Tips to get the most from Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect Feature

How often do you misspell the same word over and over and over and have to go back and correct the spelling error? For example, do you forget the rule "i before e except after c" (English language)? Do you try to spell "receive" as "recieve" frequently? Or maybe you remember the rule and then misspell "weird". Weird rule!

Microsoft Word does anticipate common spelling mistakes and replaces the errors automatically with its AutoCorrect feature. After you finish typing "recieve" it magically changes to "receive" without you batting an eye or backspacing on your keyboard.

Microsoft didn't put every possible misspelling of every possible word into their AutoCorrect list. You can make AutoCorrect more personal and powerful by adding your own list of commonly misspelled words. These additions will then be available in every document you create because they are saved in the Normal.dot template file (master template file that Word uses for all documents).

You can find Word's AutoCorrect options under Tools | AutoCorrect Options...


(click image for full size version)

Make sure that "Replace Text as You Type" is checked (if unchecked then AutoCorrect is disabled).

There are two ways to add auto corrected words to the AutoCorrect list. One way is in the Tools AutoCorrect panel - just type the misspelt word in the "Replace" field and put the correct spelling in the "With" field. Then click "Add".


(click image for full size version)

You can also use Word's right-click functionality and add the correction to the AutoCorrect list like this:



Save your words with all lowercase letters, if possible. Word will then be able to handle all capped or lowercase versions of the typo automatically.

Remember - if you accidentally put a misspelling into the auto correction field, you can go and delete or update the word by going back to the Tools AutoCorrect Options... dialog. Also - if you didn't want Word to perform the auto correction (for example the text above talking about common misspellings where you want to see the misspelt word) then just ctrl-Z or backspace over and retype to undo the auto correction.

Converting Faxes and Scanned Images to DOC using MODI

Need to extract text from a scanned document? Chances are that doing this is a lot easier than you think, and you may even have the software to do it already. In this post we explore how to use Microsoft® Office Document Imaging (This comes with Office 2003 and 2007).

Microsoft Office Document Imaging (MODI)

Microsoft Office Document Imaging performs text recognition using optical character recognition (OCR) and comes with Office 2003 and 2007.

What makes a scanned document different from other documents? A scanned document does not contain actual text, but rather a “snapshot” of text much in the same manner as a digital camera takes a photo.

OCR recognizes characters from images of text and converts them into actual text characters. This process makes it possible to edit that text by sending it to Microsoft Word or to find the file later using a keyword search. The results generally are not perfect, but this process can save considerable time and labor over having to re-create an entire document.

(Image created using Solid Capture Screen Capture)

The quality of the text created by created by MODI depends in large part on the quality of the scanned document. If you have a poor quality image to work with, you may get poor results in your DOC file.

In many cases it will help to get a better scanner (or purchase better OCR software), but it never hurts to try the tools you already have before spending additional money.

Pasting Unformatted Text in Microsoft Word

The clipboard in Microsoft Word is very powerful. It has the ability to copy and paste most of the formatting from other Microsoft Office applications, as well as much of the formatting from a website.

This isn't always what you want, however. Sometimes you simply want the text without any extra colors, fonts or other features.

Doing this in Word is fairly simple. To paste unformatted text into Microsoft Word 2003, go into Edit | Paste Special | Unformatted Text | OK.

In Word 2007, go into Home | Paste | Paste Special | Unformatted Text | OK.

This is fine if you need to perform this every once in a while.

If you plan on using the feature frequently, you'd be well served by creating a macro for this and binding it to a keyboard shortcut. If you're new to creating macros, check out our more general post on creating Word macros before trying the one below.

Writing a Macro to Paste Unformatted Text in Word 2003 and 2007.

- Word 2003

Go into Tools | Macro | Macros | Name your macro "PastePlainText" (without quotes) and click Create.

If you don't like PastePlainText, you can name this ASeriesOfTubes [wikipedia.org] for all Word cares. Just make it unique and you'll be ok.

- Word 2007

Go into the Developer Tab, then Macros. Name your macro, then click Create.

If you don't have the Developers Tab in Word 2007 you can enable it by clicking on the Office Button | Word Options | Popular | Check "Show Developer tab in the Ribbon".


