Word is not finding all misspelled words. How do I correct this?

Question

Word is not finding all misspelled words. How do I correct this?

Answer 1

Ryan N has a good list of things to check in his comment.

I would start by opening document with an obviously misspelled word that has not been tagged. Click on that word and check the language setting for it. You can do this by clicking on the Language in your Status bar or by going under the Review tab and checking the language.

Does it have "Do not check Spelling or Grammar" checked?

If it does, uncheck that and close the dialog.

You can select all the text in your document (Ctrl+A) and check the language setting to make sure that the box is clear for all your text.

If this does not help, I would suggest preparing a sample document with the problem and saving it on OneDrive or DropBox and posting a share link here.
https://addbalance.com/articles/Why%20a%20sample%20file%20is%20important%20for%20troubleshooting.%20How%20to%20do%20it.htm

Read the page linked by Stefan as well. You may well spot what is wrong.

Answer 2

Hi @Sekelsky, Cheryl L,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.Thank you for contacting us.

I would like to provide you with some information and detailed guidance as follows. Please follow the steps below in order to resolve the issue:

1. Check whether Spell Check is turned off

Step 1: Go to File > Options > Proofing.

Step 2: Make sure the following options are NOT checked:

• Hide spelling errors in this document only
• Hide grammar errors in this document only

2. Check the language of the document

• Press Ctrl + A to select the entire document.
• Go to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language.
• Select the correct language you are using, for example:
  • English (United States)
• Make sure to uncheck the following option:
  • Do not check spelling or grammar

3. Check the “Language Proofing Tools”

If Word does not have the required language proofing tools installed (for example, English), the Spell Check feature may not work correctly.

How to check:

• Go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now
• Make sure Word has all required Proofing Tools installed

4. Repair Office using the Repair feature

If the Office installation is experiencing issues, you can try repairing it as follows:

• Go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps
• Find Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise - en-us
• Select Modify > Online Repair

You can also refer to the following article for more information: Repair an Office application - Microsoft Support

5. Check whether the document has special formatting

Text copied from websites or PDF files may sometimes be marked as “Do not proof”, which prevents Word from checking spelling and grammar.

How to fix:

• Press Ctrl + A to select all text
• Press Ctrl + Space to clear all formatting
• Then recheck spelling and grammar

You can also refer to the following article for more information:

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

This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it. 

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

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Answer 3

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

Answer 4

If Word is not finding all misspelled words, you can try the following methods to correct this issue:

Method 1: Install Proofing Tools

1. Exit all programs.
2. Select Start and follow the appropriate steps for your operating system to uninstall and then reinstall Microsoft Office, ensuring that proofing tools are included.

Method 2: Enable the Speller Add-in

1. Select the File tab, then Options.
2. Go to Add-Ins.
3. Change the selection under Manage from COM Add-ins to Disabled items and select Go.
4. If Speller EN-US (nlsdata0009.dll) is listed, select it and then select Enable.

Method 3: Enable "Check spelling as you type"

1. Select the File tab, then Options.
2. In the Word Options dialog, select Proofing.
3. Ensure that the Check spelling as you type checkbox is selected.
4. Clear all checkboxes in the Exception for section.

Method 4: Set Proofing Language

1. Select the entire document.
2. On the Review tab, select Language and then Set Proofing Language.
3. Choose the correct language and ensure that the Do not check spelling or grammar checkbox is cleared.

By following these methods, you should be able to resolve the issue with Word not recognizing all misspelled words.