Microsoft KB Archive/165880

= WD97: Dash in Autosignature Is Autoformatted to a Dot =

Article ID: 165880

Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q165880





SYMPTOMS
If you use the AutoSignature feature in WordMail to create an e-mail AutoSignature that contains a dash (hyphen), the dash will be converted to a bullet when you open the e-mail message in an e-mail editor other than WordMail.



CAUSE
When you create an AutoSignature using a hyphen, Word will autoformat the hyphen to a hyphen bullet. When the "Text" version of the e-mail message is created, the hyphen bullet is converter to the ANSI bullet character of a small dot.



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, do not let the automatic formatting feature change the hyphen to a hyphen bullet. When creating an AutoSignature with a hyphen before the signature, follow these steps:


 * 1) Type the hyphen followed by the (first) line of the AutoSignature.

Word may format the hyphen to a bullet at this point.
 * 1) On the Edit menu, click Undo (or press CTRL+Z on the keyboard) to undo the format of the bullet. The bullet should not revert back to a standard hyphen.
 * 2) Proceed with the rest of the AutoSignature creation process.

The AutoSignature will now have a standard hyphen in it rather than a bullet and non-WordMail editors will read it as a standard ANSI hyphen.



STATUS
This functionality is by design.



MORE INFORMATION
The conversion of hyphens to bullets is part of the automatic formatting feature in Word and WordMail. To disable this feature, follow these steps:


 * 1) On the Format menu, click AutoFormat.
 * 2) Click the Options button.
 * 3) Click the AutoFormat As You Type dialog tab.
 * 4) Clear the Automatic Bulleted Lists check box.

