Answers From ELIC

Stopping Word's Auto-Formatting

ANSWERS FROM ELIC SUBMITTED BY COMPUTER SERVICES

Welcome to “Answers from ELIC”, a monthly column dedicated to sharing time-saving tips from in the archives of Computer Services’ support staff journals.

Q: How can I stop Word from auto-formatting things?
A: Yes, sometimes it seems that Word has a mind of its own. It formats your bulleted lists, it thinks that a sentence is a header, it changes the spelling of things you want spelled “wrong.” There are ways to deal with this. Think of it like so: If you buy a pair of shoes and you don’t like the laces or the way the shoes themselves are laced, you can change them, right? Same with Word’s auto features.

Turn on or off automatic formatting
1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options, and then click the “AutoFormat As You Type” tab.
2. Select or clear the options you want.
Note: You can undo formatting or turn options on or off by clicking an option on the Auto Correct Options button. Depending on the situation, the entire button may appear or the button may first appear as a small, blue box that changes to a button icon when you point to it

Turn on or off features introduced in recent versions of Word
You must have a document open in Microsoft Word to follow these steps.
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Save tab.
2. Select or clear the Disable features introduced after check box, and then select the version that you want.
When you save the document, if your document contains items that will be converted, Word displays a list of the features it will convert so that the document can be used in previous versions.

Delete an AutoCorrect entry
1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
2. In the list under the Replace box, click the entry you want to remove.
3. Click Delete.

More Info
Q: Where can I get help regarding...?
A: Solutions to other computer problems can be achieved by

• Calling extension 3248, Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm, where a friendly and knowledgeable support tech can give you immediate answers, or where you can schedule one-on-one training.

• Attending a training class pertinent to your need. A schedule of classes is available at http://www.cuesta.edu/deptinfo/elic/trainingschedule.htm.