Word 2007 Spell Check Issues

When creating a new document in word 2007, obvious mispelled words are not
picked up by the spell checker. All settings and options have been double
check by my IT department, however it still does not work. The message states
" The spelling and grammer check is complete" but the mistakes are not picked
up. When I used the trial version I did not have any problems with this,
however once my office bought the full version spell check is no longer
working. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

First, click the Microsoft Office Button, close it, and see if spell check
begins to work. (Believe it or not, there's a slight bug with spell check
and the Microsoft Office Button, you need to click it once for it to start
working. Note that this only applies to new installations and it will only
happen once.)

If that doesn't work then if no custom spell checker have been installed on
the computer, exit Word, and then backup and delete the following registry
key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

This key will be rebuilt the next time you start Word. Please let us know if
this resolves the issue. This resolution, found by Bob Buckland on another
forum, has been only recently been confirmed by Microsoft. :-)

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

[Bond782]

After installing Office 2007 the english spell checker in outlook express
was in french only. By doing as i did I was able to use an english spell
checker on outlook express.
Regards

My problem is that the Spell Checker has a life of its own. Every time i run
it it crashes my Word 2007. Anybody any ideas ??
I've tried the diagnostics etc, closed it down, started it up again, done
what "Beth" suggested earlier. I'm running a trial version of Office
Professional 2007.

After I posted I realized that you weren't JacklynK replying to my
suggestion and perhaps you were offering a suggestion for her??

Your suggestion sort of works for the inability to spell check in OE but it
won't resolve the inability to use spell check in the Office applications
themselves, which is the issue JacklynK is having.

I stated "sort of" because if all you installed were the proofing tools then
it isn't enough to trigger activation and you won't pass the Microsoft
Genuine Advantage test if you try to download something from Microsoft.com.
The only way around this is to install something else to trigger activation.
Using the proofing tools from Office XP results in the same behavior and if
you install them from Office 2000 you end up with more issues. Right now the
best solution is to download a third-party spell checker. :-(

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

I was having the same problem with the Spell checking in Word 2007 defaulting to "French" no matter what setting I set up in the program it would always use "French" as the spelling and grammer checker. So I looked into the registry and went to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0". Now in 1.0 there was a REG_DWORD with something to do with French so I deleted it and in the folder Office that's under 1.0 there is also a REG_DWORD with something to do with French so I deleted that one also. This seemed to fix it. I am having no problems with Spell checking in Word 2007 anymore. I hope this helps someone.

Beth we have this issue in both Office 2003 and Office 2007. We have a
word...Indentify that the dictionary says is a word, but not in any
dictionary we can find. Some on our network use Windows XP with Office 2003
and others use Vista with Office 2007. Neither the dictionary in 2003 or in
2007 identifies this word as a misspelling. I've checked all the settings in
both systems and ensured the word is NOT in the custom dictionary in both
systems but we can't get Word to identify it as a misspelling.

So I have the most annoying problem. Everytime I hit "spellcheck" or the "spellcheck" icon in menu, it highlights the next mispelled word or grammar issue and does nothing else-no dialogue box. I could right click on it and change it manually, but the dialogue box doesn't show up and Iwhen i would right click and then clikc on "gammar" it would just do nothing, then go straight to the sentence with the grammar issue and highlight it.

I have no idea what the problem is. Registry key was checked-DWORD deleted, no "override" key; repaired the configuration; followed 100% of all the suggestions here and everywhere else I have been looking for the past 4 hours.

[grasshopperlee]

Well, the following worked for me while I was having this problem:
Go to the review tab. Under the proofing section, click on select language. A dialog box will open allowing you to select your language (this should be your preferred language with a check mark on the side and a little abc icon). There are two boxes at the bottom. One says, do not check spelling or grammar. Make sure there is NOT a check mark in this box. The other box says, detect language automatically. This one should be checked. I don't know why, but I have had one document open with the right boxes checked, and have opened another document and had the wrong one checked.

If the wrong box is checked, fix it. Close the document and reopen. Like I said, this is what has happened to me and this fixed it. Sounds like a lot of things could be wrong since it appears there are way too many ways to disable the checker.

