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MS Office Forum / Word / Long Documents / December 2003Auto text: What did Word 2002 do to it?
Another question that doesn't really fit "longdocs," but doesn't really fit anywhere else either. I have about a dozen autotext entries which I tend to use in every type of document I write. I'm accustomed to insert one by pressing "<Alt> I A X <name of autotext entry> <Enter>. In Word 2002 it doesn't work. The autotext entries are there, all right, but Word won't open the autotext dialog box. When I press "<Alt> I A" I get a weirdly structured menu of autotext entries, headed with the "autotext" item which should open the dialog box; then I press "X" and get nothing. Word just closes the menu again. The same thing happens if I click the "autotext" item with the mouse. Have they changed the rules for this feature, too? Or is it just broken? My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. Hi, Jonathan, The feature hasn't changed, nor is it "broken" in the sense of "buggy". But your installation may be damaged. Try the procedure listed at http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm -- even though this isn't an "opening Word" problem, the same troubleshooting steps will help you determine whether normal.dot or an add-in is corrupted and causing the behavior. >Another question that doesn't really fit "longdocs," but doesn't >really fit anywhere else either. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word >Hi, Jonathan, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >steps will help you determine whether normal.dot or an add-in is >corrupted and causing the behavior. Thanks for your suggestion. I tried opening Word without templates per the instructions, but it did not help. (At least, I THINK it did not help. When there are no templates, there are, ipso facto, no autotext entries, and perhaps Word intentionally does not open the dialog box in that case. If so, this diagnostic is not useful for this purpose.) Working through the other suggested steps, I skipped the part about the Registry key (see below). The network printer part does not apply because my default printer is a local printer. I am using Norton AntiVirus, but I'm pretty sure that is not the problem because I'm not getting the error message the article mentions, or any other. My version of Adobe Reader (I assume that's what it means by "Adobe Acrobat") is 6.0, so the stuff about upgrading to 5.0.5 doesn't apply. Now, regarding the possibly corrupted Data key in the Registry. The instructions talk casually about possibly fixing problems by deleting only the subkey for Settings, or Toolbars, etc. That rings alarm bells for me! It sounds like this registry key records all of the customization I did for Word when I got my computer. If so, it is not something I care to destroy! Frankly, if deleting it did fix my autotext problem, the cure would be much worse than the disease. If the problem is in the Registry (and at this point I'm only speculating that it is), I must either find a less destructive way to fix it, or conclude that it cannot be fixed. My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. > When there are no templates, there are, ipso facto, no autotext > entries, and perhaps Word intentionally does not open the dialog box Not quite true. When you open Word with the /a switch, you load it without your customized Normal.dot, Registry customizations, and global templates and add-ins. This causes Word to use its built-in, hard-coded defaults, *which include the built-in AutoText entries.* If you access the AutoText dialog by any built-in method (not a custom keyboard shortcut), you will see those entries. Rebuilding the Registry Data key does not affect AutoText entries (which are stored in Normal.dot or another template), macros, keyboard shortcuts, styles, toolbar customizations, or any other customizations stored in templates. It does affect the settings you've changed in Tools | Options and Tools | AutoCorrect Options and AutoFormat As You Type. For more, see What exactly does the Data Key in the Registry store? I have been told I have a corrupt Data Key in my registry and need to delete it; what settings will I lose; and can I back them up so I can restore them later? http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/DataKeySettings.htm -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word)  SignatureWords into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. > >Hi, Jonathan, > > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. Hi Jonathan, > Now, regarding the possibly corrupted Data key in the Registry. The > instructions talk casually about possibly fixing problems by deleting > only the subkey for Settings, or Toolbars, etc. If the article says the key ought to be deleted, then I consider that a serious fault. It should advise the user to back up the key, first. I suggest you send an article to the site administrator asking for this to be changed... > Word won't open the autotext dialog box. When I press > "<Alt> I A" I get a weirdly structured menu of autotext entries, > headed with the "autotext" item which should open the dialog box; then > I press "X" and get nothing. Word just closes the menu again. The same > thing happens if I click the "autotext" item with the mouse. Now, I may have missed something in all the various messages that follow this, but: have you tried simply renaming Normal.dot to NormalOLD.dot, then starting Word? If the menu works that will tell us there is a problem in the menus or in the normal.dot template. FWIW, the only way I'm able to duplicate what you're seeing is if the document is in a state where it can't accept AutoText entries (protected as a form, for example). So this does seem to indicate a problem with document state or structure. Cindy Meister >If the article says the key ought to be