automatic completion of arrows

[Clarendon]

Hi. I've been using the automatic completion function for arrows, which turns
--> + spacebar into a bold arrow. But strange things are happening with it.
Yesterday this function suddently stopped working and --> did not turn into a
bold arrow even after pressing a space bar. Today, after turning off the
computer overnight, I tried the function again. Now some change occurs but I
just get a blank space in place of the arrow:  I copied that blank here and
don't know if you can see it.

I am using Word 2007. I used to know how to turn this function on and off in
2003 but can't find the control box in 2007. Can you tell me first of all how
to find the dialogue box for this function and how to solve the problem I am
having? Thanks.

 

[Clarendon]

Never mind. I found the answer:

Change to draft view 
Page layout --> Paragraph --> Open paragraph dialogue box by clicking the
little square at bottom right --> Tab button at bottom left --> Reduce value
at default tab stops

Thanks.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The "solution" you cite sounds completely irrelevant to the cited problem
(in fact, it seems to relate to your other thread in this NG). Your
AutoCorrect problem sounds more likely to be due to the Wingdings font (from
which the arrows come) being missing or damaged.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Clarendon]

Thank you Suzanne. I did put my comment in the wrong place. Sorry. Could you
tell me how I can fix this problem of arrows? I am using Word 2007.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Make sure that you have the Wingdings font properly installed in the Fonts
folder (and that the AutoCorrect entry still exists).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Clarendon]

Does this mean I need to reinstall Office?
Also, could you tell me how I can access the control for the arrow, because
I could not find any control for the arrow in the Autocorrect dialogue box.
It's got capitalizstion, list of specific strings for auto correction, etc.
but nothing for the arrow. I am using Office 2007.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The list of AutoCorrect entries should have the arrows right at the
beginning, along with the happy faces, registered trademark symbol, etc.
Since the arrows are formatted AutoCorrect entries, they are stored in
Normal.dotm. Have you perhaps replaced that file?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Clarendon]

Let me write down what I see in the AutoCorrect dialogue box:

Top list, with tick boxes on the left:

Show AutoCorrect options buttons
Correct TWo INitial CApitals
Capitalize first letter of sentences
etc.... Nothing about arrows

Bottom where you can enter your own AutoCorrect items
(C) corrected result (c in a circle)
(ks0 corrected result
(tel) corrected result (picture of telephone)
(tm) corrected result
and so forth, followed by words typo corrections

So I see no autocorrect for arrows here. I did not delete the normal file.
The arrow used to work just fine, until one day it stopped working. I don't
know what I did to make that happen, I don't even know if I did anything at
all. The program just went into a bad mood and decided that the auro correct
arrows will stop working.

I did replace the MSO1033.acl file in the Application Data/Microsoft/Office
folder to preserve my list of autocorrect items. But even after this the
arrow was working fine. So I doubt that replacing this file caused this
problem.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

As noted, the arrows are formatted entries, so they are stored in the Normal
template rather than an .acl file. Try renaming Normal.dot or Normal.dotm
(with Word closed), then restart Word and see if the entries are present.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Clarendon]

I did a search for Normal.dot in C but cannot find it. I can only find the
file as part of the Office 07 CD I copied on my hard disk. Where is the file
supposed to be when the Office is installed?

 

[Stefan Blom]

You will find normal.dot if you search hidden files and folders.

To answer your specific question, normal.dot is located in a folder called
Templates in your user profile. The exact path can vary, but on Windows XP
it should be C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name_here>\Application
Data\Microsoft\Templates.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

And note that in Word 2007 it will be named Normal.dotm.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Stefan Blom]

Oops! I didn't notice that the OP specifically mentioned Word 2007. :-(

 

[Clarendon]

OK, thanks. I found the file. But what do you mean "rename the file"? Do you
mean I should give it a different name? I am afraid this may make the file
unrecognizable by the Word. Could you be more specific about what you mean by
rename?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The whole point of renaming it is to make it unrecognizable to Word, which
will cause Word to generate a fresh copy (which is what it does when it
finds Normal missing).

1. Close Word.

2. Locate Normal.dotm.

3. Rename it something like Normal.old or Normal.bad.

4. Restart Word and see if the AutoCorrect entries have been restored.

If not, or if you are not happy with the default configuration of Word, you
can quit Word, delete Normal.dotm, and rename Normal.old/bad to Normal.dotm
and be back where you started.

You can always create your own AutoCorrect entries for arrows, using arrows
from the Wingdings font.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Clarendon]

I did what you said. Word re-created normal.dotm, but the problem still
persists: When I type -- + > + spacebar, I get a blank instead of a bold
arrow. When I hit a backspace or Ctl+Z, I get an arrow like this: --> I am
not sure if I had this before renaming the file. Anyway, this is not the bold
arrow I used to get before with autocorrect. So it seems that the autocorrect
makes the arrow disappear, and cancelling it by backspace returns the
original, typed arrow.

i also tried deleting the new normal.dotm and renaming the old version back
to normal.dotm, but this still did not make any difference.

What shall I do next?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The shortcut you describe is intended to produce a lighter arrow. The bold
arrow is produced by ==>. Have you looked at the AutoCorrect entry list to
see if these entries are now listed? Have you checked to make sure that the
Wingdings font is properly installed (i.e., can you access it through Insert
| Symbol?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Clarendon]

Insert/symbol function is working fine.

You can get a bold arrow with --> and ==>. I am after the first one, which
is thinner than the second. I tried ==> and this produces a thick bold arrow
fine. Also, the reverse <-- produces a thinner bold arrow fine. But --> only
produces a blank, and this is what is killing me.

I tried the insert / symbol and found this arrow →. I redefined the --> with
this arrow in the Autocorrect. Then --> produced this arrow fine. But this
arrow is too thin and I really want that thin bold arrow I used to get with
default Autocorrect. I went back to one of my old Word documents and found
this thin bold arrow I desire, which was produced before the trouble began,
and tried to re-define --> with this arrow. But then the result was the same
-- blank.

So I am puzzled. What is really going on?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

In one of your old documents, select the arrow that is the one you want.
Then go to Insert | Symbol and note which character is shown (and in which
font), just for reference (should be character 224 in Wingdings).

With the arrow still selected, go to Office Button | Word Options | Proofing
| AutoCorrect Options. The arrow you have selected should be displayed in
the "With" box already. Type --> in the "Replace" box. Make sure that the
"Formatted text" radio button is selected. Click the Add button.

Does the replacement now work? If so, you'll need to ensure that Normal.dotm
is being saved. In earlier versions, it's easy to force a save of
Normal.dotm; I'm not sure how to do this in Word 2007, but you can at least
check to make sure it's being saved: in Office Button | Word Options |
Advanced: Save, check the box for "Prompt before saving Normal template."
When you quit Word after adding this AutoCorrect entry, you should be
prompted to save Normal.dotm. When you restart Word, the entry should still
exist.

If this does *not* happen, then there is something else going on. I don't
recall whether you've said whether you're on a corporate network, but if you
are, then there can be additional complications.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org