Microsoft Word XP

Working with Spell Check

Word XP allows you to modify Spell Check by adding or deleting words from the dictionary. Adding or deleting words from the dictionary can help Spell Check recognize or ignore words that would otherwise be noted as misspelled.

Grammar can be checked simultaneously with spelling. For information on checking grammar, refer to Working with Grammar Check.

Activating Automatic Spell Check
Modifying Text in a Dictionary
Correcting Misspelled Text

Activating Automatic Spell Check

By default, Spell Check is automatically on whenever Word is open. Spell Check may be turned off by setting the preferences. When this feature is off, Spell Check will not check through your document while you type. You can easily turn this feature on through the Preferences dialog box. You can also spell check a document after you are finished typing.

From the Tools menu, select Options...
The Options dialog box appears.
Select the Spelling & Grammar tab
Under Spelling, select Check spelling as you type
Click OK
Misspelled words will appear with a red underline.
NOTE: This feature marks spelling errors; it does not correct them.

Modifying Text in a Dictionary

Modifying text in a dictionary can be useful so that terms and names that Spell Check does not recognize are not marked as being misspelled. In order to remove or add text from a dictionary, you must first open the dictionary from the Custom Dictionary dialog box. Removing or adding text from your dictionary is useful and easy. You are allowed to save your changes so you can close Word and return later using the changes you made.

From the Tools menu, select Options...
The Options dialog box appears.
Select the Spelling & Grammar tab
Click CUSTOM DICTIONARIES...
The Custom Dictionaries dialog box appears.
From the Custom Dictionaries listing, select the dictionary you want to modify
NOTE: A selected dictionary has a checked box next to it.
Click MODIFY...
The dictionary list appears. If the dictionary has never been modified, the dictionary list will be empty.
To add words to the dictionary:
1. In the Word text box, type the word you wish to add
2. Click ADD
To delete words from the dictionary:
1. Select the word(s) that you want deleted
2. Click DELETE
When finished, click OK
Click OK
Click OK

Correcting Misspelled Text

When the dictionary recognizes a word as misspelled, it will underline the word with a red wavy line. Word allows you to correct your misspelled text through the Quick menu or through a dialog box. For words that are often misspelled or mistyped, you may use AutoCorrect to automatically correct the mistakes as they are typed.

For information on correcting grammar, refer to Working with Grammar Check.

Correcting Misspelled Text: Quick Menu Option

Using the Quick menu to modify misspelled text is very easy and allows you to manage your misspelled word(s) quickly.

Right click the misspelled word » select the appropriate Quick menu option

Quick Menu Option	Action
Spelling Suggestions (e.g., UWEC, Use, Owe, Ewe, Awe)	Gives word choices as spelling suggestions to correct the misspelled word.
Ignore All	Tells Spell Check to ignore that word and every other instance of that word.
Add to Dictionary	Adds the word into the dictionary.
AutoCorrect	Shows a submenu that provides word choices to set the automatic correction of the misspelled word.
Language	Allows the misspelled word to be corrected according to the selected language.
Spelling...	Opens the Spelling dialog box where you can make changes to the misspelled word

Correcting Misspelled Text: Dialog Box Option

Using the dialog box is a little more time consuming, but can give you more options for changing the misspelled word.

From the Tools menu, select Spelling and Grammar...
OR
Click the SPELLING AND GRAMMAR button
OR
Press [F7]
The Spelling and Grammar dialog box appears.

Make the desired selection
NOTE: The options for the dialog box include all the options from the Quick menu plus the options described in the following table.

Dialog Box Option	Action
Change	Changes the word to the selected suggestion.
Change All	Changes all identical misspellings to the selected suggestion.
AutoCorrect	Changes the word in the current document and continues to make corrections in subsequent documents as you type them.

When it is finished, a dialog box appears
Click OK