AutoCorrect features in Excel

You can enable or disable various options for automatically correcting capitalization on the AutoCorrect tab.

• Select or clear any of the following check boxes:

  • Correct TWo INitial CApitals

  • Capitalize first letter of sentences

  • Capitalize names of days

  • Correct accidental use of cAPS LOCK key

You can specify exceptions to a few of the capitalization rules. The exceptions that you set apply across all the Office programs that support the AutoCorrect feature, which means that any change you make to this list in one program also affects the other programs.

• On the AutoCorrect tab, click Exceptions, and then do one of the following:

  • If you selected the Correct TWo INitial CApitals check box, and you want to prevent AutoCorrect from correcting a specific word that contains mixed uppercase and lowercase letters (such as "IDs"), click the INitial CAps tab.

    To add a word to the exception list, type the word in the box and then click Add. To delete a word, select the word and click Delete.

  • If you selected the Capitalize first letter of sentences check box, and you want to prevent AutoCorrect from capitalizing words that follow certain abbreviations (such as "appt."), click the First Letter tab.

    To add a word to the exception list, type the word in the box and then click Add. To delete a word, select the word and click Delete.

  Note: In some Office programs, you can also select or clear the Automatically add words to list check box. This option takes effect while you are editing a file or an item. When AutoCorrect makes an unwanted correction, you can undo it by pressing Ctrl+Z. If the Automatically add words to list check box is selected, the unwanted corrections that you undo are added to the list of exceptions.

AutoCorrect uses two parallel lists of words. The first word is the word that you type, and the second word or phrase is what the program automatically enters to replace that word.

The AutoCorrect list applies across all the Office programs that support the AutoCorrect feature, which means that when you add or delete a word from the list in one Office program, the other Office programs are also affected.

You can add multiple entries that point to the same "With" text. For example: "youve", "you'vr", and "you'ww" can all be replaced with "you've". Just add a separate entry for each of these changes.

Add, change, or delete an entry on the AutoCorrect list

To add an entry follow these steps:

1. On the AutoCorrect tab, in the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you often mistype or misspell — for example, type usualy.

2. In the With box, type the correct spelling of the word—for example, type usually.

3. Click Add.

To change the replacement text for an entry, select it in the list of entries and type a new entry in the With box.

To delete an entry, select it in the list and click Delete.

To prevent all automatic changes and replacements that AutoCorrect would make, do the following in this dialog box:

• Clear all the check boxes at the top of the tab to turn off all automatic capitalization.

• Clear the Replace text as you type box to turn off all automatic text replacements.

To insert a symbol quickly without accessing any menus, assign a keystroke or text to the symbol. This is especially handy if you plan to insert the symbol often and don't want to have to go thru the Symbols command on the ribbon each time.

You have to insert the symbol once, copy it, then add the AutoCorrect rule. Once you've completed step 8, below, you can delete the symbol you inserted to create the rule, if you want to, so don't worry too much about where you insert it.

1. On the Insert tab, click Symbol > More Symbols.

2. Scroll down the list, and double-click the symbol you want to use to insert it in the file. Close the symbols dialog box.

   Tip: Most of the commonly used symbols are part of the Wingdings font sets. Set the font to Wingdings in the Symbol dialog box to speed your search.

3. Select the inserted symbol in your workbook, and click Copy from the Home tab of the ribbon (or press Ctrl+C).

4. Click File > Options > Proofing >AutoCorrect Options.

5. Click the With box and press Ctrl+V to paste the copied symbol into the field.

6. In the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you want to associate with the symbol, for example, type check1.

   

7. Click Add > OK.

8. Whenever you want to use the check mark symbol that you just defined, type the word that you used in step 7 to add the symbol.

 Clear the check box named Replace text as you type. 

1. Select the item you want to change. 

   The information is added to the Replace and With boxes.

2. Change either the shortcut in the Replace box or the symbol in the With box.

3. Click the Replace button.

1. Select the item you want to remove from the list.

2. Click the Delete button.

Before you begin, you need to have copied the desired symbol to the Clipboard so that you can paste it in the dialog box. You can do this by closing the dialog box, manually inserting the symbol on a slide (Insert > Symbol) and then selecting and copying the symbol (Ctrl+C).

1. In the Replace box, type the shortcut you want to use.

   (The shortcut should be distinct from a normal, correctly spelled word, unless you always want that word to be replaced with the symbol that you define in step 2.)

2. In the With box, paste the symbol that you want assigned to the Math AutoCorrect shortcut you specified in step 1.

3. Click Add.