Word > Spelling, grammar, and thesaurus

Check spelling and grammar

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You can check the spelling and grammar in the file all at once, or you can let the spelling and grammar

checkers suggest corrections automatically while you work. Microsoft Office 2010 comes with a dictionary

of standard grammar and spellings, but they are not comprehensive. For more information on how to

customize these features, see the following:

Choose how spelling and grammar checking work

Use custom dictionaries to add words to the spelling checker

Use exclusion dictionaries to specify a preferred spelling for a word

Check spelling and grammar in a different language

What do you want to do?

Check spelling and grammar all at once

Check spelling and grammar automatically

Fix problems with the spelling and grammar checker

Check spelling and grammar all at once

Checking all the spelling and grammar in a file at the same time is useful when you want to proof your text.

You can check for possible mistakes and then confirm each correction.

You can resolve each error that the program finds in different ways.

I want to fix the error by using one of the suggested words.

Select the word in the Suggestions list, and then click Change.

I want to fix the error by changing the word myself.

1. Select the Not in Dictionary check box.

2. Edit the word.

3. Click Change.

The misspelled word is a real word that I use. I want all of the Microsoft Office programs to recognize

this word and not treat it as a misspelling.

Click Add or Add to Dictionary.

I want to ignore this misspelled word and move on to the next misspelled word.

Click Ignore Once.

I want to ignore all instances of this misspelled word and move on to the next misspelled word.

Click Ignore All.

I tend to make this mistake a lot, so I want the program to automatically fix this mistake for me

whenever I type it.

Select the correct word in the Suggestions list, and then click AutoCorrect.

Which Office 2010 program are you using?

Access

Excel

InfoPath

OneNote

Outlook

PowerPoint

Publisher

SharePoint Workspace
Visio

Word

ACCESS

1. On the Home tab, in the Records group, click Spelling.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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EXCEL

1. On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?
 TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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INFOPATH

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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ONENOTE

1. On the Review tab, in the Spelling group, click Spelling.

Where is this?
 TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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OUTLOOK

1. Create or open an e-mail message, appointment, or contact, and then on the Review tab, in

the Proofing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

4. In Outlook or Word only, after the program finishes flagging the spelling mistakes, it shows

you the grammar mistakes. For each mistake, select an option in the Spelling and Grammar

dialog box.

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POWERPOINT

1. On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

PROJECT

1. On the Project tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?
 TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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PUBLISHER

1. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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SHAREPOINT WORKSPACE

1. Click in a rich text area of a workspace tool item that you have open for editing.

For example, click in a Discussion item, Notepad item, or a Calendar profile.

2. On the Home tab, click Spelling, or press F7.

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.
 NOTE    In some rich text areas in SharePoint Workspace, the Spelling command is not available

in the ribbon, so you must press F7 to open the spelling checker unless you have added the

command to the Quick Access Toolbar.

3. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

4. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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VISIO

1. On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the shortcut

menu.
 .

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

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WORD

1. On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling & Grammar.

Where is this?

TIP   You can access this command quickly by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar by right-

clicking the Spelling & Grammar button, and then clicking Add to Quick Access Toolbar on the

shortcut menu.

2. If the program finds spelling mistakes, a dialog box or task pane appears with the first

misspelled word found by the spelling checker.

3. After you resolve each misspelled word, the program flags the next misspelled word so that

you can decide what you want to do.

4. In Outlook or Word only, after the program finishes flagging the spelling mistakes, it shows

you the grammar mistakes. For each mistake, click an option in the Spelling and Grammar

dialog box.

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Check spelling and grammar automatically

This section explains how automatic spelling and grammar checking works and how to turn it on or off.

 NOTES 

There is no option to check spelling while you type in Access, Excel, or Project.

Grammar checking is available only in Outlook and Word.

HOW AUTOMATIC SPELLING CHECKING WORKS

When you check the spelling automatically as you type, you can be more confident that you won't have to

correct many spelling mistakes. Your Microsoft Office program can flag misspelled words as you work so

that you can easily locate them, as in the following example.

You can right-click the misspelled word to see suggested corrections.

Depending on the Microsoft Office program that you are using, right-clicking a word can give you other

options, such as adding the word to your custom dictionary.

HOW AUTOMATIC GRAMMAR CHECKING WORKS (OUTLOOK AND WORD ONLY)

After you turn on automatic grammar checking, Word and Outlook flag the potential grammar and style

mistakes as you work in Word documents and in opened Outlook items (except Notes), as shown in the

following example.

You can right-click the mistake to see more options.

On the shortcut menu, a suggested correction might appear. You can also choose to ignore the error or

click About This Sentence to see why the program considers the text to be a mistake.

TURN ON OR OFF AUTOMATIC SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECKING

Which Office 2010 program are you using?

InfoPath

OneNote

Outlook

PowerPoint

Publisher

SharePoint Designer

Visio

Word

INFOPATH

1. On the Home tab, click the arrow next to Spelling, and then click Spelling Options.

2. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors check box.

 NOTE    If you want to select this check box, you must also select the Check spelling as you

type check box.

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OUTLOOK
1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click Mail.

3. Click Spelling and Autocorrect.

4. Under When correcting spelling in Outlook, select or clear the Check spelling as you

type, Mark grammar errors as you type, and Check grammar with spelling check boxes.

 NOTE    The spelling and grammar checkers are available for all items except Notes.

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ONENOTE

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click Proofing.

3. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors check box.

 NOTE    If you want to select this check box, you must also select the Check spelling as you

type check box.

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POWERPOINT

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click Proofing.

3. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors check box.

 NOTE    If you want to select this check box, you must also select the Check spelling as you

type check box.

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PUBLISHER

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click Proofing.

3. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors check box.

  NOTE    If you want to select this check box, you must also select the Check spelling as you

type check box.

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SHAREPOINT DESIGNER

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click General.

3. Click Page Editor Options.

4. On the General tab, click Spelling Options

5. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors check box.

 NOTE    If you want to select this check box, you must also select the Check spelling as you

type check box.

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VISIO

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click Proofing.

3. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors check box.

 NOTE    If you want to select this check box, you must also select the Check spelling as you

type check box.

 NOTE    This feature is not available in Access, Excel, and Project.

WORD

1. Click the File tab.

2. Under Help, click Options, and then click Proofing.

3. To turn on or off automatic spelling checking and automatic grammar checking for the

currently open document, do the following:

1. Under Exceptions for, click Name of currently open file.

 2. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide

grammar errors in this document only check boxes.

To turn on or off automatic spelling checking and automatic grammar checking for all documents

that you create from now on, do the following:

3. Under Exceptions for, click All New Documents.

4. Select or clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only and Hide

grammar errors in this document only check boxes.

IMPORTANT   If you turn off automatic spelling checking or automatic grammar checking for a file that you

share with other people, you might want to notify those people that you made this change.

AUTOCORRECT

In some programs, you can also use AutoCorrect to automatically correct spelling as you type, without

having to confirm each correction. For example, if you type definately and type a space or other

punctuation, the AutoCorrect feature automatically replaces the misspelled word with definitely. For more

information see Automatically correct spelling and insert text and symbols.

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Fix problems with the spelling and grammar checker

Spelling or grammar checker flags text I don't want or expect it to flag

The spelling or grammar checker isn't checking words in a different language correctly

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