Creating and Editing AutoCorrect Entries in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

The AutoCorrect feature is dependent on a small list of words and phrases. 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, as explained in the following steps:

1. Launch PowerPoint 2016 for Windows, and access to the AutoCorrect dialog box (see Tip box below). The AutoCorrect list is located at the lower portion of the AutoCorrect dialog box, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1.
2. 
   Figure 1: AutoCorrect list within the AutoCorrect dialog box

Tip: Access AutoCorrect Options

You can access the AutoCorrect dialog box shown in Figure 1 as per instructions explained in our AutoCorrect Options in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows tutorial. Alternatively, right-click any misspelled word on your slide, and click Spelling from the resultant contextual menu. Thereafter, click Options and AutoCorrect Options buttons in successive dialog boxes.

2. Notice that this list has two columns: Replace and With. The Replace column on the left contains common misspellings (highlighted in red within Figure 2). Similarly, the With column on the right contains the word, symbol, phrase, or sentences that PowerPoint substitutes in its place (highlighted in blue within Figure 2). 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.
3. 
   Figure 2: Common mistakes and their corrections within the AutoCorrect list
4. Note that both the Add and Delete buttons in the dialog box (highlighted in green within Figure 2) are grayed out.
3. To add your own word pair to the AutoCorrect list, type the misspelled word or a shortcut key within the text box located at the top of the Replace column (highlighted in red within Figure 3) and then type the replacement text within the With field (highlighted in blue within Figure 3). Note that as soon as these words are typed, the Add button (highlighted in green within Figure 3) is activated. Click the Add button to include this new word pair to the AutoCorrect list.
4. 
   Figure 3: Entries within the Replace and With text boxes for a new word pair
4. Notice the new word pair you just added to the AutoCorrect list, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 4. To delete any existing word pair, just select it (refer to Figure 4 again) and click the Delete button (highlighted in blue within Figure 4).
5. 
   Figure 4: Word pair selected for deletion
5. To change an existing word pair, just select it and type any text to overwrite existing text within the Replace and/or With text boxes (highlighted in red within Figure 5), and click the Replace button (highlighted in blue within Figure 5).
6. 
   Figure 5: Selected word pair being edited
6. 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 6. Click Yes to proceed.
7. 
   Figure 6: Message window asking confirmation for redefining an existing word pair entry
7. Once done, click the OK button within the AutoCorrect dialog box to save any changes you made.
8. Save your presentation often.