(The Office Button in Word 2007)

- Word 2003 and 2007

Microsoft Visual Basic will appear, and you should see the start of your Macro in the center window:


(Click image for full size)

You should see code that looks very similar to the code below:

Sub PastePlainText()
'
' PastePlainText Macro
' Macro created 9/21/2007 by Solid Documents
'

End Sub

Change this to:

Sub PastePlainText()
'
' AutoClose Macro
' Macro created 9/21/2007 by Solid Documents
'
Selection.PasteAndFormat (wdFormatPlainText)
End Sub

(FYI, the lines that start with single quotes (') are comments. Nothing on a line that comes after ' will be run in your macro. This is useful to document how a macro works, as well as to remind yourself 6 months from now just what this macro called "ASeriesOfTubes" was supposed to do in the first place)

Next, go into File | Save Normal. Close the window.

- Word 2003

Go into Tools | Customize | Keyboard | Categories | Macros | Select PastePlainText (or whatever you named your macro).

- Word 2007

Click on the Office Button | Word Options | Customize | Customize Macros | Select PastePlainText (or whatever you named your macro as).

- Word 2003 and 2007

Click in the "Press new shortcut key" field and type the shortcut that you want to use. Ctrl+shift+v is a nice choice, given that you will be pasting something.

Click Assign, then in Word 2003 click Close | Close (in Word 2007 click Close | OK).

Your macro has been created, and you have assigned it to a keyboard shortcut. Try copying and pasting some text using your new shortcut. If you see any errors, go back and make sure you don't have any typos in your macro.

Copying Formatting in Word using the Format Painter

One of our favorite tools (besides PDF to Word, of course) is the Format Painter in Microsoft Word. Although this feature is fairly well known, it deserves mentioning again due to just how much time you can save with it.

Basically, you use the tool to copy all of the formatting from one selection of text to another. This is usually much faster than going through several menus to apply different formatting options to a section of text. Even when it isn't that much faster, it's nice to let Microsoft Word do the hard work for you.

How to use the Format Painter in Word:

Select the text with the format you wish to copy. Next, either click or double click the Format Painter:


(in Word 2003)


(in Word 2007)

If you single click the Format Painter icon, you can click and drag over a selection of text once to copy the formatting. Your cursor will change back to normal and you can continue working.

If you double-click the Format Painter icon, you'll be able to do copy the formatting to as many selections of text as you like. To stop using the Format Painter after double-clicking it, just click the icon again (or press escape).

If you're using Word 2007 and find yourself using this feature frequently, right click Format Painter icon and select "Add to Quick Access Toolbar". Now it will be available regardless of what part of the ribbon that you're in:



Finally, this feature is also available in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, so feel free to give it a shot in those programs as well.

Creating Fillable Forms using Solid Converter PDF

Given how digitized most workplaces have become, printing out a PDF form and filling it in with a pen seems odd (and time-consuming). Why did you print it out? Because someone sent you a PDF file that you cannot fill out in Adobe Reader.

This can be a pain, but it doesn't have to be. You can use Solid Converter PDF to Word to convert the PDF file into a Word DOC which may be filled in like any other DOC file.

Converting your PDF form to DOC:

Right click the PDF file and select Solid Converter PDF | Convert using Wizard.

In the window that appears, set "Layout and Formatting" to Exact and click Last | Finish.


(click image for full size)

After the PDF is converted, the converted Word DOC should appear in Microsoft Word automatically (assuming that you haven't changed this default setting).

- If your PDF file was not made from a scanned document, you should be done at this point. Click into the fields that you want to fill in and type away.

- If your PDF file was made from a scanned document, you will likely have a series of flat images in your Word DOC.

By itself, this isn't very useful. However, after adding text boxes you'll be able to fill it in easily.

- In Microsoft Word 2003 go into Tools | Options | General | Uncheck "Automatically create drawing canvas..." and click OK:



Next, go into Insert | Text Box | Click and drag where you want to draw the text box, then release.

- In Microsoft Word 2007 go into Insert | Text Box | Draw Text Box | Click and drag where you want to draw the text box, then release.

- In both Word 2003 and 2007 A text box will be created that you can fill in. Unfortunately, it isn't transparent and it has a black border.

Type some sample text into the text box ("Type your text here", for example), then right click one of the edges of the text box and select Format Text Box.


