Autocomplete

[camclayton]

I am really disappointed that my large list of autocomplete words have been
lost, and that that option is not even available, now that I have upgraded to
office 2007. Is there any way for me to go back to the older version of Word?

 

[Sol]

In Word 2007, click on the Office Button. At the bottom of the newly opened
window is "Woird Options". Click on that and select "Proofing" on the left
panel. Click on "AutoCorrect Options..." and you will find the feature you
have used in the older versions of Word.

 

[grammatim]

If 2007 was installed as an upgrade of 2003, will all the custom
settings have been carried over? If not, is there a way to get them
out of the old file and into the new one?

 

[Sol]

I was advised when I was at a MS event that the added words in my old
dictionary will be carried over. However, I did not upgrade 2003 because in
the interim I got a new "Vista Ready" computer and I installed 2007 as a new
install, so I cannot say for sure.

Sorry

 

[camclayton]

Hi, actually the feature is not the same. You cannot add words for
autocomplete. You can only add words for autocorrect and then you also have
to add incorrect versions too.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

What you are describing is AutoText, which still exists, but AutoComplete no
longer works. You can still type the first few letters of the AutoText entry
name and press F3, and you can still create new AutoText entries, but they
are now stored as Quick Parts or Building Blocks. For many applications,
AutoCorrect is more suitable than AutoText without AutoComplete.

 

[camclayton]

Is there a way to go back to my older version of Word? I paid for the new
version because I didn't seem to have an option but this AutoComplete feature
has become an integral part of my writing process and I need it back.

 

[Greg Maxey]

I don't want to challenge Suzanne's remarks, only offer my own version.

I would say that AutoComplete still works, but it doesn't work exactly like
it used to. I have defiined my full name as an AutoText entry. I type "G"
and press F3 and my fullname is "auotcompleted" in the document. What
doesn't work because it is no longer available is the "Show AutoComplete
Suggestions." If it did, I would have to type "Greg" and then enter.
In my opinion the F3 method is just as good as "Show Auto Complete
Suggestions."

I think the addition of "Quick Parts" on the Word Insert menu was a huge
mistake. The label is very misleading. Quick Parts is one of 35 gallery
types in the new Building Blocks collection in Word2007. Custom Quick Parts
is another, so is AutoText and Custom AutoText. The Quick Parts controls
has button control named "Fields" that opens the Insert Fields dialog.
Fields are fields. They may be part of a document, but they are certainly
not "Quick." Same goes for Document Properties :-(

There are 15 built-in building block galleries (the other 20 are custom
galleries). 14 of these galleries have a control dispersed somewhere on the
ribbon (e.g., Cover pages, Headers, Footers, Page Numbers, etc) where you
can click and see what the buidling block is and then insert it in your
document. The "Quick Parts" gallery is on the "Quick Parts" menu. No
surprise there, but you want see any if you haven't defined any. For some
inexplicable reason the Microsoft engineers left the AutoText gallery off
the ribbon. I think that is why a lot of people think that AutoText is dead
in Word2007.

I really isn't. All of the 35 galleries can contain a practically unlimited
number of categories and individual entries. With the partial and full page
previews you can quickly see what you want in the gallery if you can't
remember its name.

I put together an AddIn that adds the AutoText gallery (and the other 20
custom galleries) to the ribbon with some enhanced tools for managing
building blocks. You can review and download it here.

http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/Word2007_Building_Blocks_&_AutoText.htm

As for going back to your older version, why not keep both? Both versions
can run in harmony with each other.

 

[camclayton]

My older version was a student demo. I don't know how to get the old version.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I agree, Greg, that AutoText can be easier to use in Word 2007 if you don't
have many entries. I think the issue comes up with people who had hundreds
or thousands of entries and depended on the AutoComplete tip to be sure they
had typed the right letters before inserting the entry. I'm not sure I see
how it's any easier to memorize these than to memorize AutoCorrect
shortcuts, but I can see that the AutoComplete tip would be a safeguard.

It's also certainly true that the implementation of AutoText/Quick
Parts/Building Blocks could be improved, and I hope we'll see improvements
in Word 14.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Suzanne,

<I think the issue comes up with people who had hundreds or thousands of
entries and depended on the AutoComplete tip to be sure they had typed the
right letters before inserting the
entry.

Yep. There is nothing in the current user toolbox that will do that.

I my earlier post I mentioned that I could enter "G" and press F3 and my
full name is entered. That is still true.

My full name is a building block defined in the AutoText gallery of my
Normal.Template.

Next I created a building block in the QuickParts gallery of Building
Blocks.dotx temple "Gremlin" and named it "Gremlin"

I then typed "G" and press F3. I would have expected the status bar
message "The specified text is not a valid building block name," since I
have an entry that starts Greg.. and one that starts Grem...

After typing "G" and or even "g" and pressing F3 my full name is still
autocompleted. I don't think I like that!!

