MS Word

How to Fix the Spellchecker in MS Word

Posted on by Anthony James
16
Feb

This tutorial explains how to fix the Spell Checker in Word if it stops working, for example, if it does not find typos in your documents.

How to Fix the Spellchecker in MS Word

Do you get these error messages when you click Spelling & Grammar or hit F7? It says no errors were found even though you can see them in front of you?

  • The spelling and grammar check is complete.
  • Proofing Tools are not installed for default language, try re-installing proofing tools.

Why is this happening?

There are different reasons:

  1. Proofing tools are not installed.
  2. The Speller EN-US add-in is disabled (ie turned off).
  3. The Do not check spelling or grammar check box is selected.
  4. The ‘wrong’ language is set as default.
  5. This subkey exists in the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\ProofingTools\1.0\Override\en-US

How can I fix my broken spell checker?

Try these in the order in which they are presented.

Install Proofing Tools

  • Click Start, Control Panel.
  • Follow the steps for your operating system:
    • In Windows 7, click Uninstall a program under Programs.
    • In Windows Vista, double-click Programs and Features.
    • In earlier versions of Windows, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
  • Click Microsoft Office Edition, then Change.
  • In the Microsoft Office Edition dialog box, click Add or Remove Features, then Continue.
  • Expand Office Shared Features, click the icon to the left of Proofing Tools, then Run all from My Computer.

Enable the speller EN-US add-in

Didn’t work? No?

Let’s enable the add-in:

  1. Click the FILE tab, then Options.
  2. On the left, click Add-Ins.
  3. At the bottom of the window, click Manage, select Disabled items, then Go.
  4. In the Disabled Items window, check if Speller EN-US (nlsdata0009.dll) is displayed in the Select the ones you which to re-enable
  5. If listed, click and Enable.
  6. Click Close, then OK.

Enable Check Spelling as you type

Still not working?

  1. Click the FILE tab, Options, Proofing.
  2. Make sure Check spelling as you type is selected.
  3. Make sure all check boxes are not selected in the Exception for
  4. Click OK.

Select language and clear “Do not check spelling or grammar”

To clear Do not check spelling or grammar:

  1. Select the entire document. Ctrl+A is the shortcut.
  2. On the REVIEW tab, click Language, then Set Proofing Language.
  3. In the Language window, select the language you want.
  4. If Do not check spelling or grammar is selected, de-select it.
  5. Click OK.

Note: If this fixes the problem, repeat steps 1 to 3 and click Set As Default.

Use Fix it to Modify the Registry

Finally…

  1. Click Start, Run.
  2. In the Run box, type regedit, and press Enter.
  3. Right-click the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0\Override
  4. Click Delete.
  5. Exit the Registry Editor.
  6. Exit and Restart

Did this fix the problem? If not, reach out to me on Twitter.

Anthony James