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My custom autocorrect entries go missing after a Windows 10 update

Anonymous
2016-01-14T08:00:59+00:00

In Word (2016) My custom autocorrect entries go missing after a Windows 10 update. The same happened in Windows 8 (with Word 2010) and I can find no reason for it other than something happens during the updates.

I am a pretty bad typist and am constantly hitting two keys at once or spelling words incorrectly. Therefore, I spend a lot of time making custom changes to the autocorrect dictionary via File/Options/Proofing/Auto correct options. I mean, I add in my own misspelled words (example, fillign = filling, workign = working etc.) and their correct autocorrect words and all is fine. I tend to add a few every day until I get to the point where my work is relatively red-underline free.

And then an update to Windows comes along and the next day the most obvious words, like fillign are back again and there’s no sign of the hours of autocorrect inputting I did. This is very frustrating!

I have tried putting the custom dictionary as ‘default’ in case it’s that, and then the roaming one as default and I've tried it with both ticked, and I've tried un-checking one or the other… (not sure if this has anything to do with the problem), but still, after an update, my commonly misspelled words are not there in my custom autocorrect list and I have to start building the list again.

Am I missing something? Do updates change something in autocorrect which hides my personal autocorrect changes? Can anyone help?

I am using Windows 10 (360) but had the same issue in Windows 8. I have a PC 64 bit OS and x64-based processor.

Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Stefan Blom 342.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2016-01-18T14:54:01+00:00

    Note that AutoCorrect entries are language-specific and that there is one file (with the ACL extension) per language. Entries may appear to be lost if the language formatting changes in a Word document, and that, in turn, may happen if you paste something from the web.

    It may also occur because Word thinks that you want another language and changes it for you at the insertion point. To prevent that, turn off the option to "Detect language automatically" at Review | Language | Set Proofing Language.

    For more on language formatting, see the articles that Charles linked to. You may also want to have a look at http://wordfaqs.mvps.org/MasterSpellCheck.htm.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-18T09:25:57+00:00

    I’ve not had any luck finding the answer to this issue but I have had a thought. When my automatic Windows updates happened last, I noticed that my settings also allowed ‘Update Office’. I wonder if, when this Office update happens, the custom autocorrect file is scrubbed, or replaced with a blank and thus, the one I’d been adding to was lost. I have now switched off auto update for office to see if, next time, I lose my saved autocorrects or not. I don’t want to switch this update off but if I lose all those words and have to re-enter them again I think I’ll go bonkers.

    I don’t have any pending updates. I've not tried opening Word in safe mode as yet. All other Office applications seem unaffected. I don’t want to re-install Word/Office as I am pretty sure that if I do I will again lose the autocorrect words I've now re-added. I’ve not looked into Utility Managers etc. as Word and autocorrect works fine as it is – except for when there’s an update and I lose my stored words.

    With ‘Update Office’ turned off, I will wait and see if this happens again after an update.

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  3. Charles Kenyon 167.6K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2016-01-14T12:15:56+00:00

    I know of at least one Windows 10 update which hid my customizations from me for a period of about 4 hours. Most AutoCorrect entries are stored in language-specific .acl files. Formatted AC entries are stored in the Normal template. See Missing autotext, styles, and other customizations in Word 2016?.

    Here are some additional links that may help you.

    Automated Boilerplate Using Microsoft Word

    AutoCorrect Utility Manager

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-01-14T11:58:50+00:00

    Thank you. I will try those things and let you know if it doesn't get fixed.

    James

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  5. Anonymous
    2016-01-14T11:26:25+00:00

    Hi,

    Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

    We understand how you feel about the situation. Let me guide you to resolve the issue.

    I need more information before we proceed.

    1. Have you tried opening Word in safe mode?
    2. Do you have any pending updates?
    3. Are you able to work with all other Office applications?

    Let's following the instructions mentioned below and verify the result:

    1. Repair Office following steps below in the link below, restart the computer, and check if the issue reoccurs.

    https://support.office.com/en-US/Article/Repair-an-Office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b

    1. If multiple versions of Office installed in your computer, it may conflicts and some features will not work as expected.

    Let's run 'Fix it' to uninstall Office from the following link and then try installing the Office suite and verify the result:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2739501

    I hope the above suggestions helps you to resolve this issue. Reply with the result and I'll be happy to help you further.

    Thank you.

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