How AutoCorrect and AutoFormat work in Write by Zaweba
AutoCorrect in Write by Zaweba fixes common typos, quotes, dashes and capitals as you type, and every rule can be switched off in Tools.
As you type, small corrections happen quietly in the background. Straight quotes become curly ones, a lower case i on its own becomes a capital, and a common slip like a swapped pair of letters is put right before you notice. In Write by Zaweba this is AutoCorrect and AutoFormat, and it is designed to help without getting in your way.
What gets corrected
The typographic changes come first. Straight quotes become smart quotes, which curl the right way at the start and end of a quotation. Dashes typed with hyphens become proper dashes. The bracketed (c), (r) and (tm) turn into the copyright, registered and trademark signs, and certain combinations become arrows and fractions.
Then come capitals. A sentence that starts with a lower case letter gets a capital, and a lone i becomes I.
There is also a list of about 90 common typing mistakes. These are the slips almost everyone makes when typing quickly, such as transposed letters in short, frequent words. They are fixed the moment you finish the word.
AutoFormat as you type
AutoFormat watches for the way people start lists by hand. Typing an asterisk, a number followed by a full stop, or a letter followed by a bracket at the start of a line begins a real list, so pressing Enter gives the next bullet or number.
It also draws lines. Type three hyphens, or three equals signs, on a line of their own and press Enter, and Write draws a line across the page. It is a quick way to separate the top of a letter from the rest, or to divide sections of notes.
Putting back what you typed
Sometimes a correction is wrong. You meant a straight quote in an example, or you really did want "(c)" as letters in a numbered list of options. Press Ctrl+Z straight after the correction, and Write puts back exactly what you typed. The rest of your typing is untouched.
That single undo is often all you need. It means AutoCorrect can be helpful most of the time without forcing its choices on you when they don't fit.
Switching rules off
Every kind of correction can be switched off in Tools > AutoCorrect options. If you write about programming and want straight quotes, turn smart quotes off. If you type lots of lists of codes that start like numbered items, turn off the automatic lists. Each rule is separate, so you keep the ones that help and drop the ones that don't.
Only your typing is touched
AutoCorrect and AutoFormat act only on text typed at the keyboard. Pasted text is never changed. That matters more than it might seem. If you paste a quotation, a block of code, an exact title or an address, it goes in as it was copied, with its own quotes, capitals and spelling. Nothing is quietly altered behind your back.
It also means corrections happen at the moment you type, when you are looking at the words. You can see each change and undo it if needed, rather than finding surprises later.
How it fits with spell check
AutoCorrect handles the obvious slips silently. The spell checker handles everything else, with red underlines and suggestions on right-click. Together they keep a page clean as you go, so a final proofread can focus on sense and tone rather than typos.
For most people the default settings are a good starting point. Use the app for a week, notice any correction that annoys you, and switch just that one off. The result is a word processor that tidies up after you in the ways you want and leaves the rest alone.
