Spell check problems

[dsrtplace15]

I got Big Time problems with dictionaries. (I have a flat panel G4
with both Classic and OS X, 10.2.8 available and always word-process
in Classic.) I can't get "custom dictionary" to work (tho there's one
listed under preferences > dictionaries > custom dictionaries) and,
horror, my good old 1200 plus word custom dictionary, accumulated over
years, is no where to be found and, when it was still available, as a
document on my desktop, I couldn't get it to serve even when moved in
and highlighted and checked under "custom dictionaries." (Now I can't
find it anywhere in my system, through File > Find, and hate the
thought of starting over with 1200 words.) But first I simply need to
get the, or some, "custom dictionary" possibility to work at all. The
issue started with a reoccurring problem when attempting to pull down
major menus, File, Edit, View, etc., with no response. As before I
called for MS tech help by phone and this time, finagling my way in, a
2004 tech got the menus working properly. Then, back at work, I found
I had no use of Custom Dictionary. Many calls attempted to MS techs
and screwing around myself left me with the predicament I describe
above. And if anyone needs spell-check help it's me. Also after 13
years with Word 3.0 on a Mac Plus and 5 years with my present system
I've about learned to turn my computer on. I have to admit I'm not
very advanced. Thanks in advance. Bob Tracy, dsrtplace15 @ yahoo dot
com

 

[John McGhie [MVP Word, Word Mac]]

Hi Bob:

OK: You are learning some hard lessons about MS Tech Support. They don't
know s**t about Macs

The problem is almost certainly NOT the dictionary: it's the DOCUMENT you
are trying to spell-check!!

Look up "language" in the Help, and then check the language of the text in
your document!

The language of your text must match the language of the dictionary exactly.
The "language" has nothing to do with the fact that your text is in
"English", the "Language" of the text is a name that describes the set of
proofing tools that should be used on that text (Dictionary, Grammar,
Hyphenation, Thesaurus). Individual words can have different languages.

For example: If you have text in English UK and your dictionary is in
English US, your dictionary will be disabled. You need a custom dictionary
for each language you want to use.

The simple way around that is to mark your Custom Dictionary as "No
Language". Then it will work for ALL languages you have in the document.
So look in the help and assign a language of "No language" to your Custom
Dictionary. If you can't figure out how, open the thing in TextEdit and
look for the top line t hat reads "LCID 3081". LCID stands for Locale
Identifier". If you do not see an LCID line in your custom dictionary, then
your dictionary has no language set. If you do see it, delete that line.

The other thing to be careful of is that your custom dictionary must be the
FIRST dictionary listed in the custom Dictionary list. Word can use a chain
of dictionaries, but the other applications can use only the top one.

The name of the custom dictionary doesn't matter: you can use "Bob.dic" if
you like (and I would, so you can tell yours apart from any default ones).
However, the location of the custom dictionaries DOES matter. Word will
automatically load only the custom dictionaries in the correct folder. It's
not a good idea to try to use them from desktop.

Now: Check the language of your text. Make sure there is no text set to
"No Proofing" or "Do not check spelling and grammar". If there is: gues
what? That's it: Spelling is disabled in those sections. Rather than have
to check your text word-for-word, many people would simple select the whole
document and set it all to the single language they want to use.

Lastly, go to Preferences>Spelling... and hit "Recheck Document" (you may
have to look in the help to find that one). It rests all the ignored words
in the document so the spelling checker will now re-assess the whole
document.

Hope this helps

--

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. GMT + 10 Hrs
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]