Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Emoticons in Word.

Emoticons in Word

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 21, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


6

Emoticons are those funny little faces people love to put in their e-mails. You know the type, made with colons, dashes, and other characters. For instance, :-) is an emoticon for a smiley face. (Look at it sideways and you see two eyes, a nose, and a smiling mouth.)

If you type an emoticon Word, it is automatically transformed into a "dingbat" character that shows the smiling face, frowning face, or neutral face. The following are the different emoticons and how they are converted:

Emoticon Equivalent Dingbat
:) smiling face
:-) smiling face
:( frowning face
:-( frowning face
:| neutral face
:-| neutral face

The actual conversion of the emoticons to their dingbat equivalents is done through the AutoCorrect feature of Word. If you don't want the conversion to take place, you can do the following:

  1. Choose AutoCorrect from the Tools menu. Word displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  2. Make sure the AutoCorrect tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The AutoCorrect tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.

  4. In the list of replacements at the bottom of the dialog box, choose the emoticon you don't want converted. (Hint: All the emoticons are near the beginning of the replacement list.)
  5. Click the Delete button. The emoticon replacement is deleted.
  6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any other emoticons you want deleted.
  7. Click on the OK button.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (71) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Emoticons in Word.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 3?

2018-03-24 00:51:33

jonathan

On this website you can copy all the new emojis and paste them on any place you want, it is very useful 🙂
https://www.davidmojo.com/llena-de-emojis-flechas-lineas-simbolos-facebook-instagram-twitter-y-whatsapp#emojis


2017-01-31 07:09:53

POOPwc

A arrow command is: <-- for a arrow


2016-06-12 19:15:56

Kayo

:)


2016-06-05 02:40:56

Josephina

I still don't know how to do it and I read it all! twice!


2016-05-29 05:13:53

Rebecca Flood

:)


2016-05-23 15:26:12

Clint

Is there one for the smerk : oor :- emoticon?


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