Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Correcting a Capital Mistake.

Correcting a Capital Mistake

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 15, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


I can't tell you the number of times that I've been feverishly typing away, without glancing up at my worksheet. I get in a "groove," and I keep typing away, figuring I will check things out when I get to the end of a row or a column. When I finally look up, I notice that I had the Caps Lock key selected, so all my normal text is in uppercase, and everything I wanted in upper case is in lowercase. This happened because I hit the Caps Lock key by mistake, and didn't notice the mistake until I'd already entered quite a bit of data.

Fortunately, Excel can catch this type of mistake for me—if I tell it to catch it. Follow these steps:

  1. Depending on your version of Excel, choose either AutoCorrect or AutoCorrect Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  2. Display the AutoCorrect tab. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The AutoCorrect tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Correct Accidental Use of cAPS LOCK Key check box is selected.
  5. Click on OK.

Now, if I type something in a cell and the first letter is lowercase and the rest of the letters are uppercase, Excel figures that I've got the Caps Lock key selected, and helpfully turns it off. It also corrects the capitalization of my text entry.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3304) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Correcting a Capital Mistake.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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