Microsoft KB Archive/112781

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AutoCorrect Does Not Replace Words That Contain an Apostrophe

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Q112781

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a

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SYMPTOMS
The AutoCorrect command on the Tools menu may fail to find a string that contains an apostrophe (') or quotation mark (").

CAUSE
If the word in the Replace box in the Tools AutoCorrect dialog box contains a standard apostrophe or quotation mark and the word in your document contains a smart quote (typesetters', or "curly," quotation mark or apostrophe), Word does not consider the two words to be the same.

This usually happens when you have the "Change 'Straight Quotes' To 'Smart Quotes'" option selected in the Tools AutoCorrect dialog box. When you type a "straight quote" (standard quotation mark), Word performs the "smart quote" replacement before it searches the Replace list--which contains only the word with a standard quotation mark.

Note: By design, when you type a quotation mark or apostrophe in the Replace and With boxes in the Tools AutoCorrect dialog box, Word inserts the standard quotation mark, not a smart quote. This is true even if the "Change 'Straight Quotes' To 'Smart Quotes'" option is turned on.

WORKAROUND
Add an entry to the Replace and With boxes in the Tools AutoCorrect dialog box that contains a smart quote instead of a standard quotation mark. The Word AutoCorrect feature will use this entry when the matching word contains a smart quote. (Note: You may want to retain both the "standard quotation mark" and "smart quote" versions of these entries so Word can find the word regardless of the "Change 'Straight Quotes' To 'Smart Quotes'" setting.)

To type a smart quote in place of a standard quotation mark in the Replace and With boxes, type the ANSI character code for the character instead of pressing the ' or " key. To insert the ANSI character code, use the key combination listed in the "ANSI Code" column of the table below.

  Smart Quote Character               ANSI Code -              -   Left Apostrophe                     ALT+0145 Right Apostrophe                   ALT+0146 Left Quotation Mark                ALT+0147 Right Quotation Mark               ALT+0148 For example, to search for the smart quote version of "Womens'" and replace it with "Women's", type the following in the Replace and With boxes

  Replace                   With ---                     Womens[ALT+0146]          Women[ALT+0146]s where [ALT+0146] means to press ALT plus 0146 on the numeric keypad.