MTips E-Zine

Newsletter for MT’s using MS Word

Vol 1 No 3 March 31, 2001

Laura Bryan Editor

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Table of Contents:

1. Feature Article: AutoCorrect: Do You Love It or Hate It?

2. QuickTakes-Keyboarding Tips: Navigating Dialogue Boxes

3. Technical Advice: Free Backup Utility

4. Bloopers

5. Other Sites To See

Be sure to check out this week’s special book price!

AutoCorrect: Do You Love It or Hate It?

AutoCorrect can be one of MS Word’s most time-saving features, but it can also be frustrating. Many people use AutoCorrect for correcting typos as well as their sole text expander. Others are annoyed by its constant presence and lack of versatility. Unlike AutoText or a third-party text expander which gives you the option to "expand" or "change", AutoCorrect "always" makes the correction (although you can quickly reverse an AutoCorrect expansion using CTL+Z). I used AutoCorrect as a text expander in the past, but eventually I became frustrated with its limitations and lack of flexibility. An abbreviation like "ad" could work for several common phrases (Alzheimer’s disease, axillary dissection, acute distress), not to mention the fact that "ad" is used as a short form for advertisement. Finding variations on the theme to accommodate several phrases kept me confused and always guessing. Since I began using a text expander, I have never regretted the time spent making the transition. Now, I use a combination of Instant Text, AutoCorrect and AutoText, and I have unlimited flexibility along with good computer performance.

For those dedicated AC users, you need to be aware of two issues: AutoCorrect file size limitations and vulnerability. According to the Microsoft Knowledge Base, each AC entry uses a minimum of 4 bytes of local memory. A large AC file (e.g. 7000 entries) can easily take up nearly half of the 64K local memory heap allocated to MS Word. Since other features also use local memory, you may begin to get "out of memory" error codes. At the very least, your computer’s performance will begin to suffer.

The second caution concerns vulnerability. AutoCorrect data is vulnerable to viruses because it is "attached" to the normal.dot. Formatted AutoCorrect entries (including those containing paragraph marks) are stored in the normal.dot. Therefore, both the AC file and the normal.dot file need to be backed up regularly to ensure the safety of your AutoCorrect data. The normal.dot is a potential target for viruses, because it is essential to the operation of Word. With the increasing use of the internet in medical transcription, protecting your data from viruses and keeping backups is more important than ever before. For general advice on backing up your computer information, read Bob’s technical advice article below. For information about backing up or moving the AutoCorrect file, refer to these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

The backup utility described in the Knowledge Base articles above creates a normal Word document with the AutoCorrect entries in table format. You can open and view this document as you would any other Word document.

In the next issue: AutoCorrect, AutoText or InstantText: How Do I Choose?

This week only, subscribers to MTips E-Zine will receive a $5 discount on the purchase of

"Make It Your Own-Productivity Manual for MS Word"

now only

$24.99

Reference code MT501 when you check out through the online store or

include with your mail-in order. Offer expires April 8, 2001.

(see information and links below)

QuickTakes-Keyboarding Tips

Navigating Dialogue Boxes

In the last issue, we talked about opening menus and dialogue boxes with the keyboard. To navigate dialogue boxes without the mouse, again you use the ALT key. Every option in a dialogue box will have an underlined letter. Pressing the ALT key in conjunction with the underlined letter will activate that option. If there is a drop down "pick list" associated with the option, use the down arrow key to open the pick list and make your selection. You can also use the tab key to jump from one option to another within a dialogue box and then use the spacebar to select/deselect options marked with a bubble or check box. If a dialogue box has several tabs, use CTL+tab to change the active tab. Pressing Esc will close the dialogue box without affecting any changes. Pressing Enter will affect the changes and close the dialogue box.

Technical Advice

From Bob’s PCWerks

"Backup" is a great utility supplied by Microsoft. It will allow you to backup as much as your entire hard drive or as little as just one file. It's free and can be used with or without a tape drive to store critical data on disks or network hard drives. When loaded, Backup is found under Accessories/System tools.

In Windows95 through Windows98SE and NT, this utility is not originally installed, but you can add it by going to START/Settings/Control panel then double click on the "Add and remove programs" icon. You then select the center tab on the top that says "Windows Setup". Double click "System Tools" and check any component you wish to add (in this case Backup). Windows will prompt you for the install disk to add the utility.

In Windows Millennium Edition, the process is slightly different. You insert the CD first. Go to Explore (My Computer) and select the CD-ROM drive. Go to

Add-Ons/MS Backup folder and double click on Msbexp.exe . This will install the utility.

This Week’s Blooper:

"First name Victor, spelled V as in Victor…"

"That’s Catherine with a ‘C’, spelled K-a-t-h-e-r-i-n-e"

Other Sites to See:

MTWerks is your resource for using MSWord for Medical Transcription.

We hope you enjoy your subscription to MTips E-Zine. If you like the information here, check out our book "Make It Your Own-Productivity Manual for MS Word" which is full of ideas for working faster and smarter! Great for "Newbies" and Veterans, alike. To learn more about the book or the "Make It Your Own Productivity Seminar", see

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