When you are typing a novel or an academic essay in Microsoft Word, the quotation marks you use are incredibly important. By default, standard computer keyboards type “straight quotes” (perfectly vertical tick marks like " and '), which are a relic of ancient typewriters. Professional publications require “smart quotes” (typographical, curly quotes that correctly curve inward to hug the text like “ and ”). You can instruct Microsoft Word to automatically convert all straight quotes into curly smart quotes the exact moment you type them.
How the AutoFormat Engine Works
Microsoft Word contains a hidden AutoFormat feature designed specifically for typography. When enabled, it monitors your keystrokes. The millisecond you press the quotation mark key on your physical keyboard, Word mathematically analyzes the surrounding letters and instantly replaces the ugly straight vertical line with the correct left-facing or right-facing curly curve.
How to Enable Smart Quotes
This setting is usually enabled by default on modern installations, but if your Word is stubbornly outputting straight typewriter quotes, you must manually reactivate the feature.
- Open Microsoft Word.
- Click on File in the top-left corner, then click Options at the bottom of the left menu.
- In the large Options window, click on Proofing in the left sidebar.
- Click the large AutoCorrect Options… button.
- A new window will open. Click on the tab labeled AutoFormat As You Type.
- Under the “Replace as you type” section, check the box labeled “Straight quotes” with “smart quotes”.
- Click OK twice to save your settings and return to your document.
Fixing Existing Documents
Enabling the setting will only fix new quotes that you type moving forward. If you have already written a 50-page document filled with straight quotes, you do not need to retype them.
Simply press Ctrl + H to open the “Find and Replace” tool. In the “Find what” box, type a single straight quote ". In the “Replace with” box, type a single straight quote " again. Click Replace All. Word will instantly rip through your entire document, ripping out the old straight quotes and replacing them with properly formatted, correctly facing curly smart quotes.