If you've ever wondered why Word changes your asterisks into bullets, your e-mail addresses into hyperlinks, or UMass to Umass, AutoCorrect is the place to look. You can also use a very handy feature of AutoCorrect to automatically change some unique abbreviation into a longer word or phrase that you have to type frequently. Here's how.

1. Go to Tools-->AutoCorrect (in Word 2007, Microsoft Office Button-->Word Options, then select "Proofing," and then "AutoCorrect Options").
2. Notice the options on the first tab and decide if you like the feature or not. Check or uncheck as desired.
3. Check out the extensive list of AutoCorrect's frequent typos. You may have noticed that if you mistype something, it will automatically correct itself before you get back to do it yourself. You can harness this power to create your own auto replace shortcuts.
   • For example, perhaps you'd like to type hacu and have it expand into School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies. Simply type “hacu” (no quotes) in the “Replace” box, and “School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies” in the “With” box. Click “Add”.
   • If a particular shortcut is not helpful to you, you can simply delete it by highlighting the list entry, then clicking on the “Delete” button.
4. Now click on the “AutoFormat As You Type” tab and see the behaviors here that are under your control. Many people find the Automatic Numbered Lists to be more annoying than helpful. If you are one of these people, uncheck the option. Most Word documents are printed, so there is rarely a good reason to have e-mail and web addresses converted to clickable hyperlinks. If you agree, uncheck this option.

Now, explore a bit further on your own and exercise a little more control over Word.  If you have more questions about how to do something in Microsoft Word, call the IT Help Desk.