I know I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why my spell checker wouldn't work. I am also no techie. I like office 2007, but it seems a little more difficult to control all of the options, and I certainly do not like having more than one place to change settings, like turning off or on spellchecker. Especially when it seems the software turns off settings by itself.

I opened the registry editory and could not find the file listed that you mentioned to delete: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US" The only file listed was "Default." Per another posting, I switched my Language Preferences to English (Australia) and restarted. This did not fix issue. The preferences to hide spelling errors isn't checked. Any other suggestions?

You may try doing this also.

Click on Office button (top left) in word.
Click on word oprions button.
Click on Add-ins.
In the Manage box select "Disabled items" and click on Go.
In the dialog box select en-US spell checker if it is there and Click on
Enable.

[ccossey]

I was having an intermittent problem with Word 2007 not spell checking text when pasted from other applications. Word would indicate that the spell check was complete with no errors, and clearly there where errors.

I did the process

Go to the review tab. Under the proofing section, click on select language. A dialog box will open allowing you to select your language (this should be your preferred language with a check mark on the side and a little abc icon). There are two boxes at the bottom. One says, do not check spelling or grammar. Make sure there is NOT a check mark in this box. The other box says, detect language automatically. This one should be checked. I don't know why, but I have had one document open with the right boxes checked, and have opened another document and had the wrong one checked.

I tried everything to get my spell check working, but your suggestion with the disabled add-in worked!!!!

I am not a hooplehead when it comes to PC's and software, but this one had me stumped for days.
I have even tried the registry deletion to no avail.

So, for those of you with issue who have tried everything else, try this:
Click on top left Word circle Icon
Go to bottom click on Word Options
Go to Add-ins
At bottom, should say "Manage: CD Add-ins" - change to "Disabled Items" then hit Go...
This should bring up Spell-check add in - select this.
Try spell check... IT WORKS!!

My spell checker now works! I have a vista so just searched regedit and then delete the keys as specified!

My spell checker works great now in all my programs - word, One Note etc!

Please note in the above chain that Beth Melton indicated the following
registry key needs to be deleted. I did it and it worked. Make sure that
Office programs are closed.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

Spell check was not working in Word 2007, but grammar check was OK. This is the solution that worked for me.

[ctfan240]

I believe I have read everything posted, but am still not sure why spell check will not recognize the obvious errors. I believe I have double checked everything that has been mentioned and with the exception of the registry key >> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

which I did not find, I am at a loss. The machine was recently updated from Office 2003 to Office 2007. I am not too familiar with working with the registry, so more information on creating a new entry would need to be provided.

First since I did not see my original post I assumed I messed up. If I ended up duplicating it, I apologize.

I believe I have read everything posted, but am still not sure why spell check will not recognize the obvious errors. I believe I have double and triple checked everything that has been mentioned and with the exception of the registry key >> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

which I did not find, I am at a loss. The machine was recently updated from Office 2003 to Office 2007. I went through the other Office apps and made sure that their settings were not conflicting with Word's. There is a custom Dictionary, I can get rid of it if required. I thought of looking for the default dictionary so I could copy one from another machine, but now I do not think that will work, as I could not find it. I am not too familiar with working with the registry, so more information on creating a new entry would need to be provided.

First, the why it happened. When we finally called Microsoft, the nice support person indicated, Office 2003 used 32 bit encryption or format (something) and Office 2007 used 64 bit whatever. The numbers could also have been 16 to 32 but you get the drift. Anyway, if you open Word, go to options, get to the addins dialog box, then set it to look for disabled addins. Guess what should be there, spell checker. Re-enable it and everything will work fine.
I would give the specific steps but my daughter has her machine back and I'm still on 2003.

I have Word 2007 installed on two machines - one Windows XP, where it works just fine, and the other a Vista machine where spell check just will not work.

Grammar checking is working, so it identifies "abcde fghij" as a "Fragment", but can't see any spelling errors in it.

I have hunted this and other forums and have tried every solution I could find, but with no success.

