The AutoText feature has been available in Word for quite some time. Beginning with Word 2000, if you choose AutoText from the Insert menu, you can see a series of submenu choices that appear to categorize all the AutoText entries available to you. At first glance, these categories may seem a bit strange, and you might wonder how you can add your own categories.
Word comes with some built-in categories that are designed for the built-in AutoText entries in Word. If you want to create your own categories, simply make sure that the text you add as an AutoText entry is formatted with a style that matches the name of the category you want. Sound confusing? Perhaps an example will help.
Let's suppose you have some text that is formatted with a paragraph style called "My Paragraph." If you create an AutoText entry from that text, it will end up listed in a category called My Paragraph. Likewise, an AutoText entry originally formatted with the Header style would end up in a category called Header.
The upshot of this is that if you don't use styles, you can't organize your AutoText entries into categories. This is because the default style (Normal) is typically used as a starting point for most people doing explicit formatting. When you add the text as an AutoText entry, you guessed it—it goes into a category called Normal.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (485) applies to Microsoft Word 2000, 2002, and 2003.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!
Many people create tables and store those tables in AutoText entries for later use. If the formatting of those tables ...
Discover MoreIf you use AutoText entries a lot, you may wonder if you can change the formatting stored with your existing entries. The ...
Discover MoreOnce you've created an AutoText entry, you may believe that it is "set in stone" and cannot be changed. Not so! You can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments