Automatic spell check not working in Outlook 2003 with Word 2007

[Steve Vincent]

I have read a number of the threads and postings about this issue (the
automatic spell checker not working in Outlook 2003). I have Office 2007
Student/Home, and Outlook 2003 Professional. If Outlook 2003 requires the
same version of Word in order to have automatic spell checking enabled, then
Microsoft has really dropped the ball on this universally-used software, and
one of its central tools (automatic spell checking).

I have tried all of the suggestions in this forum (deleting registry keys
[couldn't find them in my setup], add-ins, copy/paste misspelled text from
Word 2007 into an Outlook 2003 email, etc.). Nothing has worked to
jump-start the automatic spell checker again in Outlook 2003.

If anyone has a solution to this problem, I would be most grateful for a
reply.

TIA,
Steve

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I have read a number of the threads and postings about this issue (the
automatic spell checker not working in Outlook 2003). I have Office 2007
Student/Home, and Outlook 2003 Professional. If Outlook 2003 requires the
same version of Word in order to have automatic spell checking enabled, then
Microsoft has really dropped the ball on this universally-used software, and
one of its central tools (automatic spell checking).

Outlook has worked this way for over ten years, so it's not a secret. The
last version of Outlook that allowed using a different version of Word was
Outlook 97 or 98 (I forget which). Since Outlook 2000, Word and Outlook had
to be the same version for this type of feature to work.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Spell check on send and F7 should work - spell check as you type is not
available if you aren't using Outlook and Word installed from the same suite
because it requires word as your email editor. Spell check as you type is
not a feature available in older versions of Outlook when only outlook is
installed.
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/standalone.htm

--

Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

 

[Brenda D.]

Hey Steve,

I'm with you. This requiring of the same versions is crap. Outlook is
useless. Even when I perform a manual spellcheck, it doesn't bother to
correct misspelled words. Again, useless.

Thanks to Microsoft, I look like an ignoramus in all of my work emails. I
now have to pre-type my emails in Word, spellcheck, and copy/paste the
message to Outlook. Love it when software makes extra work in a job where I
already have a thousand things to do in a day.

Would it be so hard for Microsoft to design a patch to address this
oversight?

Have I mentioned Outlook is useless?

I have been urging my company to utilize Google's gmail for their email
uses, because it's free AND my internet browser bothers to spellcheck. Why
does my internet browser make it easier to spellcheck than Outlook, which I
pay good money for?

Oh, just for the record, Microsoft Outlook is USELESS.

Brenda

 

[Gordon]

Hey Steve,

I'm with you. This requiring of the same versions is crap. Outlook is
useless. Even when I perform a manual spellcheck, it doesn't bother to
correct misspelled words. Again, useless.

Thanks to Microsoft, I look like an ignoramus in all of my work emails.

No, it's thanks to your ignorance. LEARN TO SPELL.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

No, it's thanks to your ignorance. LEARN TO SPELL.

Harsh!

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I'm with you. This requiring of the same versions is crap. Outlook is
useless. Even when I perform a manual spellcheck, it doesn't bother to
correct misspelled words. Again, useless.

There are several factors at play and you haven't stated which ones fit your
situation. The version of Outlook is a big factor, as is the type of
spell-check (manual or automatic) you're attempting to use.

 

[Gordon]

Harsh!

But true.....

 

[Bob I]

Why didn't you install Outlook 2007 with the rest of the 2007
applications in the suite?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Why didn't you install Outlook 2007 with the rest of the 2007 applications
in the suite?

Not possible if they installed Office 2007 Home and Student Edition. That's
what the OP did and perhaps Brenda did also.

 

[Bob I]

Not possible if they installed Office 2007 Home and Student Edition.
That's what the OP did and perhaps Brenda did also.

In Brenda's case it would be in direct violation of the Use Terms, but
then.........

 

[Brenda D.]

I'm at the mercy of the company I work for. Two years ago we switched our
company's software to Microsoft Navision. Since, apparently, we were using
pirated Windows software, the installation of Navision required the company
to stop being cheapskates and actually purchase Windows. They installed
Windows XP and upgraded the Microsoft Office (since that was pirated, too)
and ever since then I've been screwed.

