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Dan Rodney/2 min read

Text Macros & Autocorrect

InCopy Workflow Basics

Editorial Separation

Editors write in InCopy while designers lay out in InDesign — at the same time.

Assignments

InDesign exports specific frames as InCopy assignments.

Check In/Out

Lock prevents simultaneous edits to the same content.

Live Updates

Changes flow back to InDesign automatically.

Master InDesign at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Graphic Design Certificate covers InDesign — the layout app that pairs with InCopy for editorial workflows.

Discover how to increase your efficiency with InCopy by using text macros and autocorrect features, which allow you to automate repetitive typing and correct common typing mistakes.

Text Macros & Autocorrect

Text macros are good for when you type the same pieces of text repetitively. They allow you to type a small amount of text and InCopy will replace it with the larger piece of text. For example, you can type just three letters, mgh and InCopy will turn it into McGraw-Hill.

Creating a New Text Macro

  1. Open the Text Macro panel by going into Window > Text Macros.

  2. This is an optional step, but if you see the text you’d like to turn into a Macro, go ahead and select it now.

  3. Click the New Macro button new button at the bottom of the panel.

  4. Under Macro Code, type in the abbreviated text you’d like to type.

    new text macro

  5. Under Macro Text, you’ll see any text that you had previously selected. If you had not previously selected text, you must enter the text you’d like the macro to insert.

  6. Click OK.

Using the Text Macro

  1. When typing text, just type in the abbreviated text you chose and a space.

    For instance, if we type nd like we chose in the earlier example and then press the spacebar, InCopy will change it to Noble Desktop.

Autocorrect

This feature is similar to a Text Macro, but is meant to fix common misspellings. The feature is turned on by default, so when you make a common spelling mistake, it will be automatically corrected. For instance, when you type in achieve and hit the spacebar to continue to the next word, it will replace the misspelling with achieve.

While many words are already built-in, there may be certain things you frequently type in that you’d like to see autocorrected. To customize:

  1. Go into:

    Mac: InCopy > Preferences > Autocorrect
    Windows: Edit > Preferences > Autocorrect

  2. Click Add.

  3. Enter the Misspelled Word as you commonly type it and then the Correction.

  4. Click OK and then click OK again.