- there are no "disabled addins"
- I have renamed HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0 to ....\zz1.0
- there is no entry for .....\Proofing Tools\1.0\Override
- in Add/Remove under Office Shared Features, Proofing Tools ARE set to "Run from my computer"

I notice that in the registry, the newly created .....\Proofing Tools\1.0 contains a folder named "Custom Dictionaries", whereas the "old" ....\Proofing Tools\1.o0 (now renamed ....Proofing Tools\zz1.0) contains, as well as Custom Dictionaries, a folder named "Office".

I would really appreciate any advice on how to get spellcheck to work.

I tried all these solutions and none of them worked for me.
So I went to control panel "add remove programs" selected MS office 2007.
Hit the change button and it gave me a couple of options. I selected spell check and change it to "install on first use" and applied that selection. It reformatted then then exited.I restarted Word 2007 opened a document and started spell check. It installed on first use and spell checked my document.All is fine now. I added this because I don't see my solution anywhere including MS support site.

I also had an issue with the spell checker and autocorrect functions not working. The solution I came across was (in Vista, though it should be similar for XP users) was to go to Control Panels/Region and Language Settings, then change the language to the one I wanted, in this case English (Ireland). For some reason, this caused a little language icon to appear beside the battery icon on my laptop. In any case, while using a Word document, I selected the English (Ireland) setting, which immediately caused the spell checker to start working as normal.

I'm sure someone who knows more about this will be able to explain it, but I believe the Regional and Language Settings enable you to choose your language preferences for the app you're currently using. In any case, the solution has been a permanent one for me.

I'm having a similar problem. I added a medical dictionary file to my Word 2007 and now my spell checker doesn't come on automatically. It must be clicked on each time. I've tried all of the tips listed in your message but no luck. Any other ideas?

I have the same problem and your solution does not work! I do not
have a registry key to remove that is named:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

I DO HAVE:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared\Tools\ ProofingTools\1.0\Custom
Dictionary...&...

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared
> Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Office....I DO NOT HAVE ANY KEY WITH THE SUFFIX:
"Override\en-US"

What do I remove now? I have Office 2007 running on Vista. Any help
appreciated.

I wish I had and answer to your problem with the spell checker but I don't.
This sounds like a problem with the Word 2007 program. Why isn't Microsoft
answering these questions? These so called experts, put out these faulty
programs and we after spending our hard earned money have to figure out the
answer. Something is not right here. One site I went to mention downloading
a free spellcheck program from the internet. All these downloads on this
Microsoft site and I have yet find one for a spellchecker. Microsoft if you
are reading this. Why not?

as you say to go the path
but in ma pc there is no "Override/en-US" folder in this path.
The folder named in ma pc is "Custom Dictionaries" after "1.0"

I am using Windows 7 OS, and in ma pc the spell check in not working.

Do not know if you are still there, but THANK YOU! I have been w/o spell
check for weeks. My company's IT group was searching for a solution and no
one could find one. Today I started "googling" for an answer and finally
came by your suggestion.

Removing the registry key got my speller working again!

grasshopperlee had what I needed to fix my spelling issue.
I run Vista with an upgrade version from 2003 to 2007.
I opened a new word doc, and followed these instructions that I have copied and pasted here, from grasshopperlee(thanks)

Click on Office button (top left) in word.
Click on word options button.(at the bottom right corner)
Click on Add-ins.
In the Manage box select "Disabled items" and click on Go.
In the dialog box select en-US spell checker if it is there and Click on
Enable.

I checked a Doc I had been working on and there are RED lines everywhere now.

I tried the advice below but it did not solve my problem. In the registry,
there is no such key in my system.

What else can I do to fix this?

[DJC]

Point to note: The bottom left of the word screen where the page and word count is located there is an tab telling you which language your program is spell checking in. Despite what the proofing language setting says or the word options are this one is the one you need to change.

Things mentioned by other people which failed for me but might work for you
Click on the language tab mentioned above in the bottom left of the Word application, make sure the Detect Language option is ticked and the Do Not Check Spelling option is not ticked, then select English UK and click Default followed by OK. This changes the Language to English UK but then reverts back to the other Language shortly after.

