The Perfect Companion for your Word Processor: AutoMATE

If you aren't using Word or WordPerect's automation tools you could be killing yourself. You might as well be using a typewriter. Both Word and WordPerfect (and even OpenOffice) offer autotext tools that will store and insert words, sentences, clauses, captions - just about anything you want. For example, when I type "al" then hit the space bar, Word turns "al" into "Adriana Linares". Have a standard caption or signature block that you use often? Same goes. You'll use it for anything you type often or find tedious to create and format each time. It's very easy to use. Here's how in Word (WP is pretty much the same)

1. From an existing document (or just type it out new) Select the text (you can include a graphic) you want to store as an AutoText entry. Be sure to SELECT EXACTLY what you want.
2. To store paragraph formatting with the entry, include the paragraph mark at the end of the selection.
3. Go to Tools > AutoCorrect Options
4. Select AutoCorrect for anything less than one line in length (while there check out the list Word uses and add or delete all you want).Select the AutoText tab for anything longer than one line.
5. In AutoText, Word proposes a name for the entry, accept the name or type a new one of your own.
6. For AutoCorrect, I use "al" for my name - if your  name is Tom O'Connor  dont use "to" - it's a real word, use something like "tc" instead. And don't waste time  with too many letters or caps, this is just a shortcut to your real text. For AutoText (remember more than one line), you'll need to use a  phrase  longer than two words because Word inserts an entry only after four characters have been typed.
7. Be sure to click ADD when you're done.
8. Now open a new document and type your shortcut text. If you are using AutoCorrect, the space bar will invoke your text. For AutoText, look for a yellow box above your cursor, when you see it, hit Enter.

• If you use Word as your email editor then all your entries will work there too!
• If you use OpenOffice go to Tools > AutoCorrect
  

Comments

[Solveig Haugland]

Hi,

Nice post! I love automatic stuff. I use this in training, early in the day, and students love it.

I've got a post on how to do the Tools > AutoCorrect approach to this in OpenOffice.org.
http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2005/10/test.html

It's item 3, "Use the automatic formatting to create handy shortcuts."