How to Remove Proofing From Word Documents

Turning off AutoCorrect options lets you type however you want, without interference.

Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect feature automatically corrects some misspellings, typos and improper capitalization. Further, it marks unrecognizable words and ungrammatical sentences with squiggly underlines. Although this proofing feature offers a useful function for some situations, it can create a hassle or annoyance in other situations. For example, fiction writing sometimes includes sentence fragments, which Word marks as grammatically incorrect. Word has only a limited dictionary, so in scientific or otherwise specialized writing, AutoCorrect marks some esoteric or advanced words as nonexistent. If you're tired of seeing those red, green and blue squiggles, you can hide or turn off AutoCorrect, and Word will stop proofing your documents.

Instructions

Permanently Turn Off AutoCorrect

1. Click the round Microsoft Office button, located in the upper, left corner of the program. Click "Word Options" at the very bottom of the drop-down menu.

2. Click the "Proofing" tab in the left column of the Word Options dialog box.

3. Uncheck all the boxes under the heading "When correcting spelling and grammar in Word."

4. Click "AutoCorrect Options," under the heading "AutoCorrect options." Another dialog box will pop up.

5. Uncheck all the boxes under the tab "AutoCorrect" in the AutoCorrect dialog box.

6. Click "OK" at the bottom of the AutoCorrect dialog box. Click "OK" at the bottom of the Word Options dialog box.

Hide Proofing in One Document

1. Click the Microsoft Office button, in the upper, left corner. Click "Word Options" at the very bottom of the drop-down menu.

2. Click the "Proofing" tab in the left column of the Word Options dialog box.

3. Check both "Hide spelling errors in this document only" and "Hide grammar errors in this document only" under the heading "Exceptions for."

4. Click "OK" at the bottom of the Word Options dialog box.

   This method will not turn off the AutoCorrect functions. For example, if you type "teh," AutoCorrect will still replace it with "the." This method will only hide the squiggly underlines that mark sections of text as wrong.

References

• Microsoft Office: Where Are the AutoCorrect Options?
• Washburn University School of Law: How To Turn Off AutoFormat in Word 2007