Why did Word on Office 2013 REMOVE Auto Correct from Right-Click Context Menu??

Hi Microsoft -

I normally don't rant, but this is a killer feature removal, and the reason given is for aesthetics - 'Removal of clutter" is how it's worded here:

[Changes in Office 2013]
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc178954(en-us).aspx

I copy n pasted below the operative row from the linked TechNet page as to the reason WHY this critical (and very popular feature) has been removed from Microsoft Office 2013 Word's context-menu: LESS CLUTTER

And your answer is ambiguous and doesn't solve the issue that you created to make things prettier: "Click the AutoCorrect Options button" Then what?  ADD EACH WORD MANUALLY? 

Please advise ALL OF US that want this feature back how to have our commonly misspelled words fixed and added automatically to the dictionary.  If I am missing this in a major way somehow, I apologize completely and will issue a public apology via any social media platform of your choice.  If it really is gone, and I have to manually add the entries into a buried table 6-clicks deep, then I will issue a public excoriation of this feature on as many social platforms of my choice.

Sincerely,

Maximus Mednick

COPY N PASTE AS FOLLOWS:

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Contents of spelling error context menu

                Word and WordMail within Outlook

Modifying the feature

Auto-Correct and certain formatting tools are no longer available from the spelling error context menu.

To make Word 2013 cleaner and less cluttered, we removed AutoCorrect and certain formatting tools from the spelling error context menu. The features are still available in Word 2013 through other entry points within the Word user interface.

Less clutter in the spelling error context menu. This enables users to find popular commands more quickly. In addition, the spelling error context menu now fits better on the screen.

To change AutoCorrect options, do the following:

  1. Choose File -> Options -> Proofing

  2. Choose the AutoCorrect Options button.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

January 5th, 2013 11:44am

Hi Maximus,

Not sure which option you mean. If you really need to open the AutoCorrect Options frequently, we can add it to the Quick Access Toobar.

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January 7th, 2013 2:42am

This pretty much ruined office for me. Just got a new windows 8 tablet and office 2013 and I was relying on Autocorrect. As I don't have my old word cache I was hoping to be able to quickly add and replace words I mistype. This is impossible now. I have to copy all the words I write wrong in a separate .txt file!!!!!! who made this insanity??? I can't even copy paste the words into the autocorrect menu without opening and closing it for each and every word. This is insane. On office 2010 I could almost write with my eyes closed. On office 2013 I can't even add autocorrect words without opening and closing the autocorrect menu and copying and pasting each word! This is obviously the dumbest office suite yet. Has anyone managed to resurrect autocorrect? I understand that the menu has to be "cleaner" but if I correct the same word 10 times I think it's obvious I WANT it auto corrected. I don't want to spellcheck every 5-row note I write with the same mistakes every other day. Just to make it clear I don't need dumb iPhone autocorrect: M with microsoft, IDK,AFAIK, YOLO and other teenage and forum slang to be translated into words. I don't need shortcuts either. I just want to be able for office to use the suggestion I choose for Autocorrect each an every time. Replacing M with Microsoft does not "mean" correcting it. Replacing "mlroslofr" with "microsoft" means correcting and I don't plan to manually add each letter variation on "microsoft" that is a mistake. Without the actual autocorrect and not the "auto replace shortcuts with words as seen on iPhone TM", Office 2010 is far better for touch than 2103 will ever be. Back to 2010 for me....
January 30th, 2013 2:22pm

He means when you are writing a book, you want to be able to add words to autocorrect quickly. You can't expect us to add "si", "adn", "ther", "mcrsfto", "mlcrosoft", "microloft" (for example) manually in autocorrect. The default definitions don't apply for everyone and writing on a touch screen keyboard means a whole new set of current mistakes.

It is literally impossible to make office 2013 work for you. On 2010 after writing 20 out of 100 pages there were no more mistakes because I could add all the words I would mistype with two clicks.

Adding mistyped words form the first 20 pages in office 2013 is insane, because you'd have to copy each word, open autocorrect, paste the word, write the correct form, close autocorrect, copy the next word etc.

