restoring auto correct file back to original word version

[Guest]

Hi- I used the auto correct utility to save a personal auto correct file to
another PC. Now I would like to go back to the standard auto correct file
that Microsoft provides. I tried to do this by making a backup of the
standard auto correct file and then restoring using this file but it does not
overwrite the personal auto correct file I now have there. Any suggestions??

Thanks!
Sharon

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Sharon,

First, there are two (or more) places that Office stores AutoCorrect
entries. Unformatted entries are stored in .acl files, one for each
language (details are at
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm).
Formatted entries are stored in the normal.dot template. To return to
the standard list, you'll have to restore both sources.

 

[Guest]

Hi Jay- I was able to find the .acl file. I deleted the most recent copy
thinking it might rebuild itself. However, when I do that, I lose all of the
saved auto text in my normal.dot file. Is there a way to restore the original
auto correct file and maintain the auto text that has been built? These PC's
that I am referring to are work PC's for transcription at a hospital. If I
delete the profile and let it rebuild, will it create a new normal.dot file
with the orignial auto correct file? My other thought is to copy someone's
normal.dot file that has the auto correct and auto text into each user's
profile. Would that work?

Thanks in advance!
Sharon

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Sharon,

If you keep deleting things without knowing what you're doing, you're
going to damage the whole installation to the point where you'll need
to uninstall and reinstall -- STOP!!!

You can safely *rename* the normal.dot file to something like
oldnormal.dot while Word is closed down (as well as closing down
Outlook if you use Word as your email editor). When you restart Word,
it will build a new normal.dot that's just like the one in a new
installation. It will have the default set of AutoText entries, and
only a few formatted AutoCorrect entries (the smiley faces and
arrows). You can then use the Organizer to copy your old AutoText
entries, styles, etc. from oldnormal.dot to the new normal.dot (see
http://home.cfl.rr.com/gmaxeyword/add_check_boxes.htm for
illustrations of using the Organizer).

You can't rebuild the original .acl files that way. You can try using
the Detect & Repair item on the Help menu (you'll probably need the
Office CD for this) -- that may or may not restore the missing file.
If not, you can copy one from a PC where nothing has been added to the
AutoCorrect list.

In any case, don't even think of copying one normal.dot and using it
to overwrite everyone else's! You should be (painfully) aware that
AutoText and AutoCorrect entries are *not* the only customizations
stored in that template, and every user has their own set and would be
P.O.ed if you wiped them out. If you want to distribute a standard set
of AT/AC entries, see these articles:

http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/FilesToBackup.htm
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DistributeMacros.htm

 

[Guest]

Hi Jay- thanks for the information. It is all very helpful. We are in a
unique situation in that the transcriptionists only use the PC's for
transcription and nothing else. Therefore, they haven't customized their
normal.dot file at all, other than auto correct and auto text. I have a
"clean" version of what a new person would need (for their job) that I can
copy to the folder in case they have corrupted the file. What I was able to
do was to find the most recent .acl file associated with that user, remove it
and then it goes back to the original auto correct file, maintaining the auto
text entries that had been entered. While this probably will not work for a
general user, it did work in this instance for our applications. One thing
people should be aware of if they use the utility to transfer their auto
correct files is that is difficult to get back to the original installation!

Thanks for your help!
Sharon