How to Transfer a Word 2003 Dictionary to Another Computer

Check Grammar Too

When you conduct a spell check, Microsoft Word searches the standard dictionary as well as your custom dictionary before alerting you of a possible misspelling. The custom dictionary can contain user-specific words that you choose to add to the dictionary while conducting a spell check. You can also manually add (or delete) words to the custom dictionary. You can even move a copy of your custom dictionary in Word 2003 from one computer to another.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Word 2003

Instructions

1. Locate your custom dictionary (you may have multiple custom dictionaries) under "Documents and Settings" on your hard drive at: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof. In this destination string, "username" is the name of your computer or the name you use to log in to Windows. Replace "username" with your username when searching for the directory and the Proof file folder.

2. Use Windows Explorer to locate the Proof folder where the custom dictionaries reside. Alternatively, use the Search option from the "Start" menu to search for the Proof folder.

   When you locate the Proof folder, you will find at least one text file. There could be more text files if you created a custom dictionary in addition to the default dictionary that is setup with the Word installation. The default name for the custom dictionary is "Custom."

3. After finding the custom dictionary, copy it to a CD or USB thumb drive. To do so, right-click the file and send it to the device you are using for the transfer. Alternatively, you can email the custom dictionary.

4. On your transfer device, rename the file (for example, "Custom2"). That way, you won't overwrite the custom dictionary on the second computer. You can have multiple custom dictionaries in Word. Word will search through all of them in addition to the standard Word dictionary when a spell check is conducted.

5. To make that dictionary available from Word, launch Word.

6. From the "Tools" menu, select "Options." The Options dialog appears.

7. Select the "Spelling & Grammar" tab. Then click on the "Custom Dictionaries..." button. The Custom Dictionaries dialog appears.

8. Click on the "Add..." button, locate the CD or USB thumb drive for your renamed Custom dictionary file, click on the dictionary file you want to transfer, and then click "OK." If the box next to your transferred dictionary doesn't have a check in it, then click the box. When you subsequently conduct a spell check, your transferred dictionary will also be searched.

References

• Microsoft Support: How to Add a Custom Dictionary in Word