WD2000: Open Quotation Mark Adjacent to Character Becomes Closed Quotation Mark (220362)

SYMPTOMS

When you type the beginning quotation mark to enclose a phrase within quotation marks, the opening mark becomes a closed quotation mark instead of an open quotation mark as expected.

For example, when you type the following text:

Item 1:"This is the first item."

The quotation mark between "Item 1:" and "This" becomes a closing quotation mark.

NOTE: This problem occurs with either the single or double quotation mark.

CAUSE

This behavior is by design. The AutoFormat As You Type feature is designed to look for a space between a character and the opening quotation mark to determine whether to use an open or a closed quotation mark.

For example, when you type the following text:

Item 1: "This is the first item."

The quotation mark between "Item 1:" and "This" becomes an open quotation mark because there is a space following the colon.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, type a space before you type the quotation mark. This allows Word to insert the correct opening quotation mark. After the text is correctly typed with the proper opening and closing quotation marks, you can delete the space before the opening quotation mark, if you want.

MORE INFORMATION

The Replace "straight quotes" with "smart quotes" option is selected by default.

To turn on or off the Replace "straight quotes" with "smart quotes" option, do the following:

On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect.
On the AutoFormat As You Type tab, select (or clear) the "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes" check box under Replace as you type.
Click OK.

For more information about autoformat as you type, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type autoformat as you type in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.