This gets far far more frustrating when eg. medical terms office has no idea about are mixed with common mistakes...

Office 2013 is broken.

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January 30th, 2013 2:33pm

Hi Max Meng -

Based on your answer and suggestion, it is clear you don't use Word that much, or your're an excellent speller. Please read the rest of the Replies below this post, as well as the other separate posts in this forum pointing to this same issue.

Sincerely,

Maximus Mednick

MCT MCSE

January 30th, 2013 5:40pm

I believe that I will make a video and post the link here demonstrating the differences between O2k10 and O2k13, with regards to this issue. -MAXIMUS
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January 30th, 2013 5:42pm

REally?? How do we do that? How do we put it on the Q-A Toolbar??

I use, well, used to use the autocorrect context menu to create speed-typing abbreviations. For example, I put in "tt" as the error and "that" as the correction. Then, anytime I type "tt" Word changes it to "that". Now what?? It is ominous trying to work with the options menu. I tried unsuccessfully to install a macro to take care of this, but that is impossible, too. In fact, I cannot fully remove my unsuccessful macro attempt.

February 6th, 2013 8:36pm

I can only agree - I have just switched over to 2013 and went to use the right click for adding to autocorrect and then ...........dismay.

I spent ages going through all the Option areas searching every option to hopefully find the little gem hidden somewhere or was described in a manner that I did not expect. But ....

I then Tweeted with Microsoft Support to no avail and then I found your entry via Google.

I feel gutted that this facility has been removed and can only hope that Mr Microsoft sees these type of entries and reconsiders.

I know its silly but I am devastated about this option being dropped off.

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March 7th, 2013 1:25pm

Hello M. Meng,

Please, kave a look to the older versions of Word and see how it was easy to fill the corrections list !

At the moment, after 3 days of trials, I do not find such a shortcut in Word 2013. One positiv point: it is alwyas possible to find my "old" corrections (filled with my old versions) !!!

Removing features is a very bad way to symplify a program!

Pierre

March 14th, 2013 7:39am

Hello,

Completely crazy. I suggest us to migrate to Notepad : menus are simpler and have LESS CLUTTER!

Pierre

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March 14th, 2013 9:38am

Fully agree.

Whoever proposed this change obviously is not a heavy Word or Outlook user. Either that, or they never make spelling errors, in which case I can only envy them.

Word especially, is used for creating large complex documents. This was a time saving feature, especially in highly technical documents which contain many words that are not in a dictionary. Having to continually add words to a dictionary will only add time to the creation of these documents.,

Nothing has been gained by this. Maybe Microsoft should consider making this feature an option inside of the proofing option, to either display or not display this in the menu, but leave it for those of us who need it.

I added Autocorrect Options to the QAT, but this is not a satisfactory fix (plus I have to add it to every QAT in Outlook, not just one).

March 29th, 2013 3:43pm

Very simple really.  Right click on word which is underlined, and as well as the Correct Spelling suggestions, there's an option to Autocorrect with correct spelling (which then adds it to the autocorrect dictionary).  Two clicks all in one movement.

This is a much loved feature of Word 2003, 2007, 2010.  But Oh Dear, it's missing from 2013.

Perhaps the only app I'll upgrade is Excel, since the others seem to be regressive (can't use Outlook 2013 because it won't work with Xobni, Can't use Word 2013 because it lacks autocorrect additions)

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April 5th, 2013 10:16am

*bump* - Max - as you can see (after a few months of users complaing about the same issue), that I brought up a pain point in Word 2013. What's the movement on this feature re-add...?
April 5th, 2013 2:26pm

I found about this removal today, when I tried to use it, to see that it was gone, and it absolutely upsetted me.

Is it really that much of a difference if the AutoCorrect menu item (only one menu item!) is not removed from the context menu?

And I was kind of excited about having Office 2013 too...

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April 25th, 2013 2:41am

I'm not clear what the problem is. I've done a spell check in Word 2013, right clicked on a "misspelled" word and still see the option to add it to the dictionary. As well, the Spelling Pain <sic> is displayed on the right side of the window.

