Right click to add to dictionary

Question

I've been adding words to the dictionary for years.

Lately, I have not been able to add new words from the popup window you get by right clicking on a word. Nothing happens, the red squiggly line is still there, checking the dictionary in options doesn't show the word I attempted to add.

I can add a new word only if I manually add to the custom dictionary through the options menu.

I'm suspecting there might be something with the dictionary being tied to the account.

Answer 1

See http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/MasterSpellCheck.htm

If I [left] click on the pink-shaded marked word I see:

Add to dictionary is the center icon from the Editor.

If I right-click on a marked word, I see:

Which of these are you seeing?

This is the first time I've seen the first menu! Something is changing up again.

I thought I had gotten rid of the pink marking, but it is back..

I assume you are using the desktop application and not the online or mobile app.

Answer 2

Which specific version of Word do you have? In Word for Windows, updated to version 2510, you should definitely see Add to Dictionary as an option when you right-click a word which is flagged as misspelled.

Answer 3

If you are experiencing issues with adding words to the dictionary through the right-click context menu in Microsoft Word, it could be due to a few reasons:

1. Account Settings: If your dictionary is tied to an account, ensure that you are logged into the correct account that has permissions to modify the dictionary. Sometimes, settings may vary between accounts.
2. Application Settings: Check the settings in Word to ensure that the option to add words to the dictionary is enabled. You can find this under the options menu in Word.
3. Corrupted Dictionary File: There may be an issue with the dictionary file itself. You might want to try resetting or repairing your Word installation to see if that resolves the issue.
4. Updates: Ensure that your Microsoft Office is up to date. Sometimes, bugs in older versions can cause features to malfunction.
5. Manual Addition: As you mentioned, adding words manually through the options menu works. This can be a temporary workaround until the issue is resolved.

If the problem persists, consider reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance.

Answer 4

Hello dchu,

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Q&A forumAdd to Dictionary only succeeds when Word can write to the default custom dictionary and the dictionary’s language association and location/permissions are valid. If the default dictionary is missing, unchecked, set to an incompatible language then the right‑click adds silently fail and the red wavy underline remains.

Here are some troubleshoot steps you can try to see if it fixes the "add to dictionary" issue.

First, let's ensure the correct dictionary is active and not set to read-only. 

1. In Word app, go to File > Options. 
2. Select Proofing from the left-hand menu. 
3. Click the Custom Dictionaries... button. 
4. In the dialog box, make sure that CUSTOM.DIC (Default) is checked. 
5. Select CUSTOM.DIC and check its file path listed below. Ensure the folder it's in is not in a read-only location (like a network drive you don't have write permissions for). 

If the default dictionary file is corrupted, the easiest fix is to create a new one and set it as the default. 

1. Follow steps 1-3 from the solution above to open the Custom Dictionaries dialog. 
2. Click the New... button. 
3. Give the new dictionary a file name (e.g., MyDictionary) and click Save. 
4. A new dictionary will appear in your list. Make sure it is checked, then select it and click Set as default. 
5. Click OK to close all dialogs. Now, try adding a new word again. 

If the steps above do not work, the issue may be with your Office installation. A quick repair or online repair often resolves these kinds of problems. Refer to this site on how to do it:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/repair-an-office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b

Feel free to reply back to this post if you need further assistance, I'll be happy to help.

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".   

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.