(Selecting Format Text Box in Word 2003)

In the Window that appears, go into the Colors and Lines tab. Under Fill set Color to "No Fill" ("No Color" in Word 2007) and under Line set Color to "No Line" ("No Color" in Word 2007) .


(The Format Text Box window in Word 2003)

Click OK. You text box will be transparent, excluding the sample text you entered.

Right click the edge of the text box and select Copy, press escape twice and go into Edit | Paste (Home | Paste in Word 2007). Move the text box to a field and resize it if needed.

Keep pasting and moving text boxes until you have text boxes over all of the fields in the document. After that you can fill in your document.

Word Tips: Changing Default Margins and Layout in Word

Unhappy with the default settings of Microsoft Word? You can save time and energy if you reset some of the default settings of the program to match what you most frequently use.

Do you find yourself constantly having to re-set the page margins because the default setting leaves too much white space for your liking?

You can easily change the default margins to come up the same each time you start a new document in Word 2003 by choosing File-Page Setup-Margins.



Here you can adjust your margins how you would like them to be and click the default button at the bottom.



Click yes to allow the change.




Word 2007 makes it easy to make the same changes:

In the ribbon, click the Page Layout tab.
Click the Margins tool in the Page Setup group.
Click Custom Margins.
Change your right and left margins to one inch (or whatever setting you need).
Click the Default button.
Click Yes.


References:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP052292751033.aspx

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877-6176730.html


Page views:
Everyone has individual preferences for how they like their Microsoft Word documents to look on their screen while working. Some people really like the Reading Layout feature in Microsoft Word (why else would they send you documents that use this by default?). Other people dislike it when Word opens up this way, and they find themselves racing to hit the escape key when this happens.
If you really do not like the reading Layout, you can ask Microsoft Word to not open any documents in that view by choosing Tools-Options-General and un-checking the box next to “Allow starting in Reading layout”.



Other layouts can be trickier. There are options for Normal, Web, Print, Reading and Outline on the View menu. If you choose one of these options for your document, you can then save it and it will always open this way. If you receive a document from someone else, you can change the view while you have it open, however the default view when you open the original will always be however it was created as this is saved with the document information.

Creating Macros in Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007

Every day you use Microsoft Word, you probably perform at least a few repetitive tasks. From changing multiple formatting options in your document to inserting text, you have the ability to significantly speed up your work through the use of macros.

What is a macro you ask? Simply put, a macro is sequence of actions. You can use Microsoft Word to record a time consuming task in a macro. When you need to perform the task in the future, just run the macro to have Word do it automatically.

- How to Create Macros:

- Microsoft Word 2003

Go into Tools | Macro | Record New Macro:



Name your macro, and select if you want to assign it to a keyboard shortcut or to a toolbar.


(The Record Macro window in Microsoft Word 2003)

If you assign it to a keyboard shortcut, you'll need to type in your shortcut in the window that appears. Using Ctrl+Shift and a letter or Ctrl+Alt and a letter are usually safe to use.


(The Customize Keyboard window in Microsoft Word 2003)

If you assign it to a toolbar, you'll need to drag the command to where you want it, then release:



Next, perform the actions you want in the macro. You may want to do this slowly and deliberately, as everything you do in Word will be recorded. Once you're done, click "Stop Recording" and the macro will be complete:



Test out the macro and make sure it performs as expected (Do make a backup of any file you test it on). If it works, great! You are now using one of the most powerful features of Microsoft Word.

If it doesn't work the way you want it to, you can always delete it by going into Tools | Macro | Macro | Select the macro you want to delete and click Delete. After that, you can try making the macro again.


- Microsoft Word 2007

If you haven't yet turned on the Developer tab, go into Microsoft Word | Office Button | Word Options | Popular | Check "Show Developer tab in the Ribbon" and click OK.


(Enabling the Developer Tab in Word 2007)

Go into the Developer tab, and in the Code group click "Record Macro":



Name your macro, and select if you want to assign it to a keyboard shortcut or to a toolbar. This looks the same as the Record Macro window in Word 2003.

If you assign it to a keyboard shortcut, you'll need to type in your shortcut in the window that appears. Using Ctrl+Shift and a letter or Ctrl+Alt and a letter are usually safe to use.