I guess I misunderstood the problem.

April 25th, 2013 5:21am

The difference is that in earlier versions, when you misspell a word, below the "add to dictionary" options, there's a submenu called "AutoCorrect", and it allows you to automatically make a new AutoCorrect rule. (meaning, if you ever make that spelling mistake again, Word will automatically correct it).

However, to "remove clutter from the context menu", they removed that option from Word 2013, which many people, myself included, find very, very annoying, to say the least.

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April 25th, 2013 5:27am

Just to add to this post, hopefully it will make a difference. Microsoft, you need to change something in the Advanced settings to allow us to bring this back. I can appreciate "lessening the clutter" for those less-savvy, but for those of us who rely on these features everyday, you need to provide an advanced option to re-add it. 

Microsoft used to be about allowing users to customize the OS and apps however they want. This was one reason I have always preferred Windows over Mac. There are 5 ways to do any one thing, and you can customize it to do it however you want. It's all about user choice. Please don't go the way of Apple and force users into the way that you *think* we should do things. 

May 17th, 2013 3:59pm

Microsoft used to be about allowing users to customize the OS and apps however they want. This was one reason I have always preferred Windows over Mac. There are 5 ways to do any one thing, and you can customize it to do it however you want. It's all about user choice. Please don't go the way of Apple and force users into the way that you *think* we should do things. 

<rant>

While I whole heartedly agree with this suggestion, if you look through this blog about the design decisions that went into the 2007 ribbon:

Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jensenh/archive/2008/03/12/table-of-contents.aspx

You'll see that one of the considerations of the ribbon was to ELIMINATE/REDUCE customization because it was costing large corporate customers too much time/money to support their users with 2003 customized menu/toolbars.  In other words, the ribbon was intentionally built as a fixed design so that average user cannot change it.  The QAT was an afterthought, a sop, to allow users minimal customization. 

They found that the 2007 lock down was too much of a "good thing", too much like the good old "IBM 360 green screen" (even if most people don't recognize the reference), so in 2010 they re-introduced limited Ribbon customization within the UI.

But you still can't customize the default tabs. And to add injury to insult, if you do want to customize a default tab and go to the effort of trying to recreate the default tabs and groups within the Ribbon UI, you'll eventually find that YOU CAN'T'! There is no way inside the UI to force the buttons to layout the same way! AHHH!

Even in 2007, EXPERTS have had the option of creating custom Ribbons/tabs by editing XML, but that is pretty serious programming, out of scope for 99% of users.

The "solution" to the problem was too simple. Just add an option to allow users to turn on the old menu UI.  Even if it had been buried as a registry hack, the people who really wanted it would have learned about it. Then MS could have collected statistics on usage that would have "proved" that the menu was preferred over the ribbon.  The thing is, if the ribbon was defaulted "out of the box", over time people would eventually all switch over to it. Simply because it was the default, because MS only produced new training material referring for the ribbon

Now, I'll concede that the ribbon really may be more "intuitive", but only for new users. For long time users the change is very jarring.

They made the same choice with Windows 8.  In the last Windows 8 consumer Preview there was a registry hack to bypass the Start Screen.  I learned about it in July or August. But MS was so sure the Start screen/metro was the only way to go they rushed out a Windows Update to eliminate that registry entry. And it was eliminated from the RTM version. 

WHY?

Why did they remove the user's right to chose the UI that worked best for them? I don't know.

</end rant>  sorry, this is a hot button for me.

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May 17th, 2013 4:46pm

Emphatically agree. It's broke. Please fix it.
May 23rd, 2013 8:53pm

Hey, look at the bright side, you only have to click an extra 2 or 3 times to do a lot of the same features in windows 8 that would only be one click in older versions. :/ 
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May 26th, 2013 2:38pm

The loss of the right click autocorrect was the first thing I noticed when trying out the new Word.  Without it, for a speed or power user of Word, the new program is out and the old (2010) is in.  Although I am trying out the 365 subscription, without Word, I do not see why it will be necessary to move to it.'

