Specify a preferred spelling for a word

Microsoft Office Word 2003

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

  1. Click New Blank Document Button image 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.

ShowTip

You can also use the AutoCorrect feature to specify a preferred spelling for a word. For example, you can specify that every time you type theater, AutoCorrect will replace it with "theatre."