I suppose that people with hundereds or thousands of buidling blocks will
have could make good use of the 35 galleries and unlimited categorys that
building blocks allows and that the previews could make it easier to find
that one in a thousand by using the galleries.

Still the missing piece is something at will let a user quickly narrow down
the collection of thousands to the few that start with a unique series of
first letters.

I am still playing with it, but I think I have come up with a idea that
might offer some relief. The concept is a UserForm that will open up (at or
near the selection) that will populate a single combobox with a list of all
building blocks in all available templates. The user can scroll and select
from the list or, and here is the neat part, start typing in the combobox
and it will repopulate the list with building blocks with names matching the
series of letters typed. Once the list is narrowed to the one or few
buidling blocks that match the entry then they simply click the enter and it
pops into the document.

For this to work you need a tempate addin to load in the Word startup
folder.

In the AddIn insert a UserForm with a single combobox. I named the UserForm
frmQuickList. Set the comboBox MatchEntry attribute to:
2-frmMatchEntryNone

Call the Userform in the template VBA project with (I created one named
"Main"):

Sub QuickPick()
Dim oFrm As frmQuickList
Set oFrm = New frmQuickList
oFrm.Show
Unload oFrm
Set oFrm = Nothing
End Sub

In the UserForm place the following code:

Option Explicit
Dim bbArray()
Dim oRng As Word.range
Dim oTmp As Template

'Get data to position form near the IP or selected text
Private Sub UserForm_Activate()
Dim lngLeft As Long, lngTop As Long, lngWidth As Long, lngHeight As Long
ActiveWindow.GetPoint lngLeft, lngTop, lngWidth, lngHeight, Selection.range
If lngTop < 680 Then
Me.Top = lngTop / 1.33 + lngHeight + 5
Else
Me.Top = lngTop / 1.33 - 100
End If
Me.Left = lngLeft / 1.33 - 75
End Sub

Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
With Me.cbBuildingBlocks
.ColumnCount = 4
.ColumnWidths = "50;0;0;0"
End With
Me.cbBuildingBlocks.SetFocus
Set oRng = Selection.range
BuildList oRng.Text
End Sub

Sub BuildList(ByRef pStr As String)
Dim lngCount As Long
Dim i As Long
Dim j As Long
lngCount = 0
'Determing the number of building block entries that match the filter
criteria
For Each oTmp In Templates
For i = 1 To oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries.Count
If Left(oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries(i).Name, Len(pStr)) = pStr Then
lngCount = lngCount + 1
End If
Next
Next
Me.lbBuildingBlocks.Clear
If lngCount > 0 Then
ReDim bbArray(0 To lngCount - 1, 1 To 4)
Else
ReDim bbArray(0)
bbArray(0) = "No matching building block entries"
Me.lbBuildingBlocks.List = bbArray()
Exit Sub
End If
j = 0
'Load those building blocks into an array
For Each oTmp In Templates
For i = 1 To oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries.Count
If Left(oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries(i).Name, Len(pStr)) = pStr Then
bbArray(j, 1) = oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries(i).Name
bbArray(j, 2) = oTmp.FullName
bbArray(j, 3) = oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries(i).Value
bbArray(j, 4) = oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries(i).Index
j = j + 1
End If
Next
Next
Me.cbBuildingBlocks.List = bbArray()
End Sub

'Rebuild and narrow the list as user types in name
Private Sub cbBuildingBlocks_Change()
BuildList Me.cbBuildingBlocks.Value
End Sub

'Insert the selected building block in the document
Private Sub cbBuildingBlocks_Click()
If Me.cbBuildingBlocks.List(0) = "No matching building block entries" Then
Exit Sub
Set oTmp = Templates(bbArray(Me.cbBuildingBlocks.ListIndex, 2))
oTmp.BuildingBlockEntries(bbArray(Me.cbBuildingBlocks.ListIndex, 4)).Insert
oRng
Me.Hide
End Sub

I assigned the QuickPick macro to a keyboard shortcut CRL+Q,P

I allows added a command on my shortcut menu that fires the QuickPick macro:

Sub AddCMenuItem()
Dim oButton As Office.CommandBarControl
CustomizationContext = NormalTemplate
'Add button to right-click menu
Set oButton = CommandBars.FindControl(Tag:="custBtn2")
If Not oButton Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
Set oButton = Application.CommandBars("Text").Controls.Add(, , , 1)
'Set properties of button
With oButton
.Tag = "custBtn2"
.Caption = "Building Block QuickPick"
.FaceId = 205
.Style = msoButtonIconAndCaption
.OnAction = "Main.QuickPick"
.BeginGroup = True
End With
If MsgBox("This action caused a change to your template." _
& vbCr + vbCr & "Recommend you save those changes now.", vbInformation
+ vbOKCancel, _
"Save Changes") = vbOK Then
NormalTemplate.Save
End If
'Clean up
Set oButton = Nothing
End Sub

I'll send you the template for a trial run.