How to create AutoText in Word

Are you tired of having to type the same text many times in Microsoft Word? If you often have to enter things like company names and addresses or some popular text for many types of documents, the AutoText feature in Word will be a great assistant.

You can store text blocks in AutoText and insert them easily into any Word document in many different ways. Today, TipsMake.com will show you how to create, edit and delete AutoText, as well as some simple ways to insert them into any Word document.

Show paragraph markings in documents

If you want to format all segments, including the last paragraph, stored with the text in the AutoText entry, select the last paragraph mark. The ¶ at the end of each paragraph will save the format for that segment. If any character format has been applied, such as bold or italic, it will automatically be stored in AutoText.

If you don't see the paragraphs in the document, click the Home tab . In the Paragraph section , click on the ¶ icon. Now you can see the last paragraph and select it.

Create a new AutoText

To create a new AutoText, select the text you want to add to the AutoText collection. Or, if you don't have the text available, enter the text in the document and select it.

On the Insert tab , click the Quick Parts in the Text section. Then, hover over AutoText and select Save Selection to AutoText Gallery from the submenu.

You can see other items on the AutoText library, such as the items you copied into Spike.

Note : You can also see the Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery option available at the bottom of the Quick Parts menu . This option adds selected text as a Quick Parts entry , not AutoText. Quick Parts and AutoText entries are all building blocks and are stored for later use. You can store the entry as Quick Part, but the content of the article today only refers to AutoText.

The Create New Building Block dialog box is displayed. Enter a name for AutoText in the Name section . Then, the article will show you how to import AutoText into a document just by typing a few characters. To do this, you must make the first part of the AutoText name different from the other AutoText. If the name of the entry is the same as the name of the other entries, you will have to enter more characters, so Word does not know which item you want to insert.

Make sure AutoText is selected in the drop-down Gallery list (this option is the default).

General is selected by default in the drop-down category Category. In this example, General is the only option. But you can also create a custom category by selecting Create New Category from the drop-down list . Enter a name for the custom category in the Create New Category dialog box and click OK. New categories will be added and automatically selected in the drop-down list .

You can enter the Description for AutoText to clarify its intended use. If the item is already clear, no description is required.

AutoText is stored in templates, not in documents. That way, these items will be available in any document according to the previously saved template. Normal template is the default option in the Save in drop-down list. You can save the AutoText in a custom template. The example will keep the default settings and save the new entry in the 'Normal.dotm' template .

Note : To save AutoText in a custom template, that template must be opened to be available in the Save in drop-down list.

Finally, there are several options in the Options section:

1. To insert AutoText on its own page in the document, select Insert content in its own page . This option will interrupt the text from AutoText from the rest of the document using the Page Breaks feature.
2. To insert AutoText into its own paragraph , even if the cursor is in the middle of the paragraph, select Insert content in its own paragraph .
3. For all other content, select Insert content only.

Then click OK.

When you close the last opened Word document, the following dialog box is displayed, if the option is enabled to prompt you to save the Normal template .

Click Save to save the 'Normal.dotm' template with AutoText added.

Note : If Word does not prompt you to save the Normal template after making changes, see the section below to enable this option.

If you do not receive the above dialog box and want to be asked to save the Normal template when changing, go to File> Options> Advanced . In the Save section on the right, select the Prompt before saving Normal box. Then click OK.

Insert AutoText from Insert tab

There are some easy ways to insert AutoText into Word documents. The first way is to use the Quick Parts button .

In the Text section on the Insert tab , click Quick Parts.

Hover over AutoText on the menu and click the AutoText item you want to insert from the submenu.

Insert AutoText with AutoComplete

Another way to insert AutoText is to start typing the name of that item. A small pop-up window displays a section of the appropriate AutoText and guides you to press Enter to insert. Press Enter to insert the entry into the document at the cursor place. You can also press F3 to insert the appropriate item.

AutoText content is inserted into the document, including the original format and line breaks.

If you don't see the AutoComplete suggestion when you start typing AutoText's name, then the Show AutoComplete suggestions option is not enabled.

To enable this option, go to File> Options> Advanced .

In the Editing Options section , select the Show Auto Complete suggestions box, and then click OK.

Now, you will see the AutoText pop-up when entering its name. Press Enter to insert.

Add AutoText to the Quick Access Toolbar

You can make inserting AutoText entries faster and easier by adding the AutoText button to the Quick Access Toolbar.

Click the down arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar and select More Commands.

The Quick Access Toolbar screen on the Word Options dialog box appears.

Select All Commands from the drop-down list Choose commands from .

Then, select AutoText in the list on the left and click Add to add the AutoText button to the list on the right. Click OK.

To insert AutoText, click the AutoText button on the Quick Access Toolbar and select an item on the menu.

Create shortcut for AutoText

If you prefer to use the keyboard, you can add a shortcut (shortcut) for AutoText created.

Right-click on the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon .

The Customize Ribbon screen on the Word Options dialog box appears.

At the bottom of the list of commands on the left, click Customize next to Keyboard shortcuts.

In the Categories on the Customize Keyboard dialog box , select Building Blocks.

Then select your AutoText in the Building Blocks box on the right. For example, select the MyAddress entry .

Place the cursor in the Press new shortcut key box and press the shortcut you want to use.

Click Assign.

The shortcut has been added to the Current Keys box . Click Close.

Click OK on the Word Options dialog box to close it.

Now, you can use the new shortcut to insert AutoText.

Change the content of AutoText

What to do if you need to change a created AutoText entry? You may have moved to a new location and need to change the address in AutoText for example.

First, enter the entire changed item in a new or existing Word document. Then, select it with the last paragraph, if you want to keep the format.

On the Insert tab , click Quick Parts in the Text section . Then, hover over AutoText and select Save Selection to AutoText Gallery from the bottom of the submenu.

On the Create New Building Block dialog box, enter the same name as the existing AutoText you want to change into the Name box , and then click OK.

Click Yes when asked 'Do you want to redefine the building block entry?' .

Now, you can insert updated AutoText into any new or existing Word document.

Note : Changing AutoText does NOT change the content in previously inserted locations. The changed AutoText is only used whenever you insert it after the change.

Edit existing AutoTex properties

In addition to changing the content of AutoText, you can also change the properties of that entry, such as sorting, description or template that is saved in it.

To edit the AutoText properties, click Quick Parts in the Text section on the Insert tab and select Building Blocks Organizer .

On the Building Blocks Organizer dialog box, you will see the complete list of all corresponding building blocks and names, as well as which Gallery, Category, and Template templates they belong to. Building blocks are listed alphabetically in Gallery, determining the type of each building block.

At the top of the list, you will find the AutoText. Select one of the items you want to change properties and then click Edit Properties .

The Modify Building Block dialog box is displayed, with options similar to the Modify Building Block box used to create AutoText.

Make any changes you want to the Gallery, Category, Description, Save in and Options fields. Review the new Create AutoText section at the top of the article for more information about these fields. Then click OK.

Click Yes on the confirmation confirmation dialog box to save the changes and redefine AutoText.

Delete an AutoText

If you decide you don't need or want to use another AutoText, you can delete it.

To remove AutoText from the building blocks list, click Quick Parts in the Text section on the Insert tab , then select Building Blocks Organizer .

Select the AutoText you want to delete in the Building blocks list .

Then, click Delete.

Click Yes on the confirmation dialog to delete the entry and remove it from the Building blocks list .

Click Close on the Building Blocks Organizer dialog box to return to the working document.

The AutoText is a great way to save time and reduce errors when importing Word. You can also automate tasks in Word by using macros to save time and increase productivity.

Hope you are succesful.