Correcting Spelling Errors Flagged by Word


Word's automatic spell checking monitors the characters you type and marks words that it doesn't find in its dictionary with red wavy lines (see Figure 11.1). This makes it easy to correct your spelling " on-the-fly " as you're typing.

Figure 11.1. When Word can't find a word in its dictionary, it marks it with a red wavy line.

graphics/11fig01.jpg

graphics/lightbulb_icon.gif

You may discover that Word fixes some of your typos automatically. It does this with its AutoCorrect feature, which you'll learn about in "Correcting Text Automatically" in the next hour .


To correct the spelling of a word marked with a red wavy line, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the word.

  2. A context menu appears with a list of possible spellings (see Figure 11.2). If you see the one you want, click it. Word makes the correction for you.

    Figure 11.2. Click the correct spelling in the context menu.

    graphics/11fig02.jpg

  3. If the mistake is one that you make frequently, point to AutoCorrect, and click the correct spelling in the submenu that appears to create this AutoCorrect entry, as shown in Figure 11.3. If you do this, Word corrects the spelling automatically from now on.

    Figure 11.3. Create an AutoCorrect entry for a misspelling so that you don't have to fix it in the future.

    graphics/11fig03.jpg

  4. If a word is spelled correctly and you use it frequently, click Add to Dictionary to add it to the dictionary so that Word won't catch it in the future (see Figure 11.4).

    Figure 11.4. Add a word to the dictionary if you don't want Word to think it's misspelled in the future.

    graphics/11fig04.jpg

  5. If a word is spelled correctly but you don't use it that often, choose Ignore All to prevent Word from marking it as a misspelling in this document only (see Figure 11.5).

    Figure 11.5. If you just want to hide the red wavy line under a word, you can ask Word to ignore it.

    graphics/11fig05.jpg

graphics/lightbulb_icon.gif

To move quickly from one possible spelling/grammar error to the next, double-click the Spelling and Grammar Error Status iconthe little book in the lower-right corner of the Word window (refer to Figure 11.1). Each time you double-click the icon, Word moves to the next mistake and displays the context menu you normally display by right-clicking the underlined word or phrase.


If you find the red wavy lines distracting, you can turn off automatic spell checking. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Tools, Options to display the Options dialog box.

  2. Click the Spelling & Grammar tab (see Figure 11.6), and clear the Check Spelling As You Type check box.

    Figure 11.6. If the red wavy lines drive you nuts, you can hide them temporarily or turn them off permanently.

    graphics/11fig06.jpg

  3. If you just want to hide all the red wavy lines in the current document without turning off the automatic spell checking altogether, mark the Hide Spelling Errors in This Document check box instead of clearing the Check Spelling As You Type check box.

  4. Click OK .



Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office Word 2003 in 24 Hours
Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office Word 2003 in 24 Hours
ISBN: 067232556X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 315
Authors: Heidi Steele

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net