Word 2007 - Spell checker not working

Bob Buckland ?:-) · External Since: Aug 23, 2005 Posts: 1037

Hi John,

Are your user and computer names the same when the problem happens?
Did both user names have the same priviliges?

===============
<<"John Lockett" <JohnLockett.RemoveThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:525AA42C-B66F-4853-96C2-83F87A4EA24C@microsoft.com...
I had this same issue. Although I did not find the exact solution, there is
a way to get full functionality back. I logged onto my workstation as a
different user and spell checker worked just fine. After learning this, I
renamed my old profile and logged back in and I have spell checker again.

You should log on as a new user 1st to verify, before trashing your old
profile.

Good luck!

John Lockett
IT Logistix, LLC >>
--

Bob Buckland ? Smile

MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Topaz · External Since: Dec 11, 2006 Posts: 9

John is the winner! This did it. I created a new account to verify first
and then just renamed my old account, logged back in and it was now working.
There must be something in the Application Data directory that was messing
things up.

Thanks John!

"John Lockett" wrote:

> I had this same issue. Although I did not find the exact solution, there is
> a way to get full functionality back. I logged onto my workstation as a
> different user and spell checker worked just fine. After learning this, I
> renamed my old profile and logged back in and I have spell checker again.
>
> You should log on as a new user 1st to verify, before trashing your old
> profile.
>
> Good luck!
>
> John Lockett
> IT Logistix, LLC
>
>
> "Topaz" wrote:
>
> > I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> > checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> > and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> > check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> > "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> >

Jarred Colli · External Since: Mar 03, 2007 Posts: 1

I am having this same problem, and it is terrible frustrating. Ive check the
language settings, lined everything up, and still nothing is worked. I did
the diagnostics where it said it fixed one problem, without telling me what
it was.

Is it possible my dictionary file is screwed up or something?
> >

Matt.Glosson · External Since: Mar 04, 2007 Posts: 1

On Mar 3, 7:02 pm, Jarred Colli
<JarredCo... RemoveThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> I am having this same problem, and it is terrible frustrating. Ive check the
> language settings, lined everything up, and still nothing is worked. I did
> the diagnostics where it said it fixed one problem, without telling me what
> it was.
>
> Is it possible my dictionary file is screwed up or something?
>
>
>
> - Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Same problem here. Does anyone have a list of files in my profile I
can blow away without deleting my entire profile?

Steve · External Since: Apr 20, 2006 Posts: 687

Sadly, I am having the same problem. Since upgrading to 2007, my spell check
ddoesn't work in any Microsoft Applications. I had a very frustrating
session on the phone with Microsoft call office in Bangalor. They had me on
hold for over an hour and got absolitely nowhere. They are not putting me
through to a Word "specialist" tomorrow morning. I am so beyond frustrated.
Having scoured the net today, I've learned that this is a common problem in
the new 2007 version. On two sites, they say it is a major problem and
Microsoft is working on a patch, while on another site, they say it simply is
an installation issue and there is a workaround, but it must be done through
microsoft. Either way, I wish I didn't upgrade now. It's just such a
hassle. If you do happen to find a solution to your problem, I would love to
hear about it!

"Topaz" wrote:

> The language is set to English. No it doesn't make a difference if I change
> the font.
>
> Shift+F1 reveals the Arial Font and English (U.S.) language
>
> "Do not check spelling or grammar" is not checked
> "Detect language automatically" is checked
>
> "Bob Buckland ? Smile

" wrote:
>
> > Hi Topaz,
> >
> > What language do you have set on the text? What is the spelling of the Word and does it make a difference if you change to a
> > different font such as Arial then run the check?
> >
> > If you select the misspelled Word and use Shift+F1 to open the 'Reveal Formatting' task pane what Font and what language are shown
> > for that selected word?
> >
> > If you click on the 'Language' choice in the Taskpane what boxes are checked in the dialog that pops up?
> >
> > ===============
> > <<"Topaz" <Topaz RemoveThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:245ABC09-412C-405D-BC0E-AA3C46D61D3D@microsoft.com...
> > I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> > checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> > and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> > check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> > "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
> >
> > Thanks in advance,>>
> > --
> >
> > Bob Buckland ? Smile

> > MS Office System Products MVP
> >
> > *Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*
> >
> >
> >

Steve · External Since: Apr 20, 2006 Posts: 687

There is another way to fix it...
After posting my woes yesterday, I found another fix on this site which
works brilliantly.
If you search under word 2007 and spell checker, you will find a post about
renaming two files in the registry.

