Create or change an AutoText entry

AutoText entries must be at least five characters long if you want to insert the entry by using AutoComplete.

Create a new entry

1. Select the text or graphic you want to store as an AutoText entry.

   To store paragraph formatting with the entry, include the paragraph mark () in the selection.

2. On the Insert menu, point to AutoText, and then click New.
3. When Microsoft Word proposes a name for the AutoText entry, accept the name or type a new one.

   If you plan to insert the entry by using AutoComplete, make sure the name contains at least four characters because Word inserts an entry only after four characters have been typed.

Change an entry

1. Insert the AutoText entry into the document.

   How?

   AutoText entries are divided into categories such as Closing or Salutation. Check the Normal category for entries you've created unless you know they are stored under another category.

   1. Click in the document where you want to insert the AutoText entry.
   2. On the Insert menu, point to AutoText, and then point to the type of entry you want to insert.
   3. Click the name of the AutoText entry you want.

   Tips

   • You can also use a shortcut to insert an AutoText entry. First, turn on AutoComplete (Insert menu, AutoText command). In your document, type the first few characters in the AutoText entry's name. When Microsoft Word suggests the complete AutoText entry, press ENTER or F3 to accept the entry.

     If the AutoText entry contains a graphic without text, press F3 to accept the entry.

     To reject the AutoText entry, keep typing.

   • The entries in the lists on the AutoText menu and the AutoText toolbar correspond to the language of the text that your insertion point is positioned in. For example, if you are typing French in the English version of Word, the AutoText entries that appear on the menu and on the toolbar list will be in French, but the ones in the AutoText dialog box will be in English.

     To insert AutoText entries in the language you're typing in, use the AutoText menu (click AutoText on the Insert menu) or the AutoText toolbar. To insert AutoText entries in the language version of Word that you are using, use the AutoText tab in the AutoCorrect dialog box (click AutoText on the Insert menu, and then click AutoText).

     Also note that if you insert an AutoText field by using the Field Options dialog box (Insert menu, Field command), the Field Options dialog box, like the AutoText tab, reflects the language version of Word that you are using, not the language you are typing in.

2. Make the changes you want.
3. Select the revised AutoText entry.

   To store paragraph formatting with the entry, include the paragraph mark () in the selection.

4. On the Insert menu, point to AutoText, and then click New.
5. Type the original name of the AutoText entry.

Rename an entry

1. On the Tools menu, click Templates and Add-Ins.
2. Click Organizer, and then click the AutoText tab.
3. In the In box on the left, click the entry you want to rename, and then click Rename.
4. In the Rename dialog box, type a new name for the entry.
5. Click OK, and then click Close.