Sharing AutoText Entries

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 4, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

David wondered if there is a way that a small group of workers can share the same set of AutoText entries, without each of them needing to set up their own entries.

AutoText entries are stored in templates. Even if you don't specify a particular template to be the recipient of a new AutoText entry, it is still stored in a template—the Normal.dot template.

If you want to share AutoText entries, the key is to get the entries out of the Normal.dot template and into a different template that you can all share. Suppose, for a moment, that you store the AutoText entries in a template called Group.dot. This template could be stored in a mutually accessible network folder, and then referenced by a shortcut in each user's Startup folder. (That's the Word Startup folder, which is identified by choosing Tools | Options | File Locations and looking at the Startup entry.)

In order to put AutoText entries into the shared Group.dot template, you can either create them from scratch and specify that they be placed there, or you can use the Organizer to transfer the AutoText entries from one template (such as Normal.dot) to another (such as the shared template).

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (345) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Sorting by Headings

Headings are a great way to organize your document. If, after getting your headings in place, you want to sort by those ...

Discover More

Adding Parentheses

Need to add parentheses around some word or phrase? Here's a quick macro that makes this simple edit in one step.

Discover More

Creating a Table Using the Keyboard

Want to easily add a table to your document simply by typing a few keystrokes? Here's how you can do it in one easy step.

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Backing Up Your AutoText Entries

Got a bunch of AutoText entries defined for your system? You'll undoubtedly want to back them up at some time. Here's how ...

Discover More

Sharing AutoText Entries in a Network

Creating AutoText entries can be a great way to improve your productivity with Word. At some point you may want to share ...

Discover More

Macro-Inserted AutoText Doesn't Set Style

Inserting AutoText from a macro can give unwanted results, particularly when it comes to any style that may be stored ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is nine more than 7?

2019-11-04 14:50:28

Cathy

I have AutoText for a specific report. I have a template for that report. The AutoText is not in the Normal template, only in the report template. In the past, doing a "Save As" with a new file name for a template kept the AutoText. So if I had Report Template 2018-07-02 and saved it as Report Template 2018-09-06, the AutoText was in both files. Now when I save the template with a new name, all the AutoText disappears.

I've seen recommendations, such as yours above, to use the Organizer. But it no longer has an AutoText tab. How can we copy AutoText to a new template? There are many, many entries I need to move forward into each new iteration. Re-copying all the entries each time I edit and update the template is not an option. This has been wreaking havoc with use for over a year and seemed to be triggered with a newer version of Word. Thanks for your help.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.