I approached our IT dept, which consists of the head of accounting acting as
some computer extraordinaire since she has the access to the funds necessary
to purchase computer equipment, and that lead nowhere. So I've consulted
various search engines and websites, and none of the suggestions have worked.
Based upon my research, I assume my issues come from Outlook and Microsoft
not being of the same version, hence why I'm out of luck.

*sigh*

 

[Brenda D.]

I have fat, deformed fingers thanks to a birth defect.

Okay, not really. But it could happen. And spellcheck would be nice!

It's not a matter of spelling. I'm only human and sometimes simply hit the
wrong key and do not notice.

Must be nice to be so perfect. Do you fart roses, too?

 

[Brenda D.]

Honestly, any spell check would be nice!

I've tried to use automatic, but that won't work. If I do it manually, it
never catches errors. I only wish I were that perfect.

I've reviewed the dictionary and there's nothing funky in there that I can
see.

Just not sure what else I can do. I'm good at pouting, though. So that's how
I'm chosing to deal with it at this point

 

[Bob I]

You say "upgraded the Microsoft Office", this indicates that any
legitimate version the company can use will have Outlook 2007. Install
it, and that will solve the issue.

I'm at the mercy of the company I work for. Two years ago we switched our
company's software to Microsoft Navision. Since, apparently, we were using
pirated Windows software, the installation of Navision required the company
to stop being cheapskates and actually purchase Windows. They installed
Windows XP and upgraded the Microsoft Office (since that was pirated, too)
and ever since then I've been screwed.

I approached our IT dept, which consists of the head of accounting acting as
some computer extraordinaire since she has the access to the funds necessary
to purchase computer equipment, and that lead nowhere. So I've consulted
various search engines and websites, and none of the suggestions have worked.
Based upon my research, I assume my issues come from Outlook and Microsoft
not being of the same version, hence why I'm out of luck.

*sigh*

:

Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:

Why didn't you install Outlook 2007 with the rest of the 2007
applications in the suite?


Not possible if they installed Office 2007 Home and Student Edition.
That's what the OP did and perhaps Brenda did also.

In Brenda's case it would be in direct violation of the Use Terms, but
then.........

.

 

[Brenda D.]

That's what I don't understand. I USED to have Outlook 2007. But when they
installed the legitimate software, it put me back to Outlook 2003.

Sadly, I know I'm stuck with this. My "IT" lady has no idea what is
happening and thinks I changed my settings. Not the case.

Oh well.

Thanks for the suggestions. And thanks for listening to me vent. I shouldn't
be so unfair to Microsoft. Technology in general can be aggrivating!

You say "upgraded the Microsoft Office", this indicates that any
legitimate version the company can use will have Outlook 2007. Install
it, and that will solve the issue.

I'm at the mercy of the company I work for. Two years ago we switched our
company's software to Microsoft Navision. Since, apparently, we were using
pirated Windows software, the installation of Navision required the company
to stop being cheapskates and actually purchase Windows. They installed
Windows XP and upgraded the Microsoft Office (since that was pirated, too)
and ever since then I've been screwed.

I approached our IT dept, which consists of the head of accounting acting as
some computer extraordinaire since she has the access to the funds necessary
to purchase computer equipment, and that lead nowhere. So I've consulted
various search engines and websites, and none of the suggestions have worked.
Based upon my research, I assume my issues come from Outlook and Microsoft
not being of the same version, hence why I'm out of luck.

*sigh*

:

Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:




Why didn't you install Outlook 2007 with the rest of the 2007
applications in the suite?


Not possible if they installed Office 2007 Home and Student Edition.
That's what the OP did and perhaps Brenda did also.

In Brenda's case it would be in direct violation of the Use Terms, but
then.........

.

.

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

Honestly, any spell check would be nice!

I've tried to use automatic, but that won't work. If I do it manually, it
never catches errors. I only wish I were that perfect.