Perform the actions you want in the macro and click "Stop Recording" in the Code group of the Developer Tab:



Next, test out the Macro and make sure it performs as expected (Make a backup of your test file prior to using the macro, you never know when things may go awry). Should it work the way you want it to, give yourself a pat on the back.

If the macro doesn't do what you want it to, you can always delete it by going into the Developer Tab, then into the Code group and select Macros. Select the macro that doesn't work correctly and delete it, then try making it again.


- References:

office.microsoft.com: Write or record a macro.

homeandlearn.co.uk: Microsoft Word Computer Course.

Common Word Annoyances

Using Microsoft Word can be amazing. It makes some tasks so easy that you can’t imagine using another word processor. It can also be a bit too helpful at times:


(Clippy, the Office assistant available in Microsoft Office 97-2003)

From hiding menus you don't use every day to automatically "correcting" your text, you can spend a good deal of time fighting the program rather than creating content. Below is a list of some of our least favorite default settings:

- The first letter in every sentence is capitalized automatically.

While capitalizing the first letter in every sentence is a common writing style for most European languages, it doesn’t always apply to what you might be writing about. Instead of having to undo the capitalization that Word “corrected” for you, you can turn this feature off so that you control when capitalization occurs.

How to fix:

- Word 2000

Go into Tools | AutoCorrect | AutoCorrect | Uncheck the "Capitalize first letter of sentences" box.

- Word XP/2003

Go into Tools | AutoCorrect Options | AutoCorrect | Uncheck "Capitalize first letter of sentences" and "Capitalize first letter of table cells".


(Disabling some of the automatic capitalization features in Office 2003)

- Word 2007

Go into the Office Button | Word Options | Proofing | AutoCorrect Options | AutoCorrect | Uncheck "Capitalize first letter of sentences" and "Capitalize first letter of table cells".


(The Office Button in Microsoft Word 2007)

- (c) is changed to © automatically.

Depending on how you create lists, this may be the worst feature ever, or simply a handy way of adding a copyright symbol.

How to fix:

-Word 2000

Go into Tools | AutoCorrect | AutoCorrect | Select (c) in the list of replacements and click Delete.

- Word XP/2003

Go into Tools | AutoCorrect Options | AutoCorrect | Select (c) in the list of replacements and click Delete.

- In Word 2007

Go into the Office Button | Word Options | Proofing | AutoCorrect Options | AutoCorrect | Select (c) in the list of replacements and click Delete.

- Word hides menus you don't use regularly.


(Where did all my options go?)

This feature is called "Personalized Menus and Toolbars".

If you hadn't noticed, Microsoft Word has a lot of menus, and buttons, and options, and checkboxes… (You get the idea).

Rather than design a GUI that exposes the options more logically (Like the ribbon does in Word 2007), earlier versions of Word just hide the items you don't use to help you ignore their existence.

How to fix:

- In Word 2000/XP/2003

Go into Tools | Customize | Options | Check "Always show full menus"

- In Word 2007

There isn’t any need, as Word 2007 doesn’t have “Personalized Menus and Toolbars”.

- Word makes numbered lists automatically.

If you start off a line with "1." or "1)", Word by default will automatically start a numbered list for you. Typically this formatting looks good inside of Word, but it can have unpredictable results when copied and pasted outside of Microsoft Office.

How to fix:

- In Word 2000

Go into Tools | AutoCorrect | AutoFormat As You Type | Uncheck "Automatic numbered lists"

- In Word XP/2003

Go into Tools | AutoCorrect Options | AutoFormat As You Type | Uncheck "Automatic numbered lists"

- In Word 2007

Click on the Microsoft Office Button | Word Options | Proofing | AutoCorrect Options | AutoFormat As You Type | Uncheck "Automatic numbered lists"


(Unchecking the Automatic numbered lists feature in Office 2007)

- References:

lifehacker.com: Make Microsoft Word less annoying.

windowsdevcenter.com: Top Ten Word Annoyances.

support.microsoft.com: How to turn off AutoFormat features in Word 2002 and in Word 2007.

PDF vs DOC: When to Use Each

Adobe® PDF and Microsoft® Word DOC formats are two universally accepted document formats. Each has strengths and weaknesses. So which is the best for your documents? The answer is: It depends. We’ll take a look at each of these two popular formats and discuss when it’s appropriate to use each.

