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: Turning Off Capital Corrections.

Turning Off Capital Corrections

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 18, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word tries its level best to be a good guesser at what you are trying to do. For instance, as you are typing along, if you type a word where the first two letters are uppercase, and the next letter is lowercase, Word will figure you just have slow fingers and didn't release the Shift key in time to make the second letter lowercase. So, it dutifully changes the second letter to lowercase to help you out. For instance, the word PLace becomes Place.

There are some situations where this behavior can be bothersome, however. For instance, you may have a company or product name in which the first two letters are always capitalized, such as INtec or MYphone. In these cases, Word also tries to do its magic and change the capitalization, which can cause no end to proofreading passes and related problems.

One solution to this problem is to turn off the correction that Word does to your words. (At least for this particular capitalization issue.) Here's how you do it:

  1. Choose AutoCorrect from the Tools menu. (In Word 2003 choose AutoCorrect Options from the Tools menu.) Word displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  2. Make sure the AutoCorrect tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The AutoCorrect tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.

  4. Clear the Correct TWo INitial Capitals check box.
  5. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (481) 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: Turning Off Capital Corrections.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Allowing Only Comments In a Document

Develop a document that is to be reviewed by a group of people, and you may want to protect it in some way. One way you ...

Discover More

Using a Single Password for Multiple Workbooks

While password protecting a workbook does provide some security for the contents in the workbook, if you have several ...

Discover More

Checking for Missing Quotation Marks

Word provides handy spelling and grammar checkers. The grammar checker won't catch everything, however. One thing it ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Removing Confusion When Using AutoCorrect

AutoCorrect is a great help when writing, as it can allow you to create regular blocks of text easily. This can cause ...

Discover More

Automatic Initial Capitals in Tables

Have you ever started typing words in a table, only to find that Word automatically capitalizes the first word in each ...

Discover More

Managing the AutoCorrect List

If you need to delete all the entries in your AutoCorrect list, the easiest way to do so is with a macro. This tip ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 2 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.