One of the most popular features of a word processor is its spell-checking capabilities. As word processors have developed, however, the ability to spell check has become exponentially more powerful. In fact, word processors today can correct words before you even know you made an error. This ability in Microsoft Word is called AutoCorrect. In WordPerfect, it is called QuickCorrect. The word processor has a list of commonly misspelled words (such as "teh" for "the", or "recieve" for "receive"). When you type a word that matches the AutoCorrect entry, the computer automatically changes it to the correct spelling. Click here to see AutoCorrect in action. (42K)
Although the list of words in AutoCorrect can vary, all word processors allow the user to add or delete entries in the list to better suit them. To get to the AutoCorrect list, you should click on the Tools menu and find AutoCorrect/QuickCorrect. You would then type in the word incorrectly, followed by the correct spelling of the word. Here is the AutoCorrect Box in Word 97.
One of the more popular uses of the AutoCorrect is to use initials to represent a longer title, such as using UIC for "The University of Illinois at Chicago". However, users should be cautioned against the initials they choose. Once you set the initials, the computer will ALWAYS change the initials to the longer title. Therefore, you should not use initials you may want to use as themselves in a document. A good example of this is using CEO for Chief Executive Officer, since CEO is used frequently in documents.