I just joined and have a question.
When I switched from XP to Vista I brought my spreadsheets with me. It pretty much works the same on the new system except when I start typing in a word that I've used before it doesn't go ahead and spell it out. Is there a setting to change that?
Thanks,
Rock
Rock, Vista is very different from XP (unfortunately), in regard to this function. It took me a looooong time to figure out how to do it, but I think I have the solution.
Although XP's "Auto-Complete" has been completely changed in Vista, (and basically rendered useless, for my purposes), you can get essentially the same function using Vista's "AutoCorrect." Here's how:
From any Excel (or Word) page, click the Office logo, then, at the bottom of the screen, Excel Options (or Word Options).
Select: the Proofing tab.
Select: AutoCorrect Options. When the window opens, in the AutoCorrect section, go down to "Replace text as you type," and enter the shortcut text you want to use for your phrase, in the "Replace" box.
Then enter the whole phrase in the "With" box. (For example, in Word, if you wanted to have the system type out: "Dear Sir or Madam," -- you could type "dear" into the Replace box, and the full phrase in the With box. Then, any time you typed the word 'dear' -- once you pressed the space bar or the Enter key, the whole phrase would automatically be entered into your text.)
Click: the Add button near the bottom of the window.
Click: OK to close the AutoCorrect window then close Excel Options (Word Options).
I have a huge, long list of items in AutoCorrect, and add new ones all the time. By the way, for me, I found that it is more effective to make the shortcut (Replace) entry an actual word, rather than just the first few letters of the first word, because when I'm actually in Word (or Excel) wanting to insert the phrase, I rarely remember to type just those first few letters and then to hit the space bar or the Enter key -- in order to trigger the AutoCorrect. Rather, if I type out the first complete word, I automatically hit the space bar or Enter key -- so I always get the full phrase. In other words, if you don't hit the space bar or Enter key after you type the shortcut letters, AutoCorrect doesn't work.
And by the way, you can also get essentially the same function with forms and passwords: Do the following: from any IE internet page (I use IE8, but the other IE versions work in a similar fashion) click on Tools, Internet Options, Content. Select Auto-Complete, and click on Settings. Check everything.
