Word 2007: Using Building Blocks to Enhance Productivity (Part 2 of 5)

In Part 1 of this series, you were introduced to Word 2007's new Building Block feature. One of the Building Block galleries is AutoText. In previous versions of Word, AutoText was a part of the AutoCorrect feature, but in Word 2007, it's now a Building Block.

This means that in addition to adding the AutoText command to the Quick Access toolbar, you can also add AutoText entries for later use without using the AutoText command. You see, since AutoText has been incorporated into the Building Blocks feature, you can create a new AutoText entry as your own custom Quick Part using the New Building

Block dialog box.

To create a new AutoText entry, follow these steps:

1. Select the word or phrase you want to save
2. Click the Quick Parts command located in the Text group on the Insert tab on the Ribbon
3. Choose Save Selection to Quick Parts Gallery. This opens the Create New Building Block dialog box as shown in Figure 3.
4. Enter a name for the new AutoText entry
5. Click the Gallery drop-down arrow and choose AutoText from the Gallery List. This defines the new Quick Part as an AutoText entry.
6. Click OK

Here's what we know so far about Building Blocks:

• Many are predefined to include headers, footers, text boxes, tables and AutoText (to name just a few)
• Quick Parts are stored in Building Block galleries and can be customized by you, the user
• New AutoText entries can be added from either the AutoText command (when added to the Quick Access toolbar) or through the Quick Parts command located in the Text group on the Insert tab

You may have figured out by now that Building Blocks are actually pretty smart. For instance, when you add a cover page Building Block, it doesn't matter where your cursor is position -- the page is automatically added at the beginning of the document. Likewise, Header Building Blocks instinctively display in the Header area of the document while Footer Building Blocks display in the Footer area of the document.

This is such a great topic, we have even more…

Using Building Blocks to Enhance Productivity (Part 1 of 5)
Using Building Blocks to Enhance Productivity (Part 3 of 5)
Using Building Blocks to Enhance Productivity (Part 4 of 5)
Using Building Blocks to Enhance Productivity (Part 5 of 5)