First Letter of Sentence or Paragraph Not Always Capitalized

 Last reviewed: February 5, 1998
Article ID: Q116217
6.00 6.00a 6.00c 7.00 WINDOWS kbusage kbprb

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
  • Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

Word does not always capitalize the first letter of a sentence or paragraph, even when the "Capitalize First Letter of Sentences" option is turned on under AutoCorrect.

For example, Word does not capitalize a word that appears after two or more abbreviated letters, like U.S.A., even if the first word after the abbreviation is in a separate paragraph.

Word may capitalize only the first item in a list series, such as: 

   Cat
   dog
   rabbit
This may also occur if the preceding sentence end with a space and then a period. For example: 

   This is the first sentence .
   this is the second sentence with no capitalization.

CAUSE

This behavior is by design in Word for Windows version 6.0. The AutoCorrect feature does not interpret abbreviations or short phrases as constituting sentences.

WORKAROUND

Type the capital letter, or select the first letter and press SHIFT+F3 to change the capitalization.

KBCategory: kbusage kbprb
KBSubcategory: kbformat
Additional reference words: 6.00 6.00a autocorrect capital capitals capitol
6.00c 7.00 word95 word7 word6 winword sentence case capitalize uppercase
lowercase

Keywords : kbformat
Version : 6.00 6.00a 6.00c 7.00
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: February 5, 1998
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