Spell Checker not working in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac

Anonymous

I just installed Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac a few weeks ago, and when I type a document in Word, it is not flagging misspelled words as I type, even though the "check spelling and grammar" button is selected. Additionally, when I run a spelling/grammar check, it tells me that it's been run already and it still does not flag any misspelled words. I tried reinstalling the proofing tools, but that has not helped. Does anyone have any feedback on how to fix this?

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Anonymous

The convenience of this macro is, once you know it works, all you need to do is open all documents requiring fixing, ALL AT ONCE, and run the macro one final time.

To force Australian English, change the language specification from wdEnglishUS to wdEnglishAUS

(in two places).

There is a Preference setting that, curiously, is saved with each document and is probably the root of your current problem: *Word > Preferences > Spelling and Grammar > Hide spelling errors in this document.*I've added it to the code as well, so here's a new version with the changes in boldface, which you can add manually:

Sub ApplyEnglishAUStoAllOpenDocuments()

For Each aDocument In Application.Documents

aDocument.Activate

'Apply language ----------------------

Selection.WholeStory

Selection.LanguageID = wdEnglishAUS

Selection.NoProofing = False

'Redefine the Normal style ----------------

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").LanguageID = wdEnglishAUS

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").NoProofing = False

'Enable spelling errors --------------

ActiveDocument.ShowSpellingErrors = True

'Save changes and close -------------

aDocument.Save

aDocument.Close

Next aDocument

End Sub

In case you don't know anything about macros, the name that follows the starting "Sub" is arbitrary (thus, you can use pretty much any descriptive name there, like Sub ChangeLang(), etc.) while comment lines start with an apostrophe and are ignored by Word.

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68 additional answers

Anonymous

2013-11-11T03:19:17+00:00
When you paste into another document, if a style exists (as is the case with the Normal style), the text inherits the attributes of the existing style. Thus, they become "fixed".

I cannot think of another way to do what you ask for, except through a macro. The following macro will apply EnglishUS to all content, then redefine the Normal style as English US, and save the document. Test it with a few document copies: open them all, then run the macro.

[Note: See new version in my next post]

Sub ApplyEnglishUStoAllOpenDocuments()

For Each aDocument In Application.Documents

aDocument.Activate

'Apply language ----------------------

Selection.WholeStory

Selection.LanguageID = wdEnglishUS

Selection.NoProofing = False

'Redefine the Normal style ----------------

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").LanguageID = wdEnglishUS

ActiveDocument.Styles("Normal").NoProofing = False

'Save changes and close -------------

aDocument.Save

aDocument.Close

Next aDocument

End Sub

Here's how to "install" a macro:

To add the macro to your Normal.dotm template
- In your main menu bar, select Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor
- You should see a Project box
- In there, select Normal (Normal.dotm)
- In the main menu bar of the Editor, select Insert > Module
- A new window will open
- Paste the above code (from "Sub" to "End Sub")
- You can save your Normal.dotm template now (File > Save Normal.dotm) or Word will prompt you when quitting
- In the main menu, select Close and return to Microsoft Word (or do Command Q)
To execute the macro, use Tools > Macro > Macros and select it from the list, the click Run.
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Anonymous

2013-11-12T02:04:00+00:00

Hi Daniel

Please let me begin by saying thank you in fully explaining how to setup a macro as I have never created one before and your instructions were perfect. Not many other tech forum posters do this as well.

After running the macro the Language in a test word document, the Language for all text did change from English (AUS) to English (US), however incorrectly spelled words were not being underlined with red as I was hoping. Just FYI, English (AUS) is my local preference.

It's not a biggy but maybe just copying and pasting into a new document maybe the still be the most prudent workaround for me as I don't have that many documents where this is a concern.

Thanks again
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Anonymous

2013-11-14T01:56:22+00:00

Hi Daniel

That worked for me. Many thanks : )
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Anonymous

2013-11-28T17:39:15+00:00

OK, Monique, let's check if the problem resides in your Normal template or in your Preference files.

Quit Word and launch it while you hold Shift down (this will bypass both your Word preferences and the Normal template). Then test and post back with your results.

Daniel, THANK YOU SO MUCH! Somehow, the Shift trick worked for me and is STILL working for me, despite having opened and quit Word 5 times now. My beautiful Spellchecker is back in action (I never realized how much I LOVE those little squiggly red lines until they stopped appearing) and I am so grateful. I spent 10 minutes completing a registration on this website just so I could make an account and username and comment on this thread to let you know how grateful I am. You're the best, thanks for all your detailed and unrelenting support to frantic Word users like me! :) You are appreciated!
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