AutoCorrect and Symbols

Do you use a lot of symbols in MS Word?

I bet some of you know how to set shortcut key combinations for quick insertion of symbols, right?

If so, do you ever find yourself frustrated when you're trying to remember a key combination to use that you know is available? I mean, it surely makes enough sense that you should remember it.

Yeah, that happens to me too. So, you've got to wonder what other options are out there.

Well, today, I'd like to suggest using the AutoCorrect feature for some of your symbol shortcuts.

To begin, go to the Insert menu, Symbol choice.

When the Symbol window opens, locate the symbol you need and click on it, just like normal.

It's at this point that we head off to the AutoCorrect feature using the AutoCorrect button located on the bottom left side.

When the AutoCorrect window opens, the symbol you selected will already be filled in and all you need to do is enter the characters that should initiate the AutoCorrect replacement.

For example, maybe you need to use the math symbol for "not equal to." You might use "not=" as the keyword to trigger the symbol replacement, but if you can't remember a keyword so obvious, you're probably not going to remember anything else either.

It goes without saying that you do need to be careful with your choice of characters used to signal the AutoCorrect you use to make the exchange. You don't want to pick anything that's a legitimate word or character combinations you may need to use for real. You don't want Word accidentally creating gibberish of your document, now do you?

When you're done, click the Add button to register the entry and then click OK to return to the Symbol window. Once there, click the Close button to return to your document.

That's it. A whole new way to quickly insert symbols, without all the menus and searching!

~ April

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