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: Backing Up Your AutoCorrect Entries.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 27, 2016)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
AutoCorrect is a very productive feature in Word that allows you to compensate for your inadequacies as a typist :>). Since it is possible to spend a great deal of time tweaking your AutoCorrect entries so they are just right, some WordTips readers have questioned how to back up the information in case they need to move it to a freshly formatted hard drive or a new install of Word.
AutoCorrect information is not only used by Word, but also by other Office applications such as Excel and PowerPoint. The result of this sharing means you need to look in several places to gather all the AutoCorrect information and back it up. AutoCorrect information that is shared between Office applications is stored in files with the ACL extension. If you want to make a copy of your shared AutoCorrect information, all you need to do is use Find File to locate files with this extension and copy them to a floppy or some other storage device.
In addition to the shared AutoCorrect entries, Word also uses its own special AutoCorrect features. This is for corrections that would not make sense in other Office programs, such as formatted text and graphics. These AutoCorrect entries are stored in templates, typically the Normal template. According to some reports they can also be stored in other templates as well. If you want to make copies of this AutoCorrect information, simply make copies of any file with the DOT extension.
Finally, some AutoCorrect settings are only on/off settings. For instance, you can set whether Word capitalizes the names of days or corrects two initial capitals. These AutoCorrect settings are stored in the Windows Registry. If you want to make copies of this information, there is no real way to do it without copying at least a portion of the Registry. This, of course, could have severe repercussions when you later restore the Registry information in an attempt to reclaim the AutoCorrect settings.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1094) 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: Backing Up Your AutoCorrect Entries.
Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!
Section marks are used regularly in the writings of some industries, such as in legal documents. If you need a way to ...
Discover MoreAbbreviations appear all over the place in our society. If you want to understand how Word recognizes them (which it has ...
Discover MoreWord's AutoCorrect feature can be a great tool to improve your writing. Depending on the type of writing you do, you may ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2019-03-14 18:33:26
Richard Ong
Henri, I bought a new computer and get the same result (with my Word installation on the new computer) as below.
My
MSO1033.ACL file in
C:\Users\User-Name\Appdata\Roaming\Microsoft\Office
is the one that changes if I make a change to my autocorrect list (Word 2003).
If your attempted change was not successful, that might explain why the date on your ACL file does NOT change. However, I can't believe you have not made a change to your autocorrect entries for a year!!
Check the properties of your year-old file to make sure it's not read-only although I can't think of how you could have made that change by accident.
2019-03-12 05:59:46
Henri van den Hombergh
I added a new entry to my auto-correct in MS Word, then search for .ACL files but one with the date of today does not show up, only one I saved almost a year ago. Can you provde the path where normally I find the latest ACL file?
2019-01-19 22:28:13
Richard Ong
This was very helpful.
I searched for all the autocorrect files you describe in this article and there were about 14 such files (*.ACL) used by Microsoft Office 2003. I am mostly concerned about transferring my Autocorrect entries for Word so in Word 2003 I added an entry to my Autocorrect entries and then exited from that window. I searched again for all the *.ACL files on the Word 2003 system and noted which one was time stamped just a minute or so prior. For Word 2003, this file was MSO1033.ACL in C:\Users\User-Name\Appdata\Roaming\Microsoft\Office. I copied this to the other computer as before and renamed the MSO1033.ACL file in that same directory and then copied my MSO1033.ACL file from the old computer to the above-described directory on my new computer with Word 2007 installed (all with Word 2007 being closed).
Checking the list of Autocorrect entries after restarting Word 2007, I found my Word 2003 list nice as you please.
2019-01-19 22:26:44
Richard Ong
This was very helpful.
I searched for all the autocorrect files you describe in this article and there were about 14 such files (*.ACL) used by Microsoft Office 2003. I am mostly concerned about transferring my Autocorrect entries for Word so in Word 2003 I added an entry to my Autocorrect entries and then exited from that window. I searched again for all the *.ACL files on the Word 2003 system and noted which one was time stamped just a minute or so prior. For Word 2003, this file was MSO1033.ACL in C:\Users\User-Name\Appdata\Roaming\Microsoft\Office. I copied this to the other computer as before and renamed the MSO1033.ACL file in that same directory and then copied my MSO1033.ACL file from the old computer to the above-described directory on my new computer with Word 2007 installed (all with Word 2007 being closed).
Checking the list of Autocorrect entries after restarting Word 2007, I found my Word 2003 list nice as you please.
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.
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:
Comments