Why does spell-checking keep being switched-off by Word 2003?

[IainH]

I keep finding that Word 'thinks it knows better' and keeps switching off
spell-checking.

If I check in my Normal.dot under Tools:Options:Spelling & Grammar both
spelling and grammar checks are ENabled.

If I check in my Normal.dot under Tools:Language:Set Language... the 'Do not
check spelling or grammar' option is DISabled. The language is set as English
UK with both UK and US dictionaries loaded.

If I then create a new blank document and start typing I find spelling has
miraculously become DISabled, i.e. under Tools:Language:Set Language... the
'Do not check spelling or grammar' option has suddenly bencome ENabled!

If I then select all (Ctrl+A) and go back to Tools:Language:Set Language...
and uncheck the 'Do not check spelling or grammar' option and 'OK' and then
go straight back in to recheck, I find the 'Do not check spelling or grammar'
option partially re-ENabled (i.e. grey tick) even though I just DISabled it!

It's as if Word thinks it knows better and does not want to spell check and
it becomes a real battle to mark my text for checking.

Anyone any idea what's going on? I find these kind of 'features' ever
increasingly intrusive and very counter -productive. I spent my time 'doing
battle' with Word (and other MS products) trying to make the do as I wish as
opposed to following some set of unknown rules developed by someone sat in
Sattle thinking they'll add some cool new feature to help me. It would seem 9
times out of 10 they work against me!

Can someone help me before Word finally does me in!

Thx.../Iain

 

[Beth Melton]

Sounds like you have a third party add-in causing the issue. When you
modify your preferences in Tools/Options then the settings should
stick.

Go to Tools/Templates and Add-Ins and see if there are any global
templates or add-ins listed. If so they are located in one of your
Startup folders. The location of the Word\Startup folder can be found
under Tools/Options/File Locations and the Office\Startup folder can
be found in the Office installation path..

Take a look in each folder and if you find more than one file move
them one at a time and try duplicating the error after each file is
moved out of the folder until you determine which one is causing the
problem.

As of Word 2000, Word can have COM add-ins. COM are added via the
Registry rather than the Startup folders. To determine whether or not
you are using COM Add-In you can add the "COM Add-in" command to your
toolbar:

- Right-click any toolbar and select Customize
- On the Commands tab, select the Tools category
- Locate COM Add-Ins on the right
- Drag/Drop to a location of your choice

For more information on COM Add-Ins, see this article:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm

For additional troubleshooting steps see this article:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm
--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Pasting text from the Web or another document can cause this. Form fields
are also formatted as "(no proofing)" by default, I believe. And I have had
a case where one of my styles mysteriously became formatted as "Do not check
spelling or grammar" in a particular document although it was not so
formatted in the template. As Office MVP Bob Buckland has famously said,
"Word rarely misses an opportunity to perplex."

 

[IainH]

Thanks for the pasting of text from a web page idea. That might be an issue
although I just hate Word (and other products) for trying to replicate the
html formatting and only ever 'Paste' by mistake...always using 'Paste
Special' and pasing plain text only specifically to stop untold new and
unwanted styles arriving in my document...not to mention usually crazy
formatting

I'll also try and check my Normal.dot styles and see if there's a problem
there...although I wasn't aware there was a style option for supressing
spelling check...but then we live and learn

Thanks for your help.../Iain

 

[IainH]

Suzanne...you are a God-send )

Looking at my Normal.dot I not only found you could set a language and so
spell-check option against a style, but that my Normal style was
(mysteriously) set to not spell-check. Now quite how it got to be like that
is another matter. I didn't even know the option existed but obviously Word
took exception to me not liking it's default Normal style ;-)

Also oddly my Normal.dot contains two 'extra' styles:

1. Personal Compose Style
2. Personal Reply Style

???? Now where did they come from?? More interestingly they have the 'Do not
spell check' option part selected, i.e. grey ticked, which is what I find in
docs I create...so hopefully zapping them may cure my ills...unless of course
Word gets even more upset with me for not only liking is default style setup
but also zapping things it thinks should be there. It may be a perfect
solution...or a perfect hell if Word retaliates )

Thx.../Iain

 

[IainH]

Well thanks for the exhaustive reply but sadly...

I have no global templates or add-ins and I really did check
And no I don't have any COM add-ins either

This is a pretty new Word 2003 installation on a new XP SP2 machine. My HDD
died a few months ago and so everything was rebuilt from scratch and I tend
not to like to add in any junk at all!

I'll try Suzanne's suggestion of something buried in a Normal.dot style
although I wasn't aware it was possible to switch off spell-checking by
style. But I'll try and see if that's the reason

Thanks for you help.../Iain

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Are you using Word as your email editor? The Compose and Reply styles sound
like something that would come from email, and if you have some option set
in Outlook/Outlook Express not to spell check emails, this might be where
the whole mess started.

 

[IainH]

Ooo no, I *never* use Word as my Email editor but of course Outlook does like
to default to this and so Outlook does helpfully add things like these for
me?

All deleted not though! Aha!

Thanks for your help...am sure you've solved it for me.../Iain

 

[Penny Anderson]

In wordperfect I'm not able to get spell check to work which is a pain. It
use to work no problems at all, now I can't get the spell check to work. I
read in this forum about lookiing at a Normal.dot. I do not know what that
is. Could someone helpe me? Thanks

 

[Dollee]

I have nothing that allows me to enable or disable.

 

[katsbird]

My problem is very close to this. I can't shut it off!! I tried to help out
a friend with her computer and clicked on "spell check emails". I can't
remember where it was or how to get back to it so I can unclick it. Now
everytime she tries to send an email she has to check each box to bypass the
spell check. I checked with AOL and they show theirs is turned off. Please
help me turn it off on the computer..

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The setting is doubtless somewhere in your mail client. In Outlook Express,
for example, it is on the Spelling tab of Tools | Options.