What is AutoCorrect in Excel and how does it work? certain Tips

Have you ever typed a word into Excel and had it automatically corrected to something else? We know Word files do that but it is possible to add it to Excel as well. This handy feature is AutoCorrect and it can save you a lot of time when typing. Here you can learn how to use AutoCorrect in Excel and prevent any typos that may embarrass you in meetings.

How to enable autocorrect in excel?

AutoCorrect feature replaces common misspellings with the correct spelling. Here we will show you how to turn on AutoCorrect and customize its settings. You will also learn troubleshoot common issues with AutoCorrect in Excel.

What is AutoCorrect in Excel and how does auto spell check in excel work?

AutoCorrect automatically corrects common misspellings as you type. It can also correct capitalization errors and convert words to uppercase or lowercase. For example, if you type “hte” into a cell, AutoCorrect will change it to “the”.

To turn on AutoCorrect, you should go to the File tab and click Options. After that, it is time to select Proofing from the left. Under AutoCorrect options, you can check the boxes next to the types of corrections that you want Excel do for you.

Custom AutoCorrect in Excel

You can also customize the Auto Correct settings for your needs.  If you wanna do this, you can click the AutoCorrect Options button. In the AutoCorrect pop up, you can add words to Auto Correct list as well as exclude words and change the capitalization rules.

How to enable all autocorrect options in excel?

If you find that AutoCorrect is correcting words that you don’t want it to, you can add those words to the Exceptions list. To do this, open the AutoCorrect dialog box and click the Exceptions button. Select the Words in Uppercase or Words with Initial Capital Letters tab in the Excel Options dialog box.

Then, type the word that you want Excel to ignore in the Add Word field and click Add.

how do you stop autocorrect in excel

Finally, if you want Excel to stop correcting words that are spelled correctly, you can turn off the spell checker. For that, you must click on File tab and click Options.

In the Excel Options again, you will select Proofing option. Under When correcting spelling in Excel, uncheck the Check spelling as you type box.

How to use it to correct common mistakes in Excel

Excel can help you fix common mistakes with its AutoCorrect feature.

1. In case you wanna turn on AutoCorrect, then you should go to File > Options > Proofing.
2. Under AutoCorrect options, you can check the Replace Text as You Type and Show AutoCorrect Options buttons boxes.
3. Excel will now automatically correct various errors as you type them. For example, it will fix typos, change straight quotes to curly quotes and more.
4. You can also add your own custom corrections to AutoCorrect. For this, you can go to the Custom tab under AutoCorrect options. And you will enter the text you want to be corrected and changed to.
5. AutoCorrect in Excel by itself can fix common mistakes. You can turn on or off custom corrections whenever you want tough.

How to create custom AutoCorrect entries?

You can create custom AutoCorrect entries for words or phrases you commonly mistype. Or for symbols that are not available on your keyboard, you can make additions. For example, you can create an entry that automatically replaces (c) with the copyright symbol ©.

To create a custom AutoCorrect entry, you can follow below steps.

1. You will click Options on Home.
2. Then, you will Click Proofing.
3. Under AutoCorrect options, find and click AutoCorrect Options.
4. In the AutoCorrect dialog box, you can do one or more of the following:

• Under Correct spelling errors, you should select the Check spelling as you type check box to correct common misspellings automatically. Excel displays wavy red underlines under possible misspelled words.
• In case you wanna correct capitalization automatically as you type, under Capitalize words with initial caps and at the beginnings of sentences, you should select the Capitalize first letter of sentences check box.
• To change straight quotation marks (“) to curly quotation marks (“), and vice versa, you must select the Smart Quotes check box under Replace as you type.
• To automatically add a period after you double-space at the end of a sentence, you should just check the box for “Automatically add periods for me” under Replace as you type.
• In the “With” text box, you can enter what you want Excel to fix whenever you mistype a word or phrase from the “Look up entries” list.
• For instance, if you want Excel to change “teh” to “the,” you would type “teh” in the Look up entries box. Then, in the Replace text as you type list, you can click on the entry you want Excel to fix automatically.

enable all autocorrect options in excel

• If you want to add another custom AutoCorrect entry, you can repeat Step 4 until all of your entries are configured.
•  Lastly, you should click OK twice to complete customizing AutoCorrect options.

Examples of how Correciton can save you time in Excel

1. Let’s say you have a list of countries in Excel. And now, you want to change them all to proper nouns. Normally, you would go through the entire list manually. However, you can simply select the range of cells and autocorrect can do that for you.

2. AutoCorrect can also be useful if you have a column of numbers with different formatting. Such as  currency in one cell while some other cells are percentages.

With AutoCorrect, you can quickly format the entire column so that all the numbers are in the same format.

excel auto correcting

3. You can also use AutoCorrect to quickly fix typos in your Excel sheets. For example, if you accidentally type hte, Excel will automatically correct it for you.

AutoCorrect can save you a lot of time and hassle when working with Excel data.