Editing Foreign Language Documents

When you have selected a language other than English in the Language bar, you can perform many of the usual tasks using that non-English language. You can save files using foreign-language names , create AutoText entries, check your word count, perform find-and-replace operations, and so on. Figure 21.17 shows the Find and Replace dialog box with Chinese text entered in the text boxes.

Figure 21.17. You can use any input language for tasks such as find and replace.

The proofing- related tasksspell checking, grammar checking, and AutoCorrectare one set of tasks that you cannot perform in non-English languages without buying additional software, unless you're using French or Spanish. The French and Spanish proofing tools are included with Office 2003. When you do a typical install, they are configured to be installed on first use. (If you start a spelling or grammar check on French or Spanish text using the Spelling and Grammar dialog box and select French or Spanish in the Dictionary Language drop-down list, Word will prompt you to install the necessary French or Spanish proofing files.)

If you know you want to use the French or Spanish proofing tools, you can install them on your computer now rather than waiting until you need them for the first time. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Place your Office 2003 CD in your CD-ROM drive, and double-click the Add or Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel.

2. Select Office 2003, and click the Change button.

3. Choose Add or Remove Features , click Next , mark the Choose Advanced Customization of Applications check box, and click Next again.

4. Click the plus signs next to Office Shared Features, Proofing Tools , and French or Spanish . Then click the desired proofing tools and choose Run from My Computer in the drop-down menu that appears.

5. Click the Update button.

If you want to use proofing tools for languages other than French and Spanish, you can buy the Microsoft Office Proofing Tools software package. This package, which includes proofing tools for 48 languages, is available at shop.microsoft.com (search for proofing tools ). At the time of this writing, it cost approximately $80.