It took 41 years: Windows Notepad finally has spellcheck and autocorrect. In Windows 11, it’s enabled by default. You’ll know it’s working if you see a squiggly, red line under typos. To turn it off, click the gear icon in the top right corner of Notepad and toggle off both under “Spelling.”
How to train your autocorrect to actually work
I bet you’re frustrated with how often autocorrect is auto-wrong. That’s why I wanted to walk you through a few steps to make yours work more accurately.
Even with some new AI features in the latest updates, autocorrect is still “ducking” annoying. Let’s fix that together.
Go cold turkey
Yes, you can just turn it off — no more bad guesses or awkward corrections. Just type what you mean letter by letter, like in the early days. (Note: Depending on your Android make, model and OS, your steps may vary. There are just too many variations for me to cover all of them.)
- On iOS: Tap Settings > General > Keyboard, then toggle Auto-Correction to Off. Follow the same steps to turn it back on later if you need it.
- On Android: Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard >Text correction. Here, you can turn off Auto-correction and Show suggestion strip, which displays predictive text.
Team Apple: In iOS, misspellings are underlined. To turn it off, head to Settings > General > Keyboard again and turn off Check Spelling.
Team Android: Under your keyboard settings, flip the switches next to “Predictive Text” and “Show Predictions Inline.”
Add your own slang
If you’re feeling ambitious, program your phone to replace a phrase with your shorthand. Think turning “brt” into “be right there” or “1234” into “Four Score and Seven Years Ago.” Pretty slick!
- On iOS: Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement > Tap the + (plus sign), then add your word or phrase to the Phrase field (i.e., “On my way”). In the Shortcut field, type your slang of choice (i.e., “OMW”).
- On Android: Goto Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Dictionary > Personal dictionary > English and then tap the + (plus sign) in the top right to add a custom word. Put your own slang in the Shortcut box to trigger that word.
Pro tip: In iOS and Android, if you leave the Shortcut field blank, autocorrect will stop bugging you with alternate spellings.
Those are the big ones, but I’ve got a few extra tips for iOS and Android.
WTF? 10 acronyms that confuse Americans the most
A few years ago, a family member posted on Facebook that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. My mother replied with LOL. She thought that meant “lots of love,” not “laughing out loud.” She was so embarrassed.
5 buried Google settings other than privacy to save time now
Back in the day, autocorrect created more issues in our texts and emails than it fixed.
Today, you can open up an email draft, and Gmail will finish your sentences and even suggest a subject line — all mimicking the way you type. Perhaps you don’t like the idea of Google’s AI reading as you write emails. Tap or click here for steps to turn off Smart Compose.
Why autocorrect makes so many mistakes on iPhone and iPad and how to correct it
Autocorrect is everyone’s best friend and worst enemy. Yet, it can be frustrating, especially when it misses things it should have caught and when it corrects things it shouldn’t — we’ve all experienced that. Apple has simple solutions to help fix the small bugs of autocorrect.