How do I backup and restore autocorrect in Office 2007?

[Coach Larry]

In Office 2003, I use the Microsoft-supplied autocorrect macro in SUPPORT.DOT
to backup/restore my custom autocorrect file. I can't find a SUPPORT.DOT for
the Office 2007 beta. Is there such a file and, if so, where do I find it?

Is it possible to import my 2003 autocorrect into 2007?

Thanks,

Larry

 

[Jay Freedman]

The AutoCorrect backup template that you can download from
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm
still works, but it needs a little extra attention because it opens in
Compatibility Mode and it still saves the backup document with a
".doc" extension.

I've fixed those shortcomings and posted an AutoCorrect2007 template
at http://jay-freedman.info.

If you use the older template to do the backup half in Word 2003, you
can use the AutoCorrect2007 version to read the document into Word
2007.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Coach Larry]

Jay,

Excellent. Thank you. This is just what I need. Unfortunately, when I
double-clicked on the .dotm file in the file manager or in Word 2007 I get
this error message:

*****
The Microsoft Office open XML file Autocorrect.dotm cannot be opened because
there are errors with the content.

Details:

Elements and attributes in restricted namespaces are not allowed

Location: Part: /word/fotTable: XML, line: 2, Colunm: 158
*****

Any help or advice you can provide would be much appreciated. I've created a
way to really leverage the amazing capabilities of autocorrect in my work,
yet I know very little about how it works outside of the Microsoft Office
help—which isn’t much.

I’m assuming that the size of the file is limited by memory and disk space
(in my case we may be talking about 5000 entries).

Q1. Would another 5000 or so entries slow down processing on a modern PC?

Q2. Would it be possible to have a separate autocorrect file, leaving the
original Microsoft file intact and protecting another if I choose to market
my database at sometime in the future?

Q2. Would it be difficult to write a program that would backup the Microsoft
original autocorrect file and replace it with another (which would include
the original entries).

Q4. Do you do this kind of work or have any recommendations as to who might?

Again, thanks much,

Larry

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Larry,

Sorry, I missed the bit in your original post where you said you have
Office 2007 beta. Microsoft changed the file structure slightly
between the beta and the final release version that I use, and I
believe that's responsible for the error message. You won't be able to
use the template I posted until you install the final version of Word
2007.

In the meantime, you can use the AutoCorrect.dot template from
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm.
After you download the template, right-click it and select Open
(instead of the default New). Cancel the automatically started macro.
Notice that the title bar tells you the template is in Compatibility
Mode. Click the Office button and choose Convert. Close the file and
save when prompted.

Now double-click the template to run the macro. You'll have to
manually change the file type of the backup document from Word 97-2003
(*.doc) to Word 2007 (*.docx) in the File > Save dialog during the
backup, and you'll have to change the file type setting to *.docx in
the File > Open dialog during the restore.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Coach Larry]

Thanks, Jay. I was able to transfer the revised autocorrect database to the
Word 2007 autocorrect. But I noticed another unrelated problem.

I deleted some entries on PC A running Office 2003 and used the utility to
backup the autocorrect file. When I restored that same backup file, the
items I deleted appeared in the autocorrect dialog box! The same thing
happened when I restored that same file to PC B running Office 2003.

Any ideas on this one?

Thanks,

Larry

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Larry,

I suspect that the entries in question already existed on PC B before
you did the restore there -- unless you're certain that wasn't true.

The restore operation is purely additive: It can't remove any entries,
it only adds new ones (or overwrites existing ones).

There's a way to tell: Open the backup document (on either computer)
and search for the offending entries in its table. If they aren't in
that document, they must already have been on PC B.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Coach Larry]

Yup. That's it. Thanks for you patience as I am learning about autocorrect
via trial and error and your help. I haven't found any published resource
that describes anything other than how to use it.

Best,

Larry

 

[Marjo]

You may have saved my sanity there not to mention my dissertation Thanks.

BTW if anyone has manual dexterity problems or would just like to triple
their typing speed and would like a copy of my autocorrect backup let me
know. It is not as hard as one would imagine to learn 10000 cues because if
you get them wrong you can change them to the one you used by mistake. There
are actually only about 1000 words that are used 90% of the time, just
changing these to between 1 and 3 or 4 letters for plurals or morphologies
[extensions like ing, tion, ility etc]. It took me about 6 months to learn
enough words, well enough to double my speed - then i spent 6 more years
refining and streamlining it. It is a shame that voice recognition has made
it obsolete, but there are many times and places where VR is not viable -
like in Open University exams.

Marjo roobarbtreeAThotmailDOTcom

 

[Coach Larry]

Marjo,

I sent you a reply via email. Yes, I am very interested.

Thanks,

Larry

You may have saved my sanity there not to mention my dissertation Thanks.

BTW if anyone has manual dexterity problems or would just like to triple
their typing speed and would like a copy of my autocorrect backup let me
know. It is not as hard as one would imagine to learn 10000 cues because if
you get them wrong you can change them to the one you used by mistake. There
are actually only about 1000 words that are used 90% of the time, just
changing these to between 1 and 3 or 4 letters for plurals or morphologies
[extensions like ing, tion, ility etc]. It took me about 6 months to learn
enough words, well enough to double my speed - then i spent 6 more years
refining and streamlining it. It is a shame that voice recognition has made
it obsolete, but there are many times and places where VR is not viable -
like in Open University exams.

Marjo roobarbtreeAThotmailDOTcom

The AutoCorrect backup template that you can download from
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm
still works, but it needs a little extra attention because it opens in
Compatibility Mode and it still saves the backup document with a
".doc" extension.

I've fixed those shortcomings and posted an AutoCorrect2007 template
at http://jay-freedman.info.

If you use the older template to do the backup half in Word 2003, you
can use the AutoCorrect2007 version to read the document into Word
2007.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.