TIP: From AutoCorrect to Instant Text

Re: Autocorrect (MS Word) question - new to IT. -- Patty Ahalt
Posted by Marianne ^Ž , Wed, May 03, 2000, 15:46:21	Reply	Top	Forum

My initial question is: When I start using InstantText, what will happen to my 400 or so Autocorrects that I am accustomed to using in Microsoft word? Do they still work?
Can I still put hsmx and get hepatosplenomegaly, still put cabgg and get coronary artery bypass graft? That sort of thing.

Yes, you can. Instant Text and AutoCorrect can be used at the same time.

I realize that there will be some transition time on getting accustomed to Instant Text. From the many posts I have read both here and MT Daily, I can see that this is a sophisticated program based in Ada compiling, and that some thought and plannning as one gets started will really pay off in yielding a very useful tool.
I ask my question about the AutoCorrect (Microsoft Word) because I would like to plan how the initial week or two of transition can best go smoothly, so that I can "wean off" of my previous ways of doing things while adjusting and learning how best to get started with the Instant Text.
If the AutoCorrect will still work as always while I find out ways to do the same tasks using IT, this would be an ideal way to get adjusted gradually, while still meeting the work deadlines.

Changing from AutoCorrect to Instant Text can be based on different motivations:

1.Having lost an AutoCorrect file and all the work that it requires to make it you are looking for a safer way to use abbreviations. But you want to use IT the way you used AutoCorrect (dedicated short forms, space bar expansion,...)

2.You want a more sophisticated program that allows you to do a lot more than what you are doing with AutoCorrect. But you want to make the transition as smooth as possible.

The choices how to get started with Instant Text depend on these motivations.

1.You import your AutoCorrect file and customize IT the way you use AutoCorrect. Then:

Adding an entry can be done with Alt=
You can have more than 50 000 entries
Backups are easy because your glossary is a text file in the Glossary folder (InstText\Glossary)

2.You decide to use IT the Instant Text way and consider the abbreviation file you have in AutoCorrect as your base glossary. You have memorized these 400 abbreviations and may want to continue to use them.

I will cover this in a separate message.

Marianne