deleted, then I consider that a >serious fault. It should advise the user to back up the key, first. I >suggest you send an article to the site administrator asking for this >to be changed... I'm going to pass on that because although the article was recommended to me in this forum, it was really written for a different problem. I don't know, perhaps deleting the key is really necessary for that problem. >Now, I may have missed something in all the various messages that follow >this, but: have you tried simply renaming Normal.dot to NormalOLD.dot, >then starting Word? If the menu works that will tell us there is a >problem in the menus or in the normal.dot template. I didn't try that, because the first suggestion I got in this forum was to start Word with the "/a" switch, which, if I understand it correctly, would do the same thing. I tried that, and it did not work. But I tried renaming the normal template as you suggested, and it DID work. So now, at least, I know what is wrong. The next question is what to do about it. Deleting Normal.dot and starting over would be about as destructive as deleting the Registry key. I think I can use the Templates and Add-Ins Organizer to copy my macros, Autotext entries and whatnot from the old template to a new one. Is that likely to work, or will at leave part of the problem unsolved, or create some new problem? Do you know of a better approach? My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. >> If the article says the key ought to be deleted, then I consider >> that a serious fault. It should advise the user to back up the key, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > don't know, perhaps deleting the key is really necessary for that > problem. I suspect it may have been a link on my web site http://www.gmayor.dsl.pipex.com/my_toolbars_are_missing.htm which referred to the deletion of the toolbar sub key of the registry, but that page as you indicated referred to a specific problem. I have however added the warning Cindy referred to. Though for *that* task, it is not going to gain you anything by backing it up. >> Now, I may have missed something in all the various messages that >> follow this, but: have you tried simply renaming Normal.dot to [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > unsolved, or create some new problem? Do you know of a better > approach? Normal.dot, if corrupt, will cause any number of problems. When Word does not see normal.dot in the location set in tools > options > file locations, it will build a new default normal.dot. This will not, of course, contain any of your personalisations that were stored in the older one. If you can still open the old renamed one, then you can, as you have suggested use the organizer to copy across those items that may be copied in this manner from the old one to the new. This will not give you a perfect reconstruction, but it is better than the alternative. If Word has been crashing (I have been away from the newsgroups for a while and have not seen the complete thread) then see also http://www.gmayor.dsl.pipex.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm as inevitably there will be some housekeeping tasks to attend to. > My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. Signature<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<> Graham Mayor - Word MVP E-mail gmayor@mvps.org Web site www.gmayor.dsl.pipex.com Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><< Hi Jonathan, > But I tried renaming the normal template as you suggested, and it DID > work. So now, at least, I know what is wrong. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > unsolved, or create some new problem? Do you know of a better > approach? The main thing you stand to lose are customizations made to your menubar and the built-in toolbars that come with Word. That's one reason why many users who've gone through this before take the time to reconstruct the built-in toolbars as user-defined toolbars (Tools/Customize/Toolbars/New) so that they will be available to copy via the Organizer. It's also the reason people will save toolbar, keyboard and AutoText in a template other than Normal.dot and put that in their Startup folder to be loaded as an Addin. (Macros, too, that don't need to be edited/changed.) There's a tool at http://www.chriswoodman.co.uk to help you copy across the keyboard customizations. But I don't know of any good way to pick up menu customizations. You could TRY loading the older Normal.dot through Tools/Templates and Addins as a global addin. There's an outside chance that this might work (but I wouldn't place any bets on it). Cindy Meister INTER-Solutions, Switzerland http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Sep 30 2003) http://www.mvps.org/word This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail :-) In addition to Jay's advice, note that (a) if the AutoText entry name is at least four characters long (and you have AutoComplete enabled), you will get an AutoComplete tip after you type the first four letters, and you can then insert the entry by pressing Tab or Enter. And you can always insert AutoText by typing the name of the entry and pressing F3. To create new AutoText entries, press Alt+F3, then type the desired name. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) SignatureWords into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. > Another question that doesn't really fit "longdocs," but doesn't > really fit anywhere else either. