Ensuring Consistent References with AutoText

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 11, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There are many times when you are putting together a document that you need to make sure that certain references are consistent. For instance, you may need to refer to a particular tolerance on a piece of machinery, and it is imperative that the references be precise and accurate throughout the document.

There are several ways you can handle this situation using Word. One handy way to do it is to use the AutoText feature in Word. When you first use your value or text, assign it to an AutoText entry. (Exactly how you create AutoText entries is discussed in other issues of WordTips.) For instance, you might assign 45,000 to the AutoText name n45. Then, whenever you type n45, you can press F3 and the name is expanded to the full number. To provide even greater flexibility, you can bypass the F3 method and follow these steps:

At the first instance of the reference, define the AutoText value as you normally would.
At the next point where you need the same value or text, insert a field by pressing Ctrl+F9.
Within the field, type AUTOTEXT [name], where [name] is the name of the AutoText entry you defined in step 1.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each occurrence of the value or text.

This obviously is a bit more work than simply pressing F3 to expand an AutoText entry. The advantage of using AutoText in this way is that it can be easily updated. Simply change the AutoText entry, update your fields, and all instances are automatically changed throughout the document. If you use the F3 approach, your AutoText entry cannot be automatically updated.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1532) 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

Highlighting Information Using Shading

Need to draw attention to some text in your document? You can do it by applying some fast and easy shading to your text.

Discover More

Automatic Page Numbers across Multiple Documents

Word allows you to specify the starting page number for a document, which comes in handy if you have multiple documents ...

Discover More

Using Multiple Tables of Contents

Adding multiple tables of contents is a must for some types of document design. Here's a great overview of how you can ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Getting the Proper Type of Ellipses

Type three periods in a row, and the AutoCorrect feature in Word kicks in to exchange that sequence for a special ...

Discover More

Understanding Click and Type

The Click and Type feature of Word allows you to use the mouse to click somewhere on a blank page, and then begin typing. ...

Discover More

Quickly Finding Synonyms

If you need to find some synonyms for a specific word in your document, here's how you can do it. (Hint: All you need to ...

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 5 - 3?

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.