Too bad Microsoft.  You should really get someone who uses the program on an ongoing basis to test your impulses for change when moving up a version.  I suspect you have dumbed-down the product at precisely the time you need the people who have used Word because they had mastered some of its less-used productivity features.

I think they should treat the need for a revamp as being urgent or they will lose a cohort of users of an indeterminate size.

August 13th, 2013 6:15pm

WOW, it's such a shame they remove this option! I used it so much! Bring it back Microsoft!
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August 13th, 2013 8:57pm

I bought Word 2013 for my new computer, thinking that was the smart thing to do, but with no autocorrect available on the right click, I uninstalled it and went back to W2007. This is retrograde programming and so stupid. While I am whingeing why is it so damn hard to upgrade programs made by MS? Your normal.dot is not migrated, your auto text needs to be manually moved etc etc. Just not worth it, I wish I had a copy of Word 2000.
August 16th, 2013 2:34am

I am sorry that I loaded Office 2013 on my laptop after finding out about this distressing feature loss.  Plain and simple it needs to be added back in!  I am just a bit dyslexic and had a few hundred words that were autocorrected saving me tons of time making manual corrections each time this arose.   I only just quit using Classic Menu Tools which gives back the old menu structure, although I am thinking about adding this back in as I don't like the ribbon menu at all.  My favorite version of Word will always be Office 2003 which was the first with the smart tags.  2007 with the ribbon was step backwards.  Jim
  • Edited by Jim Hill 1099 Wednesday, September 11, 2013 1:15 PM typo error and autocorrect did not fix it
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September 11th, 2013 1:14pm

Absolutely. This is a stuipid, time-wasting, frustrating change. WHY is there such silence from MS on this topic? WHEN will they announce - and release - a free upgrade to Word 2013, so we can use it priperly. I frequently mis-spell words in the same way. I frequently leave the accent off Spanish words. I wnat these to be auto-crrected with ONE click, not 700 or more. This is the most retrograde step I have ever seen in any Office product. It is so bad that I have signed up to an MS account, and put a public post up, for teh first time in my life. Please, please, please, Microsoft, BRING BACK the on-click auto-correct. Soon!
September 12th, 2013 10:12pm

I can't agree more with the comments made so far. My problem is that I have moved from one PC, with Off 2010, to another with Off2013 and miss the simplicity of the old AC.

HOWEVER, if there is a way to export my very full autocorrect list from one PC and import it to another, then all of my original entries will be available.

Does anyone know if I can export the list?

Thanks.

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September 19th, 2013 10:39am

I can't agree more with the comments made so far. My problem is that I have moved from one PC, with Off 2010, to another with Off2013 and miss the simplicity of the old AC.

HOWEVER, if there is a way to export my very full autocorrect list from one PC and import it to another, then all of my original entries will be available.

Does anyone know if I can export the list?

Thanks.

Yes. Microsoft won't allow me to paste URL's here, but google for "autocorrect office migrate or something like that. You just have to copy a file called something like MS1033.ACL and names like that (depending on your language).
September 21st, 2013 10:11am

Where is this? I followed every step and I am not able to find any Autocorrect option to add to the ribbon or quick access tool bar. Even showing all available options does not display an AutoCorrect option.
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October 24th, 2013 6:56pm

Or, install a ton of third party applications to bring you back to the same level of functionality that you had in XP, Vista, and Win7.
October 24th, 2013 7:07pm

I don't think this is a customization issue. I think this is a basic functionality issue. The priorities on what made it to the ribbon versus what was considered clutter is certainly confusing to everyone I know that actually uses Outlook and Office. It is one thing to have things default placed as on or off of the ribbon, but to remove it entirely is hard to justify when it has been in use for a decade.
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October 24th, 2013 7:17pm

That is acceptable for adding correctly spelled words not already in the dictionary, however this is not what is being discussed. We do not need or want to add a typo of 'Thnaks" to the dictionary, we need to add it to autocorrect so that it will be corrected to say "Thanks". Losing the ability to add every common typo we make to autocorrect and/or every shorthand abbreviation we commonly use has a drastic impact on our productivity. This increases labor cost, even at a few seconds per manual correction on typos. This is much higher for the loss of shorthand corrections.
October 24th, 2013 7:30pm

