Set spelling and grammar preferences

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
2. Under Spelling or Grammar, select the options you want.

To specify a preferred spelling for a word, you add the unwanted variations of the word's spelling to the exclude dictionary.

1. Click New Blank Document on the Standard toolbar.
2. Type the words you want to include in the exclude dictionary. Press ENTER after each word.
3. On the File menu, click Save As.
4. In the Save in box, browse to the following folder:

   C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof

5. In the Save as type box, click Plain Text.
6. In the File name box, type a name for the exclude dictionary.

   Make sure to give the exclude dictionary the same name as the main language dictionary it's associated with, except use the file name extension .exc. For example, the English (United States) dictionary is called Mssp3en.lex, so name the associated exclude dictionary Mssp3en.exc.

   Also make sure that the file extension is correct— for example, that .txt isn't appended to the file name extension.

7. Click Save.
8. In the File Conversion dialog box that appears, select the options you want, and then click OK.
9. On the File menu, click Close.
10. To activate the exclude dictionary, you need to restart Microsoft Word.

Tip

1. Select the text that you don't want to check.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Set Language.
3. Select the Do not check spelling or grammar check box.

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
2. Click Settings.
3. In the Writing style box, select whether you want to check grammar and style, or grammar only.

   If you are setting options for text written in a language other than your language version of Microsoft Word, the options may vary slightly.

4. In the Grammar and style options box, do one or both of the following:
   • Under Require, select the options you want for serial commas, punctuation within quotation marks, and number of spaces between sentences.
   • Under Grammar and Style, select or clear the check boxes next to the rules you want the grammar checker to check or ignore.

   If you are setting options for text written in a language other than your language version of Word, the options may vary slightly. For example, some group names might be different, and others, such as Require, may not appear.

Note  To restore the original rules of the selected grammar and writing style, click Reset All.