Automatic spell check doesn't work unless you're using Word as the editor and
clearly you're not due to the mixed versions, but the manual check should
work. Unfortunately, I rarely use that particular function and so am not all
that familiar with its internal workings. If you highlight a misspelled word
(by double-clicking it), then click the Spelling button (or press F7), does it
tell you of the misspelling?

 

[Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]]

I'm at the mercy of the company I work for. Two years ago we switched our
company's software to Microsoft Navision. Since, apparently, we were using
pirated Windows software, the installation of Navision required the company
to stop being cheapskates and actually purchase Windows. They installed
Windows XP and upgraded the Microsoft Office (since that was pirated, too)
and ever since then I've been screwed.

I'd have a hard time working for a company that knowingly pirated software and
would consider reporting them to Microsoft's antipirating department.

 

[gigster99]

I am running Office 2010 (Word) and Outlook 2007. Will this combo disable
spell checking in Outlook? Do I need to migrate from Outlook 2007 to Outlook
2010 to get spell checking to work in Outlook>

I finally got spell checking to work in Word 2010, so that's a sart

 

[Michelle Mahler]

I also got a strange error telling me that my outlook and word were different versions. I am look right at it and they bother are 2003. Anyone have advise? Please no snarkyness about learning to spell...its the bad typing.

I have read a number of the threads and postings about this issue (the
automatic spell checker not working in Outlook 2003). I have Office 2007
Student/Home, and Outlook 2003 Professional. If Outlook 2003 requires the
same version of Word in order to have automatic spell checking enabled, then
Microsoft has really dropped the ball on this universally-used software, and
one of its central tools (automatic spell checking).

I have tried all of the suggestions in this forum (deleting registry keys
[could not find them in my setup], add-ins, copy/paste misspelled text from
Word 2007 into an Outlook 2003 email, etc.). Nothing has worked to
jump-start the automatic spell checker again in Outlook 2003.

If anyone has a solution to this problem, I would be most grateful for a
reply.

TIA,
Steve

On Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:39 AM Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
Outlook has worked this way for over ten years, so it is not a secret. The
last version of Outlook that allowed using a different version of Word was
Outlook 97 or 98 (I forget which). Since Outlook 2000, Word and Outlook had
to be the same version for this type of feature to work.

On Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:40 AM Diane Poremsky [MVP] wrote:
Spell check on send and F7 should work - spell check as you type is not
available if you are not using Outlook and Word installed from the same suite
because it requires word as your email editor. Spell check as you type is
not a feature available in older versions of Outlook when only outlook is
installed.
http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/standalone.htm

--

Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]

Outlook & Exchange Solutions Center: http://www.slipstick.com/

Outlook Tips by email:
mailto:[email protected]

EMO - a weekly newsletter about Outlook and Exchange:
mailto:[email protected]

On Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:50 AM Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
Harsh!

On Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:52 AM Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
There are several factors at play and you have not stated which ones fit your
situation. The version of Outlook is a big factor, as is the type of
spell-check (manual or automatic) you are attempting to use.

On Thursday, October 22, 2009 5:14 PM Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
Not possible if they installed Office 2007 Home and Student Edition. That's
what the OP did and perhaps Brenda did also.

On Friday, October 23, 2009 12:51 PM Brenda D. wrote:
Honestly, any spell check would be nice!

I have tried to use automatic, but that will not work. If I do it manually, it
never catches errors. I only wish I were that perfect.

I have reviewed the dictionary and there is nothing funky in there that I can
see.

Just not sure what else I can do. I am good at pouting, though. So that is how
I am chosing to deal with it at this point

"Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

On Friday, October 23, 2009 2:23 PM Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
Automatic spell check does not work unless you are using Word as the editor and
clearly you are not due to the mixed versions, but the manual check should
work. Unfortunately, I rarely use that particular function and so am not all
that familiar with its internal workings. If you highlight a misspelled word
(by double-clicking it), then click the Spelling button (or press F7), does it
tell you of the misspelling?

On Friday, October 23, 2009 2:25 PM Brian Tillman [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
I'd have a hard time working for a company that knowingly pirated software and
would consider reporting them to Microsoft's antipirating department.