Click the Office button (top left corner) of word, select Word Options, go to Proofing and check Auto correct and Custom Dictionary.

Click the Office button, select Word Options and select Add-Ins, go to the Manager at the bottom and from the menu select Disabled Items and click GO. If you see the en-US or en-UK spell check enable it. This worked for some people but not for me.

Click the Office button, select Word Options and go to Resources and check for updates to Office and Windows to see if anything got missed.

In word click on the Review tab then go into the proofing section and click Set Language, this works the same as the first options I mentioned.

Delete the following registry entry. On my PC this does not exist and its not advisable to mess with the registry unless you know what you are doing.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

Repair Office 2007 through the control panel add/remove programs (Change) function.

Various other options of making changes, closing the program and starting it again but all failed.

The only way I found to solve this problem was to do the following
Click Start - Settings - Control Panel - Regional Language Options - Language Tab - Details Button - Add Button - Select "English UK" as the Input Language and click OK, then select English UK from the Default Input Language drop down menu, then Apply. Now you should find when you load the application the spell check is working correctly.

[malloryw]

My spell check also doesnt pick up spelling errors. It picks up grammar but not spelling, even with my trial version it did not. I use Windows 7 on a laptop and word 2007 is all its ever had. I have looked at all the forums and tried everything. I have tried deleting the key, spell check is not in disabled add ins,i have tried the fix where you use change program, language settings are fine, i have searched thoroughly through options and settings and cannot find an incorrect ticked box anywhere.
Is there any other solution?

never mind, i went into uninstall programs, clicked change microsoft office and instead of changing it i repaired it, and restarted the computer, spell check now works perfectly! that is probably with all of my previous attempts, including deleting the proofing tools 1.0 key.

For those of you who have tried various permutations of all the above suggestions, this combination worked for a client. Both must be performed, and in the order shown:

1. Delete this registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\SharedTools\P roofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

2. Repair Office 2007 through the control panel's add/remove programs (Change) function

No reboot was necessary. As soon as the repair completed, the spell checker worked. Note that this worked for MS Word only, and not for MS Outlook.

[morna80]

Office 2007 Word spell check doesn't pick up 'appliction' as an error

can someone explain the solution proferred in respect of the inactive spell checker.
It seems to me that the solution is far too technical for a mere user of word processing software...back up to registry etc? Is there not a simpler explanation and solution that can be posted...or perhaps a step by step talk through of the rectification process?

[spiral52]

I have a document that is 263 pages. The spell check stops exactly at a paragraph on page 208. At the end of the previous paragraph the spell check works but then stops on the first line of the next paragraph. Have tried all options stated on this forum but nothing works. Any suggestions or pointers on what I might be doing wrong>

do I select all of the text of the entire document or just the portion that the spell check does not work?

How do get to Windows Registry?

Also is there a step before Tools because I cannot find the word Tools anywhere on my Word 2007 Home page

[Expertz]

You can try to do a Ctrl+A to Select All, then go to Tools | Language | Set Language. Make sure that the correct language is applied and that the box for "Do not check spelling or grammar" is clear. More clear explanation given below:

Open the Word document,
Press the Ctrl and A keys down to select the entire document:
Tools > Language > Set Language
Uncheck: Do not check spelling or grammar
Uncheck: Detect Language automatically
Click the Default... button

Click: Yes to allow the default language change.
Click: OK

Tools > Options > Spelling & Grammar tab
Verify Check spelling as you type has a check mark (and if your preference) Check grammar as you type has a check mark as well.

Click the Recheck Document button.
Click Yes to the message about resetting the spelling and grammar checker.
Click OK

[SUpER CoP]

You will need to select all the text of the entire document. In anycase if the above solutions dont work then try closing the word document. In your Windows registry, if the key "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0\Override" exists, delete it and then restart your computer.

[Shikhar]

Originally Posted by spiral52

How do get to Windows Registry?

Its very simple dude. just open the command prompt by pressing Win Key + R, or simply go to start menu and click on RUN. Now type regedit and hit Enter. You will get a new windows where on the left side keep clicking in the following manner:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft
Shared Tools
Proofing Tools
1.0
Override.

Thats it!