Disable AutoCorrect's automatic capitalization in Word

by Mary Ann Richardson | Aug 24, 2005 12:21:00 AM

Tags: Word processors, Microsoft Office, Mary Ann Richardson, Disable AutoCorrect, Microsoft Word, AutoCorrect tab, automatic capitalization, AutoCorrect Exceptions, Microsoft Office Suite Word Tips Newsletter

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Takeaway: Although Microsoft Word's features are often quite useful, sometimes you may find that a feature is superfluous to your task at hand. For instance, if you want to disable Word's automatic capitalization feature in AutoCorrect, this tip will show you how.

While Microsoft Word's automatic capitalization feature can come in handy at times, it can often become superfluous. For example, if you're entering columns separated by tabs, Word capitalizes the first word in each line by default.

However, you can disable this AutoCorrect feature. To turn off automatic capitalization, follow these steps:

Go to Tools | AutoCorrect Options.
On the AutoCorrect tab, deselect the Capitalize First Letter Of Sentences check box, and click OK.

You can also use this method to prevent Word from capitalizing the first letter entered in a table by deselecting the Capitalize First Letter Of Table Cells check box on the AutoCorrect tab.

By default, Word also capitalizes the first word following an abbreviation ending in a period�unless you've added that abbreviation to the AutoCorrect exceptions. For example, if your company's name includes Ltd., Word will automatically capitalize any word following the abbreviation.

To prevent this capitalization, you must add Ltd. to the AutoCorrect Exceptions list. Follow these steps:

Go to Tools | AutoCorrect Options.
On the AutoCorrect tab, click the Exceptions button.
Under the First Letter tab, enter Ltd. in the Don't Capitalize After text box, and click Add, and click OK twice.

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