How to Use the Spell Checker in Microsoft Word

You can use the spell-check feature in Microsoft Word 97 and Word 2000 (for PC) and Word 98 (for Macintosh) to check spelling and grammar in your documents. You can spell check any selection (even just one word) or the whole document.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Word (for Mac)

1. Select the text you want to spell check, or place the cursor anywhere in the text to spell check the entire document.

2. Go to the Tools menu.

3. Select Spelling and Grammar. The Spelling and Grammar window opens, and Word begins spell checking.

4. View any flagged words or phrases in the upper-left window. Just above this window, you will see the reason Word has flagged this text.

5. Check the Suggestions window in the lower-left corner of the Spelling and Grammar window for correction suggestions.

6. Click the Change button to make the suggested correction.

7. Click Change All if you want all instances of this error corrected within the text that you are spell checking.

8. Enter your own change if you disagree with the suggested correction (or if there is no suggestion) by placing your cursor in the flagged text window and correcting the text as you would in any Word document.

9. Click the Change button to implement your correction.

10. Click Ignore if no correction is needed; click Ignore All to skip all further occurrences of this "misspelling."

Tips & Warnings

• Click the Check Grammar checkbox in the lower-left corner of the Spelling and Grammar window to have Word check both grammar and spelling at the same time.
• Click Options in the Spelling and Grammar window to make the spelling and grammar check more precise.
• Ignore All is useful for proper names or other terms the Word dictionary doesn't know.

[toysoldier]

on 3/11/2009 I am typing my Music CD's in alphabetical order and I keep coming up against the same spell checker problem. As I type in each title or song and it is an American/English spelt word there is usually no problem, however if it is an British/English spelt word usually abreviations such as likin' and doin' the spell checker red flags the word and I'm getting really cheesed off with it, so do I turn off the spell checker or can I replace with the Oxford English Dictionary? (In fact, can I turn off the spell checker?)