Still nothing from MS?  I am in 365 and may be considering termination.  The absence of this feature could be a migration event for me in light of this on top of Word's many other infirmities.  
  • Edited by Jbradley4313 Thursday, December 12, 2013 3:42 AM
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December 12th, 2013 3:41am

Agree, this was my last check before i went back to office 2010! that's what I'm doing next!
January 7th, 2014 1:00am

I am a dyslexic user and this was a very useful feature for me.

I find it hard to remember the wrong and write spelling of words to quickly add it to the new way of add AutoCorrect works.  So, this was an invaluable feature for me. And unfortunately there is not much out the can help my writing experience and the removal of this feature adds additional time to my writing process.

It would be good if you could suggest an alternative way to do this or to bring it back for users who miss it like me.

  • Proposed as answer by bencosmea Saturday, July 05, 2014 9:11 PM
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May 30th, 2014 11:13pm

I can't believe that they've removed right-click autocorrect.  This was the best thing about Outlook 2010.  I'm going back to 2010 as of now!! 

Microsoft, what are you thinking?  Really, really, really stupid!!

November 29th, 2014 11:43am

There is autocorrect in Office 2013!  In Outlook 2013 go to File Options, then Mail, in the Compose Messages section, go to the second section ABC.  There click on Spelling and Autocorrect.  There, in the Proofing section you will see the button to AutoCorrect!

ENJOY!!!

Ralph

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December 1st, 2014 10:51pm

Hello,

Sorry, Limelites and Rafacq, you are on a bad way...

The question is not using the autocorrect feature but filling the autocorrect words-list at the same time (autocorrect + adding the correction)! This feature was existing in Office 2010 and no more in 2013.

The result is simple:

  • with 2010: 3 clics to correct and to add the correction
  • with 2013: 3 clics to auto-correct + 17 clics and striking the correction (if you know how to find the list!)

No comment!

December 2nd, 2014 8:18am

To Pierre and the others, with the help of Quick Access Toolbar, we can add an auto correction entry with less steps.

I know this isn't a fix, but I hope the following information will make it a little easier.

First, add the AutoCorrect Options button to the Quick Access Toolbar, to do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar dropdown arrow.
  2. Click More Commands..., which opens a dialog box (Word Options - Quick Access Toolbar).
  3. Choose All commands under Choose command from:
  4. Select AutoCorrect Options in the list (not the one has the lightning icon), then click Add, and then click OK.

After that, we can add a new auto correction entry as following:

Select the word you type wrong, click the AutoCorrect Options button we just added in the Quick Access Toolbar, this bring up a window that will let you add the auto correction entry.

I know this isn't a fix, but maybe could save some clicks.

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December 10th, 2014 7:15am

The quick Action workaround is nicer, but it's not a fix. The writer has to completely change his focus in order to make this change. I'm suffering with this now as I'm working with OneNote today. I'm trying to study an intensely technical paper book, and I'm taking notes in OneNote. Using Office version 15.0.4675.1003. Please fix!!! I had just converted last month to being a OneNote user instead of my paper notebooks -- now it looks like I should not have switched.

December 31st, 2014 5:40pm

Hi.. am so cheesed off with WORD and OUTLOOK 2013 not having the autocorrect button that I used heaps on previous versions.. the "fix" of using the "AUTOCORRECT" in the ribbon is OK for word, but how do I do this in OUTLOOK.. I type more emails in outlook than I do work in WORD!!  Sure I could compose the email in word, get the corrected terms added tot eh dictionary and eventually have a dictionary that contains (almost automatically) most of my typos!!  P.S> my lousy typing means I ahve 13 typos in thsi paragraph AND I CAN'T CORRECT AUTOMATICALLY ONE OF THEM EASILY!! bah hunbug!!
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June 18th, 2015 3:39am

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