One of the nice things about Word's AutoCorrect feature is that you're not limited to just using spelling or grammar correction. In this article we'll go over how to set up a few text substitutions that help us reduce typing. We'll wrap up the article with a few more ways we can use Word to simplify our typing.

First lets go over the AutoCorrect screen in Word to see how to create a basic entry. To access this dialog, go to "Tools" → "AutoCorrect Options...". You can see how to enter your shortcut and the text you want Word to replace it with here.

Instead of typing in a commonly misspelled word, type a commonly used word. For instance, in a letter, I commonly type my e-mail so clients can contact me if they have any questions. An e-mail address is a phrase I use often and don't want to risk mistyping. And of course, you can't spell check an e-mail address.

Using the Word AutoCorrect screen from above, I entered the following shortcut substitution:

Now, when I write a letter or article, I can include my e-mail address by typing these four letters. It may not seem like much, especially because I'm a relatively fast typer, but the repetition adds up. Knowing that the e-mail is typed accurately also gives me piece of mind that my clients can always get in touch with me.

Ditto Text Expander

Ditto is the perfect tool to improve your typing productivity. It works with any program on your PC to substitute shortcuts you type with full phrases.

No memorization required: you can also add text blocks to auto-complete phrases as you type. Ditto is easy to learn and easy to use. You'll be more productive instantly with a utility that grows with your skills... seamlessly.

Some common uses for Ditto are medical transcription, programming, instant messaging, professional job-related software, and any repetitive typing tasks that are time consuming and error prone.