Creating and Editing AutoCorrect Entries in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

The AutoCorrect feature is dependent on a small list of words and phrases stored on your computer. This list contains two columns called Replace and With. For example, the Replace entry for teh will correspond to the With entry containing the word the.

You can easily tailor your AutoCorrect list by adding your own commonly misspelled words. Similarly, you can make changes and delete entries from within this AutoCorrect list. Follow these steps to learn more:

1. Launch PowerPoint 2011 for Mac, and choose the PowerPoint | Preferences menu option, as shown in Figure 1.
2. 
   Figure 1: Choose PowerPoint | Preferences
2. This opens the PowerPoint Preferences dialog box. Click the AutoCorrect option, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 2. Within the AutoCorrect option make sure you select the AutoCorrect tab. This tab contains the AutoCorrect list, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2.
3. 
   Figure 2: AutoCorrect list within the PowerPoint Preferences dialog box
Tip: Other AutoCorrect options within the PowerPoint Preferences dialog box shown in Figure 2 above are explained in our AutoCorrect Options in PowerPoint 2011 tutorial.
3. This list has two columns: Replace (highlighted in red within Figure 3) and With(highlighted in blue within Figure 3). The Replace column contains common misspellings. Similarly, the With column contains the word, symbol, phrase, or sentences that PowerPoint substitutes in its place. Scroll through this AutoCorrect list to see the types of corrections that PowerPoint provides. Each corresponding Replace and With entry can be called a word pair.
4. 
   Figure 3: Common mistakes and their corrections within the AutoCorrect list
5. Note that both the Add and Delete buttons in the dialog box (highlighted in green within Figure 3) are grayed out. This is because, at this stage we haven't yet started editing the AutoCorrect list.
4. To add a new word pair to the AutoCorrect list, type the misspelled word or a shortcut letters for a lengthy text, within the text box located at the top of the Replace column (highlighted in red within Figure 4) and then type the replacement text within the With field (highlighted in blue within Figure 4). Note that as soon as these words are typed, the Add button (highlighted in green within Figure 4) is activated. Click the Add button to include this new word pair in to the AutoCorrect list.
5. 
   Figure 4: Adding new word pair within the AutoCorrect list
5. Notice the new word pair you just added to the AutoCorrect list, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 5. To delete any existing word pair, just select it (refer to Figure 5 again) and click the Delete button (highlighted in blue within Figure 5).
6. 
   Figure 5: Word pair selected for deletion
6. To change an existing word pair, just select it and type any text to overwrite existing text within the With text box (highlighted in red within Figure 6), and click the Replace button (highlighted in blue within Figure 6). Note that the Replace button now shows up rather than the Add button.
7. 
   Figure 6: Selected word pair being edited
7. This will prompt you with a message window, asking for a confirmation that you want to redefine the already existing word pair entry, as shown in Figure 7. Click Yes to proceed.
8. 
   Figure 7: Message window asking confirmation for redefining an existing word pair entry
8. Once done, click the OK button within the PowerPoint Preferences dialog box (refer to Figure 2, above) to save any changes you made.
9. Save your presentation often.