Auto Text problem

[Guest]

One of our users has an auto text entry that he wishes to modify. Instead of
"Company Name Corporation," he would like it to be "Company Name."

I have watched him Delete the old Auto Text entry from the listing and Add
the new Auto Text entry. After he closes out of the Auto Text window, he
types the beginning of "Company Name." That works once. When he tries it
again in the same document, it reverts to "Company Name Corporation," and
that entry reappears in the listing instead of the new one he just entered.
We cannot figure out what is going wrong.

He would like this new one to persist in both the current and all
subsequent documents. Does he have to open his Normal.dot? When I try it on
my documents, I cannot replicate the problem, so I'm at a loss as to how to
help him fix it.

Thanks,
Joan

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There are at least two possible issues here:

1. AutoText can be saved in any template. The default storage location is
Normal.dot, but the AutoText entry he's replacing may be saved in the
attached document template instead. If so, he's created a new AutoText entry
that is saved in Normal.dot, and it will not replace the one in the document
template.

2. AutoText entry "categories" are based on paragraph style. It's
conceivable that you could have similar entries in different styles (though
this is a less likely scenario).

A third possibility, if he is quitting and restarting Word between attempts
to insert the entry, AND if he has Adobe Acrobat 7.0 installed, is that
Normal.dot is not being saved. If that's the case, see the last section of
http://www.gmayor.com/lose_that_adobe_acrobat_toolbar.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

Suzanne,

I'm guessing that the problem has to do with your first scenario, in which
the AutoText entry he's replacing is in the attached document template
instead of his Normal.dot. If the option for "Look in" is set to "All active
templates" will that enter the AutoText into both places? If not, what is
the workaround for getting the correct AutoText to work in a document with a
template other than Normal.dot?

Thanks,
Joan

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

When you create the AutoText entry, be careful to select the specific
document template in the "Look in" box. If the AutoText entry you're
replacing is listed, then the one you create will replace it. I'm still not
sure how it can be that you actually delete an AutoText entry and it still
pops back, though--very odd.

Another tip: If you want to use Alt+F3 to create new AutoText entries in a
specific document template, select that template in the AutoText dialog; it
will remain the active template for AutoText entries till you change it
back. You won't have access to any of the AutoText entries in Normal.dot
while it is selected, but it does facilitate adding new entries to the
attached template.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.