Turns out, there is some error when it upgrades and these two files are the
culprits. By renaming with an OLD added, and restarting WORD, the proper
files go back in and works perfectly.

It's much easier than the hassle of changing your login and works flawlessly.

I'm sorry I didn't post the exact details, but they're easy to find under
the other usergroup here.

Good luck!

Steve
"Topaz" wrote:

> John is the winner! This did it. I created a new account to verify first
> and then just renamed my old account, logged back in and it was now working.
> There must be something in the Application Data directory that was messing
> things up.
>
> Thanks John!
>
> "John Lockett" wrote:
>
> > I had this same issue. Although I did not find the exact solution, there is
> > a way to get full functionality back. I logged onto my workstation as a
> > different user and spell checker worked just fine. After learning this, I
> > renamed my old profile and logged back in and I have spell checker again.
> >
> > You should log on as a new user 1st to verify, before trashing your old
> > profile.
> >
> > Good luck!
> >
> > John Lockett
> > IT Logistix, LLC
> >
> >
> > "Topaz" wrote:
> >
> > > I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> > > checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> > > and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> > > check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> > > "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
> > >
> > > Thanks in advance,
> > >

Herb Tyson [MVP] · External Since: Oct 02, 2003 Posts: 2144

What happens if you start Word 2007 in safe mode? Hold the Ctrl key as Word
is starting, then say "yes" to safe mode.

When working in safe mode (without altering any of the settings) does
spelling work?

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
http://www.herbtyson.com
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Please respond in the newsgroups so everyone can follow along.
"Steve" <Steve DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2BF1047A-5D8D-4FD1-A45E-22F3B4A90497@microsoft.com...
> Sadly, I am having the same problem. Since upgrading to 2007, my spell
> check
> ddoesn't work in any Microsoft Applications. I had a very frustrating
> session on the phone with Microsoft call office in Bangalor. They had me
> on
> hold for over an hour and got absolitely nowhere. They are not putting me
> through to a Word "specialist" tomorrow morning. I am so beyond
> frustrated.
> Having scoured the net today, I've learned that this is a common problem
> in
> the new 2007 version. On two sites, they say it is a major problem and
> Microsoft is working on a patch, while on another site, they say it simply
> is
> an installation issue and there is a workaround, but it must be done
> through
> microsoft. Either way, I wish I didn't upgrade now. It's just such a
> hassle. If you do happen to find a solution to your problem, I would love
> to
> hear about it!
>
>
> "Topaz" wrote:
>
>> The language is set to English. No it doesn't make a difference if I
>> change
>> the font.
>>
>> Shift+F1 reveals the Arial Font and English (U.S.) language
>>
>> "Do not check spelling or grammar" is not checked
>> "Detect language automatically" is checked
>>
>> "Bob Buckland ? Smile

" wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Topaz,
>> >
>> > What language do you have set on the text? What is the spelling of the
>> > Word and does it make a difference if you change to a
>> > different font such as Arial then run the check?
>> >
>> > If you select the misspelled Word and use Shift+F1 to open the 'Reveal
>> > Formatting' task pane what Font and what language are shown
>> > for that selected word?
>> >
>> > If you click on the 'Language' choice in the Taskpane what boxes are
>> > checked in the dialog that pops up?
>> >
>> > ===============
>> > <<"Topaz" <Topaz DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> > news:245ABC09-412C-405D-BC0E-AA3C46D61D3D@microsoft.com...
>> > I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the
>> > spell
>> > checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all
>> > text
>> > and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and
>> > grammar
>> > check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning
>> > off
>> > "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance,>>
>> > --
>> >
>> > Bob Buckland ? Smile

>> > MS Office System Products MVP
>> >
>> > *Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*
>> >
>> >
>> >

Kevin · External Since: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 211

I got the same prob and I can't really find the post you said can u like give
me a link or something >_<

thanks,
Kev

"Steve" wrote:

