Under the Replace section heading, uncheck the box next to 'Straight quotes' with 'smart quotes'. How to change smart or curly quotes to straight quotes in Microsoft WordĬlick the File tab in the top-left corner of the Word screen.Ĭlick Options at the very bottom of the vertical list of choices along the left side of the display.
How to change smart or curly quotes to straight quotes in Microsoft Word.Note: These steps are specific to the apps in Microsoft Office 2016 for Windows. Thankfully, Microsoft makes that fairly simple in Word, Outlook and PowerPoint - at least once you learn the proper processes. So it can be a good idea to change the default smart-quote setting in Microsoft Office apps to the straight versions. The problem? Smart quotes don't seem all that intelligent when they mess up the formatting in certain files or on web pages. Instead, it apparently prefers the more stylized, curved 'smart' quotes. For some reason, Microsoft doesn't seem to like plain old traditional 'straight' quotes, or quotes without any curves or contours.
