Imagine you have a piece of text that you’d like to quickly add to your documents no matter what document it’s in and no matter what’s saved on your clipboard.

One solution is to assign that text to a new toolbar button as AutoText.

Here is how to do it:

1) Select Tools > AutoCorrect Options from the main menu to display the AutoCorrect dialog.

2) Click and select the AutoText tab.

3) Paste (or type) your text into the Enter automatic text entries here field.

4) Click Add to have your text appear in the list box below.

5) Close the AutoCorrect dialog.

6) Select Tools > Customize to launch the Customize dialog.

7) In the Commands tab, select AutoText from Categories.

8) Find your text in the Commands panel.

9) Click the Keyboard button to launch the Customize Keyboard dialog.

10) Again select AutoText from Categories and find your text in the Commands panel.

11) In Press New Shortcut Key enter a new shortcut for this AutoText.

Try not to use those shortcuts that are already in use. For example, if you assign Ctrl+V, you’ll be reassigning a well-known shortcut for pasting clipboard content to pasting your custom text. That could cause confusion.

12) Suppose you physically press the Control key and then the K key. The shortcut “Ctrl+K” is automatically added as your new shortcut.

13) Click the Assign button and close all windows.

Now every time you click Ctrl+A, Word will insert your assessment test at the cursor. You no longer have to write it.

Another method to get your AutoText back is to place it on the toolbar:

In the Customize dialog:

1) Click and DRAG your AutoText onto any TOOLBAR you want.

The text will be inserted as a rectangle. Each time you click on this rectangle, the associated autotext will be automatically inserted into your text.

However, you can also replace this text button with an icon.

2) Select the text button and click the down arrow at the bottom of its toolbar to display the popup menu.

3) Select Customize to display the Customize dialog.

4) Select AutoText from Categories and find your text in the Commands panel.

5) With the Customize dialog still open, click the text button on the toolbar to enable the Modify Selection button.

6) Click the Modify Selection button and from the pop-up menu select Change Button Image to display the available icon images.

7) Select an image and then select the Default Style option. Your button text will be replaced by the icon you have chosen. Now whenever you click on that icon in the toolbar, your autotext will be inserted where the cursor is.

8) To remove the icon from your toolbar, select Tools > Personalize.

9) Click the icon button and drag it off the toolbar. This does not remove the autotext from the Personalize screen, but it will remove it from the toolbar.