Merging autocorrect files? (2000 SP3/Win2k)

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During the last few weeks, judging from the file dates Word has added Autocorrect entries to three files with the general name MSOXXXX.acl all in the same directory. There are a number of older .acl files ‘orphaned’ in other directories, presumably dating from earlier versions of Word. Is this multi-file behaviour normal, and is there any way of merging them?

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If they have names like MSO1033.acl and MSO2057.acl, they are AutoCorrect list for different languages – 1031 is German, 1033 is US English, 1036 is French, 2057 is UK English, etc. You shouldn’t merge them.

If you also have MSO.acl files, they are probably the “default” AutoCorrect lists for various languages.

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Thanks Hans. Yes, the three recently active .acl files are numbered 1033, 2057 & 3081. Probably none of these contain my old entries built up by Word97, and which were not preserved by Word2k when I upgraded Office 3 weeks ago. The orphaned group all date from 1998, so they won’t have my lost entries either. A pity, but really a minor nuisance. Cheers, David.

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Ahhh, Word 97 was a bit different. It’s very possible the file is in a different place with a different name, such as c:windowsusername.acl. Maybe this article will provide some insight?

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 135778 – Where AutoCorrect Entries and Settings Are Stored (Word 95 & Word 97)

Office comes with a utility to migrate AutoCorrect entries as described in the following articles (depending on your version of Word). The accompanying articles explains where the macro is stored:

97: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 186237 – WD97: How to Move AutoCorrect Entries Between Computers
97: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 162490 – WD97: How to Access Sample Macros for Word 97

2000: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 207748 – HOW TO: Move Word AutoCorrect Entries Between Computers in Word 2000
2000: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 237356 – HOW TO: Access Sample Macros for Word 2000

XP: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 269006 – HOW TO: Move Word AutoCorrect Entries Between Computers in Word 2002
XP: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 289506 – HOW TO: Install and Use the Support.dot Template in Microsoft Word 2002

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Hi Dave:
Take a look at this article on the Word MVP site. They have a utility for backing up & restoring autocorrect entries.
Cheers,

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Thanks Jefferson & Phil for that great info. Despite the complexity I now have a new sense of hope and purpose. Perhaps I’ll even retrieve (some of) those lost entries from Word97. Strange that some could be in the Registry and others in normal.dot. Just part of the fun of dancing with Microsoft.

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