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. >In addition to Jay's advice, note that (a) if the AutoText entry name is at >least four characters long (and you have AutoComplete enabled), you will get >an AutoComplete tip after you type the first four letters, and you can then >insert the entry by pressing Tab or Enter. And you can always insert >AutoText by typing the name of the entry and pressing F3. To create new >AutoText entries, press Alt+F3, then type the desired name. Thanks for letting me know that the Registry keys don't affectautotext. Now I won't have to waste my energy looking for clever ways to rebuild them without giving Word complete amnesia. The F3 shortcut is probably an adequate substitute, although it forces me to remember all the shortcuts I need to use. Also, how is it going to tell the difference between the "--" shortcut (en dash) and the "---" shortcut (em dash)? I really wish I could fix the problem instead of working around it. My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. Hi Jonathan Am I missing something here? You want to do Alt-I A X <name of autotext> Enter to insert an AutoText. That is exactly the way Word 2002 works out of the box for me. Alt-I opens up the Insert menu. The shortcut for AutoText is A. On the next menu, the first item is AutoText... and its shortcut is x. I now see the AutoCorrect dialog, open at the AutoText tab. I type the name of my AutoText in the "Enter AutoText entries here" box. When Word finds the match, the Insert button becomes the default. So I press Enter and Word inserts the AutoText into my document. Isn't that what you wanted? If Word 2002 isn't working like that for you, then the menu bars have been customized. If that's the case, Tools > Options > Toolbars. Click Menu Bar and then Reset. That would remove any customizations to the top menu bar and would return the menu bar to its out-of-box condition. Hope this helps. Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP. http://www.shaunakelly.com/word Melbourne, Australia > >In addition to Jay's advice, note that (a) if the AutoText entry name is at > >least four characters long (and you have AutoComplete enabled), you will get [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. >Am I missing something here? You want to do Alt-I A X <name of autotext> >Enter to insert an AutoText. > >That is exactly the way Word 2002 works out of the box for me. That is exactly the way it should work. On my system it does not. We are trying to figure out why. >If Word 2002 isn't working like that for >you, then the menu bars have been customized. I think you mean, the menu has been customized, but that is not the problem. There is nothing wrong with the menu, except for the weird structure of the entries under "Insert/Autotext"; the problem is that the "Autotext" item does not open a dialog box as it should. Resetting the menu system would be very disruptive (see my earlier post about the Registry), but I tried resetting the Autotext item, and it didn't help. My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. Hi Jonathan So on your machine, when you do Insert > AutoText, a sub-menu pops up. And that menu lists a lot of styles (Attention Line, Closing etc). But the first item in that sub-menu is *not* AutoText... . If that's so, and you've reset the menu bar, then maybe an add-in is changing your menus. Have a look at http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm to see if there are any add-ins installed. Perhaps one of those is interfering with your menus. Hope this helps. Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP. http://www.shaunakelly.com/word Melbourne, Australia > >Am I missing something here? You want to do Alt-I A X <name of autotext> > >Enter to insert an AutoText. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. >So on your machine, when you do Insert > AutoText, a sub-menu pops up. >And that menu lists a lot of styles (Attention Line, Closing etc). But >the first item in that sub-menu is *not* AutoText... . NO, you seem to be stuck on that idea, and I'm trying to explain that it is not correct. The first item in the submenu is Autotext, but when I select it, I do not get a dialog box. The menu goes away, and nothing more happens. My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. >...how is it going >to tell the difference between the "--" shortcut (en dash) and the >"---" shortcut (em dash)? I experimented with the F3 technique and found the answer: it knows the difference if the shortcut characters are selected, and if they aren't, it doesn't work at all. This is a little more difficult to use than I expected. It is not something I can do without breaking the rhythm of data input or interrupting my train of thought, so it isn't going to be an acceptable substitute for the menu, just a kludge to use until the problem is solved. My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. If you use endash and emdash as the names of the AutoText entries, then typing enda and emda will trigger the AutoComplete tip. FWIW, I've long had shortcut keys assigned to em and en dashes, and they are second nature for me. If many of your AutoText entries are of this nature, you might consider assigning shortcut keys to them. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) SignatureWords into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. > >...how is it going > >to tell the difference between the "--" shortcut (en dash) and the [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. >If you use endash and emdash as the names of the AutoText entries, then >typing enda and emda will trigger the AutoComplete tip. FWIW, I've long had >shortcut keys assigned to em and en dashes, and they are second nature for >me. If many of your AutoText entries are of this nature, you might consider >assigning shortcut keys to them. The font led you astray. The em dash and en dash are the contents of the Autotext entries, not the names. The names are "hyphen hyphen" and "hyphen hyphen hyphen." Cindy helped me identify the cause of the problem with the dialog box (see other posts), so I hope it soon will not be important. My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net. |
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