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Are you tired of repeatedly typing the same blocks of text in Microsoft Word?
How can you easily add frequently used text or graphics to your Word documents?
Hi, I'm Dawn Bjork, The Software Pro.
I'm also a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Certified Virtual Presenter.
In this training,
we'll look at how to save time by creating repetitive entries in Microsoft Word
by working with AutoText. To create an AutoText entry,
first,
open a document that contains the text or graphics you want to use another in
Word documents.
It's also helpful to make sure the Show/Hide option is enabled.
We find this under the Home tab and in the Paragraph group.
And here, when we select Show/Hide,
this will display paragraph marks and other non printing characters.
It's helpful because then we can be very clear about what we want
to add to these AutoText entries. Next select the phrase,
sentence,
or other portion you want to store as a reusable AutoText entry.
Now your entry could include formatting, text and images.
And then we'll go to Insert. In the Text group,
look for Quick Parts. In Word,
you can use the Quick Part Gallery to create store and reuse pieces of content,
including AutoText, document properties, like the title and author,
and fields.
All of these reusable blocks of content are also called building blocks.
But in this training, our focus will be on AutoText,
which is a common type of building block.
And so we'll pick AutoText and then Save Selection to
AutoText Gallery.
An even faster way to get to the same place is with the keyboard
shortcut, ALT+F3.
First enter a unique name for the AutoText entry.
This could be a common Word or phrase or a custom label.
It can include letters, numbers, and even spaces.
But if you want to use the shortcuts to replay this entry,
choose a short one word name.
And although it could even just be one letter or number,
a name with four or more characters will trigger the AutoComplete feature,
which will enter an AutoText entry into your document just by typing a
few characters. For this one,
I'll put CHAdd for Columbine Hills address.
This will be added to the AutoText gallery.
And for now we'll stick to a General category although categories are a great
way to organize them by purpose or department or projects. Optionally,
you can add a short description,
but this is really handy to put in because it will actually create a screen
tip when you hover over available AutoText entries.
You're save in options include two choices. By default,
this option is to save in normal template or the normal.dotm
file, which stores your personal customization, such as layout changes,
macros and other settings specific to you. Now,
if you're creating AutoText entries you'd like to share with other people in
your organization, you may then want to choose instead,
the building blocks file because this is something that can actually be copied
to another computer without sharing your other custom settings.
There is one downside to using the building blocks file instead
because it will not support the AutoComplete feature,
which is one way to replay these AutoText entries.
I'll share that with you as we continue.
You'll also see options for how the AutoText entry is inserted.
For this,
we'll stick with the default Insert content only and OK to complete.
Now we'll create a second entry here for a portion of a contract
for this. I'll use the keyboard shortcut, ALT+F3. The label is ContractSig.
It's helpful to plan out your AutoText entries. That is,
you may want contract paragraphs or commonly used
sections of it to all start with the same name so that they are organized
alphabetically. For this, I'll create a new category
called Legal, add a description, and then OK to complete. Next, let's
look at how to use these AutoText entries.
First move to a location where you want to bring in the AutoText entry.
So this could be an existing document.
There are 4 main ways to add an entry.
One is to return back to Insert >
Quick Parts, hover over AutoText,
and you will see those entries. And so,
we could simply pick one that we want to add.
A second option is to type the name or shorthand for
this entry. In this case, it was CHAdd.
I don't have to capitalize this,
but notice here that we see this prompt "Press ENTER to insert." That is called
AutoComplete, and I don't have to type any punctuation.
Simply press ENTER and it has been added to my document.
Another way to add an AutoText entry is to once again,
type the short hand like ContractSig,
and this time I'll press the F3 function key.
This will work whether or not my AutoText entries have been saved to the
normal template or the building blocks template.
Even though the formatted text was part of the AutoText entry,
sometimes we will have to modify or fix some of the formatting depending
upon what the normal style is within a new or alternate document.
And another way to work with AutoText is to add AutoText
to the Quick Access Toolbar.
You'll find the Quick Access Toolbar either above or below the ribbon,
and then simply click on this drop-down arrow to the right.
Choose More Commands from here,
select All Commands and then navigate until you see AutoText.
Select it, either double-click or choose Add.
It will now be on the Quick Access Toolbar and choose OK.
Once you have this entry,
it becomes a drop-down where you can easily access all of your
available AutoText entries without needing to go to the ribbon or even to
remember shortcuts.
There is a fifth method that's available by customizing the ribbon yet that's
probably more involved than you'll likely need.
Which of these options works best for you?
If the AutoComplete feature doesn't work,
your entry is perhaps less than four characters,
you've saved to the building blocks template,
or the AutoComplete feature is not enabled.
To confirm AutoComplete is turned on,
go to File > Options > Advanced and confirm this option,
Show AutoComplete suggestions, is enabled.
What happens if you need to change an AutoText entry you've already created.
In this example, the address has changed.
We approach it just as if we were creating a new entry.
I'll press the keyboard shortcut, ALT+F3, use the same name,
then when you press OK,
choose Yes that you want to redefine or replace the
building block entry.
This does not change any documents that contain the content from the
previous AutoText entry as the AutoText entries are not linked in those
documents. How can you change the properties of an existing AutoText entry,
such as the name or description?
We go back once again to Insert > Building Blocks,
and Building Blocks Organizer.
Click the name of the building block that you want to rename or change.
Choose Edit Properties. And I'll simply give this a different name,
but I also could assign it to a different category, update the description,
and make other modifications. Once again,
I'll redefine the building block entry and Close.
You can also delete an AutoText entry from this location.
When you close out of Microsoft Word,
you'll likely see an option enabled to prompt you to save the normal template or
the building blocks template. If you see that simply choose Save.
If this doesn't display it's because this feature has been turned off
under File > Options > Advanced, and Save.
AutoText entries in Microsoft Word are a great way to save time and reduce
errors when adding text and content to your documents.
Now you've seen how to save time and effort by creating AutoText entries in
Microsoft Word. For more tips on being productive with Microsoft Word,
or to sign up for my tips newsletter, visit TheSoftwarePro.com/Word.
If this training was helpful,
please like this video and subscribe to this channel. This is Dawn Bjork,
The Software Pro. Thanks for watching!
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