add-in, such as this one offered on Graham Mayor's site:

http://www.gmayor.com/autotext_backup_and_restore.htm

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13897) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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. Learn more about Allen...

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