Renaming an AutoText Entry

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 27, 2019)

You already know that Word allows you to create special AutoText entries that you can use in other parts of your document. Once you have defined AutoText entries, you might need to rename them later. There are two ways you can go about renaming AutoText entries. The first is to follow these general steps:

Insert the AutoText entry in a document.
Select the information just inserted.
Create a new AutoText entry using the new name.
Delete the old AutoText entry.

The second way is to use the Organizer. Follow these steps:

Start the Organizer.
Make sure the AutoText tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The AutoText tab of the Organizer.

Use the pull-down lists on either the left or right sides of the dialog box to indicate the template or document whose AutoText entries you want to rename.
If you cannot locate the desired template or document using the pull-down lists, click on the Close button on one side to "free up" an area. Then click on the Open button to locate and open the desired template or document.
Select the AutoText entry you want to rename.
Click on the Rename button. The Organizer prompts you for a new name.
Enter a new name for the AutoText entry, clicking on OK when done.
Repeat steps 5 through 7 for each AutoText entry you want to rename.
Click on Close when done.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1856) 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...

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