When to use PDF format

• Printing: When the goal is to produce a high-quality print job in which precise page layout and high resolution images are key, then PDF is the clear choice over DOC. PDF can create a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) file which assures you that what you see on your screen is exactly what you’ll see in your print. PDF files are accepted by professional printers, whereas Word DOC files usually are not. In addition, PDF’s print-ready file transfer makes it easy to send a print-ready file to a printer in another department or even another country with little or no rework needed at the other end.
• Online Content: PDF is useful for taking high-quality documents (newsletters, catalogues, manuals, technical papers, etc.) and making them available on the internet. Not only can you secure your PDF so that it can only be read and not altered, you can also be sure that it will display correctly every time. In addition, PDFs can have a table of contents, bookmarks, intra-document hyperlinks, and searchability, so you can make your PDF behave like a Web page.
• Archiving: When compressed PDF files can be very compact, so it is ideal for storage. File layout is retained and can be viewed on all platforms. Plus, PDF files are searchable, making archived documents and items much easier to find, categorize, and organize.
• Business and Legal Documents: PDF’s are essential for business and legal documents and forms that must retain their exact appearance. These important documents must retain their integrity and security. With the PDF format, you can secure your documents so that no one can change the wording of an application or the terms of an agreement.
• Combining Multiple Formats: PDF allows you to import text from a Word document, images of various formats, Excel® spreadsheets, vector graphics, and more into a single PDF document.
• Anyone Can View It: To view a Word document, you must have proprietary software (Microsoft® Office) installed on your computer. On the other hand, a PDF can be viewed by anyone who has the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, which is easy to download and which comes standard on many computers running Windows operating systems. This makes PDF the preferred format for creating a document that many can view.
• File Exchange: PDF is ideal for document exchange between users. Not only is it a compact format, but it can also store metrics and information about its own appearance (layout, fonts, content, color, etc.) within the document itself. This means that it may not have to rely on the fonts and settings that may or may not be installed on a user’s computer to display properly.

When to use Word format

• Reusing Images: Images in a Word document are easy to extract and reuse. This can’t be done with a PDF, because its images are embedded.
• Word Processing: Microsoft Word is a word processor. Adobe® Acrobat® is not. Therefore, when it comes to written documents such as business letters, memos, etc., Word is much better suited for writing the actual composition. Word documents provide the benefits of spell-checking and grammar-checking, among many other useful writing tools.
• Editing: There’s no doubt that Word is a powerful document editor. It contains intuitive formatting and compositional tools that allow you to format your document as you create it. Using Word and the DOC format, it is easy to edit large areas of text, change the flow between pages, and change font sizes and styles, among other things. With a PDF file you can only a few words at a time and have very limited editing options. When it comes to editing documents, Word is a much more powerful and pliant format than PDF.

Conclusion: Which is the best format?

The best strategy is one that incorporates the use of both of these formats. The Word format is clearly the best choice for editing and making changes to works-in-progress while the PDF format is the preferred option for viewing and sharing documents. Thus, you can maintain your original document in Word format and then convert your document to PDF when it’s finished and you are ready to share it with others.

What if you’ve got a document that’s in PDF format that needs major editing? The best idea is to convert it to Word format, and make your edits. Then create a PDF from that Word document. Not only does this strategy allow you to use the powerful features of each format, but it also allows you to edit and create high-quality customized PDFs using Microsoft Word. Our Solid Converter PDF program was designed specifically for this purpose.

Advanced Table Handling in Word

Solid Converter PDF to Word version 3 features new and improved table handling capabilities. Tables are now imported and formatted as Word table objects, making them easy to edit and preventing retyping of data. You can use Word’s table manipulation tools to make changes and save the results as a Word file, PDF file, or both.

To import tables into Word, when you convert your PDF file, make sure you select Detect Tables. You can either do this in the Conversion Settings on the main user interface...

…or in the wizard on the Table Detection screen.

When your new Word document is opened, your tables will appear as Word table objects*. You can perform any of the actions you can do with tables in Word, including:

• Tabbing between cells
• Changing data
• Changing borders and shading
• Adding or removing columns or rows

*Note: In rare instances, where a table is highly complex with irregular elements, Solid Converter PDF may not be able to recognize a table. In that case, the table will be converted with text boxes rather than as a table object.