autotext questions

[Jeff Malka]

I have 2 questions about AutoText in Word 97.

1. When one opens the insert/AutoText menu, there are some items on the
pre-selected main "short list". For the rest one needs to click on
"AutoText" and scroll down to the text one wishes. How does one add one's
own personalized AutoText to the main list that does not require clicking on
AutoText and scrolling down?

2. Is it possible to add more than one line of text, such as the following
paragraph:

"Sincerely,



Jeff McPherson"
including formatting so that this appears not left aligned, but with several
tabs before each line?

Is there a way to do this? When I select text and click on "new" AutoText,
it only saves the first line and with no tabs.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can save just about anything as an AutoText entry--graphics, huge chunks
of text, fields, drawing objects, or any combination of the above. The list
it will appear on depends on the style in which it is formatted. For an
explanation of the latter, see
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/AutoTextList.htm.

I would strongly advise not using several tabs to indent text. The proper
way to do this is with a paragraph indent (which should be part of your
Closing and Signature styles). If you must use tabs, never use more than
one: see http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Formatting/SettingTabs.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Beth Melton]

Hi Jeff,

1. AutoText entries are categorized by the Style associated with the
paragraph when the AutoText entry was created. Here is an article that
will provide some background on how to incorporate this feature:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/AutoTextList.htm

Note you want to follow steps 1 - 7 since the remaining steps are for
generating an AutoTextList.

2. Yes it is possible to add more than one line of text as well as
tables, graphics, etc. Type the text in the document, select it, then
press Alt + F3 to open the Create AutoText dialog box.

I'm not sure what you are encountering when you attempt to create the
AutoText entry in your example. My first thought is you are seeing the
default AutoText entry for Sincerely rather than your user-defined
entry. Try creating using a name such as jmClosing and see if that
rectifies the problem.

Additionally, I don't recommend using several tabs to indent text.
Either use an Indent or set a manual tab.

Not only is more than one tab preceding text bad practice but if you
insert your AutoText entry in a document that contains manual tab
stops or the default tab stops have been changed your AutoText entry
may not display incorrectly.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Jeff Malka]

Thank you all. Works like a charm. I'll go to the URLs to learn more.

I cannot resist: I dcecided to create a macro assigned to Alt-S which goes
to autotext, selected my correctly working "Sincerely" autotext and inserts
it. However, although doing it manually enters the AutoText with the
correct indent, when I use the macro, the text is left aligned. Am I doing
something wrong?

(I should probably just create a macro that sets the indent, enters the
text, etc. and forget about using the AutoText within a macro).

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You don't need a macro. You can assign a keyboard shortcut to the AutoText
entry itself. See Tools | Customize | Commands: AutoText.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi Jeff

You can assign a keyboard shortcut directly to the autotext; you don't
need a macro.

Tools > Customize. Click Keyboard. In Categories, choose AutoText. In
the AutoText box, choose your AutoText. Add the shortcut key and close.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word
Melbourne, Australia

 

[Jeff Malka]

Thank you all. Works like a dream.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG