WD98: Adding AutoText to the AutoText Menu

• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Word provides a set of predefined AutoText submenus (groupings). Each of these submenus is defined by a style name. The following table lists the predefined AutoText submenus and their drop-down lists.

   AutoText submenu         AutoText drop-down menu
   ------------------------------------------------

   Attention Line           Attention:, ATTN:

   Closing                  Best regards, Best wishes, Cordially, Love,
                            Regards, Respectfully yours, Respectfully,
                            Sincerely yours, Sincerely, Take care,
                            Thank you, Thanks, Yours truly

   Header/Footer            -Page-, Author Page # Date, Confidential Page #
                            Date, Created by, Created on, Filename,
                            Filename and path, Last printed, Last saved by,
                            Page X of Y

   Mailing Instructions     CERTIFIED MAIL, CONFIDENTIAL, PERSONAL,
                            REGISTERED MAIL, SPECIAL DELIVERY, VIA
                            AIRMAIL, VIA FACSIMILE, VIA OVERNIGHT MAIL

   Reference Initials       Author's initials. Taken from Initials box on
                            the User Information tab (click Preferences on
                            the Tools menu).

   Reference Line           In reply to:, RE:, Reference:

   Salutation               Dear Mom and Dad, Dear Sir or Madam:,
                            Ladies and Gentlemen:, To Whom It May Concern:

   Signature                Author's name. Taken from Name box on the User
                            Information tab (click Preferences on the Tools
                            menu).

   Signature Company        Author's company; Taken from Mailing Address
                            box on the User Information tab (click
                            Preferences on the Tools menu).

   Subject Line             Subject:

The AutoText drop-down lists are created with text that has been formatted with the appropriate style name and saved as an AutoText entry.

For example: The submenu "Subject Line" is a style name. The drop-down "Subject:" is text that has the "Subject Line" style applied to it.

To create AutoText entries that appear in the AutoText drop-down list, first create a style, and then create an AutoText entry using the new style.

To Create a New AutoText Entry in the AutoText Drop-Down List

NOTE: The following steps will add a new AutoText entry to the AutoText drop-down list in your Normal template (the default template in Word). If you want your AutoText entry available only when you are working from a particular template, then open the template file before proceeding with the following steps.

1. You can use either an existing style, or you can use the following steps to create a new style for your AutoText entry:

       a. On the Format menu, click Style.
   

       b. Click the New button.
   

       c. In the Name box, type a name for your new AutoText style, and then
          click to select the Add To Template check box.
   

       d. Use the Format button to make any formatting changes, and then
          click OK.
   

       e. Click Close.
   

2. To create a new AutoText drop-down list with one entry, follow these steps:

       a. Type the item you want to add to the AutoText drop-down list.
   

       b. Select the item.
   

       c. Apply the style you created in Step 1, or use an existing style.
   

       d. On the Insert menu, point to AutoText, and click New.
   

       e. Type a unique name for the AutoText entry and click OK.
   

To Change the Name of an Existing AutoText Submenu

When you add a new AutoText submenu (for example, when you use the steps in the "To Create a New AutoText Entry in the AutoText Drop-Down List" section of this article), the submenu is created as a result of a style. This style is actually stored as part of the AutoText entry, and will remain as part of the AutoText entry even if the style is renamed or deleted from the document or template. Note that the AutoText submenu does not appear on the AutoText list in the Organizer. It is not possible to rename the AutoText submenu. You must delete the AutoText entries that reside under the AutoText submenu, and you must then create a new AutoText submenu using a different or renamed style.

To Delete an Existing AutoText Submenu and Its Entries

To delete an AutoText submenu and its entries, follow these steps:

1. On the Insert menu, point to AutoText, and then click AutoText.

2. On the AutoText tab, click to select the AutoText entry that appears under the AutoText submenu, and then click Delete. Repeat this step for each of the AutoText entries that appear on the AutoText submenu, and then click OK.

To Use the AutoTextList Field

The AutoTextList field is a new field in Word 98 that displays a list of AutoText entries formatted with the same style as the field code. The field uses the following syntax:

   {AUTOTEXTLIST "<LiteralText>" \s ["<StyleName>"] \t ["<TipText>"]}

   Instruction         Explanation
   -------------------------------

   "<LiteralText>"     Text that appears in the document before the user
                       displays the drop-down list. If the text contains
                       spaces, enclose it in quotation marks.

   "<StyleName>"       The name of the style of the AutoText entries that
                       you want to appear in the list. If the style name
                       contains spaces, enclose it in quotation marks.

   "<TipText>"         Text that appears in the screen tip when the mouse
                       pointer hovers over the field result. Enclose the
                       text in quotation marks.

   Switches            Explanation
   --------            -----------

   \s                  Specifies that the list will contain entries based
                       on a specific style. Without this switch, AutoText
                       entries of the current paragraph style appear. If
                       there are no entries for the current style, all
                       AutoText entries appear.

   \t                  Specifies unique text to show in the screen tip
                       instead of the default tip.

To Create the AutoTextList Field

To create the AutoTextList field, follow these steps:

1. On the Insert menu, click Field.

2. Under Categories, click Links And References.

3. Under Field Names, click AutoTextList.

4. Click after the field name in the Field Codes box, and then type the text you want to appear on the screen within quotation marks, for example, type:

   "Sign Here"

5. Click the Options button.

6. Click the Field Specific Switches tab.

7. Under Switches, select the \s switch and click Add To Field.

8. Click OK.

9. In the Field Code box, type the name of the style in quotation marks, for example, type:

   "Signature"

10. Click Options.

11. Click the Field Specific Switches tab.

12. Under Switches, select the \t switch and click Add To Field.

13. In the Field Code box, type the tip text within quotation marks, for example, "Right-click to display list of Signature AutoText." The tip text will appear when the mouse pointer hovers over the AutoTextList field.

14. Click OK twice

Notes

• To display the AutoText toolbar, point to AutoText on the Insert menu, click AutoText, and then click Show Toolbar.
• If you delete all of the AutoText entries using a specific style, the submenu for these AutoText entries will be removed from the AutoText menu.

ScreenTips

To enable ScreenTips, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect, and then click the AutoText tab.

2. Click to select the "Show AutoComplete tip for AutoText and dates" check box, and then click OK.

REFERENCES

For more information about Autotext, click Contents And Index on the Help menu, click the Index button in Word Help, type the following text

   autotext