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: Deleting an AutoText Building Block.

Deleting an AutoText Entry

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 21, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There are several reasons why you would want to remove an AutoText entry. The biggest reason is that you just don't need the entry any more. For instance, you may have defined a group of AutoText entries for a particular job you were doing. When the job is over, it is best to remove the AutoText entries. To remove AutoText entries, follow these steps:

Select the AutoText option from the Insert menu, and then choose the AutoText option from the resulting submenu. Word displays the AutoText tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The AutoText tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.

Select the name of your AutoText from the name list. You can use the preview area to make sure you selected the right AutoText name.
Click on the Delete button and your entry vanishes.
Click on OK to close the AutoCorrect dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1105) 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: Deleting an AutoText Building Block.

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

Advanced Filtering

Many people know how to use AutoFilter, but there are times when you need some more filtering muscle. Here's how you can ...

Discover More

Printing in Black and White and Color

Excel can print your worksheets in either black and white or color. If you want to print everything in black and white ...

Discover More

Error Generated when Trying to Copy a Worksheet

How successful you are in copying information in Excel depends on lots of issues. This tip examines how those issues can ...

Discover More

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!

More WordTips (menu)

System Won't Save AutoText

In some instances, Word may actually refuse to save any of your AutoText entries in the Normal.dot template. There are a ...

Discover More

Storing AutoText Entries with a Document

AutoText entries can provide quite a bit of flexibility and power in a document. If you want to share those entries with ...

Discover More

Editing an AutoText Entry

Once you've created an AutoText entry, you may believe that it is "set in stone" and cannot be changed. Not so! You can ...

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 8 - 1?

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.