Excel > Spelling and grammar

Use custom dictionaries to add words to the spelling checker

When you use the spelling checker, it compares the words in your document with t
hose in the main dictionary. The main dictionary contains most common words, but
it might not include proper names, technical terms, or acronyms. In addition, s
ome words might be capitalized differently in the main dictionary than in your f
ile. Adding such words or capitalization to a custom dictionary prevents the spe
lling checker from flagging them as mistakes.
Important Any custom dictionary setting you change in one Microsoft Office 2010
program affects all the other programs.
What do you want to do?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Enable custom dictionaries
Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box
Create a custom dictionary
Add an existing custom dictionary
Add, delete, or edit words in a custom dictionary
Change the language associated with a custom dictionary
Change the default custom dictionary to which the spelling checker adds words
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Enable custom dictionaries
You can use the Custom Dictionaries dialog box to manage your custom dictionarie
s. However, the settings in this dialog box do not take effect unless you enable
custom dictionaries.
Which Office 2010 program are you using?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access
Excel
InfoPath
OneNote
Outlook
PowerPoint
Project
Publisher
SharePoint Workspace

Visio
Word
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Visio, and Word
Click the File tab.
Under Help, click Options.
Click Proofing.
Make sure the Suggest from main dictionary only check box is cleared.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
In the Custom Dictionaries dialog box, make sure the check box next to each cust
om dictionary that you want to use is selected.
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Outlook
Open a mail message.
Click the File tab.
Under Help, click Options.
Click Mail, click Spelling and Autocorrect, and then click Proofing.
Make sure the Suggest from main dictionary only check box is cleared.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
In the Custom Dictionaries dialog box, for any custom dictionaries you want to u
se, make sure the check box next to each of those dictionaries is selected.
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InfoPath
On the Home tab, click the arrow next to Spelling, and then click Spelling Optio
ns.
Make sure the Suggest from main dictionary only check box is cleared.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
In the Custom Dictionaries dialog box, for any custom dictionaries you want to u
se, make sure the check box next to each of those dictionaries is selected.
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SharePoint Workspace
In SharePoint Workspace, the Spelling Options dialog box is accessible only via
the Spelling dialog box. So you must first start a spell checking session in ord
er to enable custom dictionaries.
In a rich text area in a SharePoint Workspace tool, start a spell checking sessi
on.
In the Spelling dialog box, click Options.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
In the Custom Dictionaries dialog box, for any custom dictionaries you want to u
se, make sure the check box next to each of those dictionaries is selected.
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Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box
Which Office 2010 program are you using?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access
Excel
InfoPath

OneNote
Outlook
PowerPoint
Project
Publisher
SharePoint Workspace
Visio
Word
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Visio, and Word
Click the File tab.
Under Help, click Options.
Click Proofing.
Make sure the Suggest from main dictionary only check box is cleared.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
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Outlook
Open a mail message.
Click the File tab.
Under Help, click Options.
Click Mail, click Spelling and Autocorrect, and then click Proofing.
Make sure the Suggest from main dictionary only check box is cleared.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
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InfoPath
On the Home tab, click the arrow next to Spelling, and then click Spelling Optio
ns.
Make sure the Suggest from main dictionary only check box is cleared.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
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SharePoint Workspace
In SharePoint Workspace, the Spelling Options dialog box is accessible only via
the Spelling dialog box. So you must first start a spell checking session in ord
er to open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box.
In a rich text area in a SharePoint Workspace tool, start a spell checking sessi
on.
In the Spelling dialog box, click Options.
Click Custom Dictionaries.
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Create a custom dictionary
Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box by following these steps.
Click New.
In the File name box, type a name for the custom dictionary.
Click Save.

If you want the new dictionary to be used for another language, while the new di
ctionary is still selected on the Dictionary List, select the language on the Di
ctionary language menu.
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Add an existing custom dictionary
The Custom Dictionaries dialog box lists the available custom dictionaries the p
rogram can use to check spelling. If the dictionary that you want to use
for exa
mple, one that you purchased from a third-party company
is installed on your com
puter but not listed in the Dictionary list box, you can add it.
Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box by following these steps.
Click Add.
Locate the folder containing the custom dictionary you want, and then double-cli
ck the dictionary file.
If you want additional help installing a third-party dictionary, see the install
ation instructions for that dictionary.
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Add, delete, or edit words in a custom dictionary
Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box by following these steps.
Select the dictionary you want to edit. Make sure you do not clear the check box
.
Click Edit Word List.
Do one of the following:
To add a word, type it in the Word(s) box, and then click Add.
To delete a word, select it in the Dictionary box, and then click Delete.
To edit a word, delete it, and then add it with the spelling you want.
To remove all words, click Delete all.
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Change the language associated with a custom dictionary
By default, when you create a new custom dictionary, the program sets the dictio
nary to All Languages, which means that the dictionary is used when you check th
e spelling of text in any language. However, you can associate a custom dictiona
ry with a particular language so that the program uses the dictionary only when
you check the spelling of text in a particular language.
Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box by following these steps.
In the Dictionary list box, click the dictionary that you want to change.
On the Dictionary language menu, click the language for which dictionary should
be used.
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Change the default custom dictionary to which the spelling checker adds words
Whenever you check the spelling of a file, you have an option to add a word flag
ged as a misspelling to a custom dictionary. The default custom dictionary is th
e dictionary to which the program adds the word when you do this.
Do the following to specify the default custom dictionary that Microsoft Office
programs use for all languages or for each language that you work in:
Open the Custom Dictionaries dialog box by following these steps.
In the Dictionary list box, do one of the following:
To change the default dictionary for all languages, click the dictionary name un
der All languages.
To change the default dictionary for a particular language, click the dictionary
name under the language heading.

Click Change Default.

Note
If there is only one dictionary under a heading, then it is must be the
default dictionary. In this case, the button is not available.
The next time that you check spelling, the program uses the default custom dicti
onaries that you selected. For more information, see Check spelling and grammar.
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