Joe said:
In typing some recipes I notice that if I enter 1/2 followed by a space
the fraction is automatically converted to a smaller font with the
numbers placed diagonally on either side of the slash. The same is true
of 1/4 but not with any other fractions.
I have searched high and low in Word Help but I can't find any info to
tell me if I have any control of this function.
Maybe there is a term for this?
Autocorrect
Well, that's the short answer. On digging deeper, it seems that common
fractions do that autocorrect without being in the tools » autocorrect
list.
You can turn that behaviour off in the following (bizarre) way.
Type 1/2 . Note that a little blue bar appears and disappears as Word
turns the 1/2 into a fraction character. If you hover the mouse over
it, flames will belch from its number 3 engine. If you click on the
picture of the pilot ejecting (OK I'm getting carried away --the little
black triangle that appears nearby) you get a little drop down menu.
One of the items says don't format your fraction or something like it.
Another says don't format fractions in future or something.
You may ask why am I being so vague.
Well, after turning off formatting fractions forever and deleting all
the fractions, the menu never reappears. So I can't get it back to
check the wording.
And I can't turn autoformatting common fractions back on.
I'm not that distraught, because it is mildly silly, and I have a
better way, which also gives me better range of fractions.
I created a series of explicit autocorrect entries like (2/3) and
(1/5) which translate into pretty fractions. I did that by inserting
the fraction into a scratch document using Mac's Character Palette, and
while it was selected did a tools » autocorrect and filled in the (x/y)
shortcut for the x/y character I just inserted.
Now, I'll just post this off, and go play with Word macros or something
to turn the little sniveller back on. I can't believe how useless the
help is.