> There is another way to fix it...
> After posting my woes yesterday, I found another fix on this site which
> works brilliantly.
> If you search under word 2007 and spell checker, you will find a post about
> renaming two files in the registry.
>
> Turns out, there is some error when it upgrades and these two files are the
> culprits. By renaming with an OLD added, and restarting WORD, the proper
> files go back in and works perfectly.
>
> It's much easier than the hassle of changing your login and works flawlessly.
>
> I'm sorry I didn't post the exact details, but they're easy to find under
> the other usergroup here.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Steve
> "Topaz" wrote:
>
> > John is the winner! This did it. I created a new account to verify first
> > and then just renamed my old account, logged back in and it was now working.
> > There must be something in the Application Data directory that was messing
> > things up.
> >
> > Thanks John!
> >
> > "John Lockett" wrote:
> >
> > > I had this same issue. Although I did not find the exact solution, there is
> > > a way to get full functionality back. I logged onto my workstation as a
> > > different user and spell checker worked just fine. After learning this, I
> > > renamed my old profile and logged back in and I have spell checker again.
> > >
> > > You should log on as a new user 1st to verify, before trashing your old
> > > profile.
> > >
> > > Good luck!
> > >
> > > John Lockett
> > > IT Logistix, LLC
> > >
> > >
> > > "Topaz" wrote:
> > >
> > > > I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> > > > checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> > > > and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> > > > check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> > > > "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
> > > >
> > > > Thanks in advance,
> > > >

Patti · External Since: Apr 09, 2006 Posts: 30

How to fix spell check in Vista e-mail. Go to Start, get Windows Mail, go
to tools, go to options, select the spelling tab and check spelling and hit
OK. That should take care of the problem
Patti

"Topaz" wrote:

> I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>

Patti · External Since: Apr 09, 2006 Posts: 30

Go to Start menu, open Windows Mail, go to tools, go to options, select the
spelling tab, check spelling, hit OK. That should fix the problem.
--
Patti

"Topaz" wrote:

> I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>

10two12 · External Since: Jan 11, 2007 Posts: 2

This work around actually works
http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives/2006/20061228.htm

I had to have my Office 2003 Disk to perform the work around. Don't worry
about it's refernce to Outlook Express. Incase you have problems getting to
the link, here is the step by step setup instructions.

If you install Office 2007, spell checking in Outlook Express may not work
as expected, unless you want spell check in French. Smile

This is because Office
2007 uses new proofing tools and OE can't use them because it's designed to
use the older tools.

It's easy to fix: install just the proofing tools from your previous version
of Office (using the custom install option). You can get them from any older
Office suite or application - including FrontPage, Publisher or standalone
versions of Word, Excel, or Outlook.

To install just the proofing tools from Office 2003, run Office setup and
choose the custom option. Uncheck all programs in the list and add a check to
choose the options at the bottom of the programs list. No the nest screen,
set each top level item to be Not Available (red X icon). Expand the Office
Shared Features branch and locate Proofing tools in the list. Expand proofing
tools and choose English, setting it to Run from my computer. Finish the
installation.

"Topaz" wrote:

> I have installed Office 2007 and when using either Word or Outlook the spell
> checker is not working. I can spell a word incorrectly, highlight all text
> and run Spelling and Grammar and it comes back with "The spelling and grammar
> check is complete.". I have verified my Lanuage and also tried turning off
> "Detect language automatically". Any ideas?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>

bigtalldave · Joined: Apr 15, 2007 Posts: 1

I was able to get everything to work again without changing my username. Now when I actually did this, I was at the point of getting frustrated, so I wasn't exactly paying a ton of attention to what I was doing... Just anything to make it work...

What I know did was was go into the registry editor under HKEY_CURRENT_USER >> Software >> Microsoft >> Office and delete every folder that had "Word" in it, and did the same as mentioned before under Microsoft >> Shared Tools, only instead of renaming 1.0, I simply deleted it... I suppose you could do all this by simply renaming the folders if you didn't want to risk compromising Office, but since it's under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER, I think it's all just user settings for Word that it either reads from or assumes it's the first run of the program.

When I restarted Microsoft Word, it gave me the first startup messages and asked me for my name and initials, and spell check was working great again. I checked regedit again and all the folders I had deleted were back again, so

acureformyproblems · Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 1

Hi all, I've logged on just to post this solution as I didn't find it anywhere on the net and I think it will help some people who are still having a persistent issue with word's spell checker in 2007.

