Learn This: Use Autocorrect in Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel to Fix Your Own Common Typos

Becoming more productive is almost a lifestyle for some people.

With everyone running around trying to get more done in less time, the allure of increased efficiency drives a lot of the decision making of professionals, providers and patients alike. One area that is easy to overlook however is learning to use all of the capabilities of the tools you already have. Take software for instance: maximizing efficiency means making sure you (and your employees) are getting the most bang for your practice’s buck out of the software packages they purchase. Learn to really use the stuff you have before you request your next upgrade quote.

The other day a friend of mine asked me a question in a tone of voice that gave the impression the subject had been a persistent pain in her neck.

“Is there a way to get a to get Word to recognize that I type “anyhting” by accident every time I mean to type “anything”? I must do it twenty times a day, and having to stop and correct it is really slowing me down”

Say what you will about the Microsoft Office products that are commonly found in business settings – they don’t lack in features. In this case my friend had a feeling that Microsoft had something like its Autocorrect feature for your own “personal typos”.  Autocorrect is the handy feature that will turn common typos-  “teh” instead of “the” etc… – into what Microsoft assumes is what you meant to say. Autocorrect-like software is also found on most cellphones’ text messaging programs, sometimes to humorous results when the cellphone makes bad assumptions for you! But can you add your own entries to Autocorrect so that your own “anyhting”s can be taken care of instantly without effort? Yes you can!

The AutoCorrect list is global across the Office programs that support this feature, which means that when you add or delete a word from the list in one Microsoft Office program, the other Office programs are also affected.

Create or Change AutoCorrect entries in Microsoft Office 2010

1. Click the File tab and then, under Help, click Options.
2. If you are using Outlook 2010, click Mail and then click Spelling and AutoCorrect…For all other programs, go to step 3.
3. Click Proofing.
4. Click AutoCorrect Options.
5. On the AutoCorrect tab, make sure the Replace text as you type check box is selected.
6. In the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you often mistype or misspell — for example, type usualy.
7. In the With box, type the correct spelling of the word — for example, type usually.
8. Click Add.
9. Click OK.

Create or Change AutoCorrect entries in Microsoft Office 2007

In Outlook

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Mail Format tab, and then click Editor Options.
3. Click Proofing, and then click AutoCorrect Options.
4. On the AutoCorrect tab, make sure the Replace text as you type check box is selected.
5. In the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you often mistype or misspell — for example, type usualy.
6. In the With box, type the correct spelling of the word — for example, type usually.
7. Click Add.

In Word

1. Optionally, if you want to add a formatted text entry, open the document that contains the text that is formatted the way that you want, and select that text.
2. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options at the bottom of the window.
3. Click Proofing.
4. Click AutoCorrect Options.
5. On the AutoCorrect tab, make sure the Replace text as you type check box is selected.
6. In the Replace box, type a word or phrase that you often mistype or misspell — for example, type usualy.
7. In the With box, type the correct spelling of the word — for example, type usually.
8. Click Add.

Create or Change AutoCorrect entries in Microsoft Office 2003

In Outlook

In Word