I was having this issue where by it refused to highlight any misspelled words, and when the spell check was run it would either check only the grammatical errors or it would simply return saying spell check complete.

Several people have posted some very good fixes on here and elsewhere, including creating a new user account (which is an immediate if dirty fix). I literally tried them all, nothing worked. I didn't have the relevant registry entries to amend, so I deleted them all, no good. I deleted all of the local setting files pertaining to word or proofing in my user account, no good. I uninstalled and reinstalled all of the language and proofing MUIs to no avail. I ran a repair and got nothing. I even changed my PC's default language, keyboard and regional settings, nothing.

Each time I completed a step I checked and rechecked each setting in word that it was as it should be, all were correct, but then word is a large and cumbersome beast of an application to configure settings in and ultimately it was in delving deeper into the settings that I found the solution, one that hasn't been posted anywhere as far I'm aware (not even on support.microsoft, which is shocking when you see how simple it is):

In the add-ins section of the the word options screen, there is a dropdown list labeled "Manage:". If you select "Disabled items" and click "Go..." you will see a list appear and you MAY see an entry for the spell check/dictionary/proofing tools. Highlight this and click "Enable" and then "Ok" to exit the options screen. You should now be able to misspell words with confidence again!

GroundHawg · Joined: Jun 27, 2007 Posts: 1

Thank you!! That fixed the issue in Outlook!!! Thank you!! Thank you!!

spencer1230 · Joined: Jan 13, 2008 Posts: 1 Location: McLean, VA

I too have not been able to use spell check since upgrading to Office 2007. I have tried every one of the solutions/workarounds in this thread. When I first read "acureformyproblems" solution I was sure that would fix my problem. It made so much sense. It turns out that I had no "Disabled Items" under Manage. - Oh well.

I really did not want to recreate my profile.

Then I went back and reread the solution from "bigtalldave". I tried each of the RegEdit's one at a time. The "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office and delete every folder that had "Word" in it" did not solve the problem and it wiped my "Recent Documents". I then renamed the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0" to zz1.0. I HAVE SPELL CHECK AGAIN!

So, to solve this problem if the problem exists in only one profile, I think you only need to edit one Registry setting...

Rename the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0" to zz1.0.
If all is good, go back and delete zz1.0.

Thanks bigtalldave!

mcassuto · Joined: Feb 27, 2008 Posts: 1

Thanks spencer1230!!

This was happening to two users here after we upgraded them from 2003. I renamed "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0" and word worked right off the bat. I did have to reboot to make Outlook work but that's fine with me.

Thanks Again.

DssjOker · Joined: Apr 12, 2008 Posts: 1

Spencer is correct, you should not delete any keys. Rename them, deleting is bad!

There are only two sub directories you need to concern yourself with:

1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0

and/or

2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\ApplicationName(Word, Outlook, Exel, etc.)

Rename these keys by going to run, regedit, and inside the registry editor navigate to the following keys and right click and rename them to:

1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0old

2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlookold (example for Outlook spell check) or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Wordold (for Word spell check)

Reboot, Open Program, and Office will recreate them.

As someone has already posted, creating a new profile does the same thing. So if your spell check works under a new profile, your current_user registry is corrupted, and this fix should work fine. If a new profile has the same problem, take a can of gas, pour over computer, light a cig, and problem solved.

rolla · Joined: Apr 21, 2008 Posts: 1

hahopper · Joined: May 29, 2008 Posts: 1

I tried everything listed on this blog to try and resolve Outlook 2007 spell checker not working since I upgraded (I did not upgrade Office...I am still running Windows XP Professional). I don't think my version of Word has the "options screen" and an "add-ins" scetion where I can select "disabled Items" from the "manage" drop down. If I do, I have no idea where it might be located...any help out there?

I have also tried renaming my Outlook profile and was unable to do that either. I also tried reloading just the dictionary portion of Windows XP but even though I only selected the dictionary part, the whole thing reloaded...and it still didn't help.

I'm at my wits end and am getting ready to toss outlook 2007...unless anyone can help me!

Thanks!

biz_kid1 · Joined: Jun 02, 2008 Posts: 3