Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Spell Checking Your Document.

Spell Checking Your Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 2, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word provides a built-in spelling checker you can use to proof (double-check) your document. This tool doesn't check just spelling, but it also checks for proper capitalization and duplicate words. To run the spelling checker, follow these steps:

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the document. (This is not entirely necessary but makes the spelling check take less time.)
Choose Spelling and Grammar from the Tools menu or press F7. Word begins to check the spelling of your document, displaying the Spelling and Grammar dialog box as it discovers potential errors.
Respond to the suggestions, as appropriate.

You don't have to spell check an entire document; you can run the spelling checker on a selection of text, as well. To run the spelling checker on a selection of text, do the following:

Select the text to be checked.
Choose Spelling and Grammar from the Tools menu or press F7.
Respond to the suggestions, as appropriate.

When the spelling check of the selection is complete, Word displays a dialog box asking if you want to check the rest of the document. Click on No to end the spelling check.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1023) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Spell Checking Your Document.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Column Width

When creating a worksheet, you often need to adjust the width of columns so your data looks great. Here's how to quickly ...

Discover More

Adding Ampersands in Headers and Footers

Place an ampersand into the text of a page header or footer, and you might be surprised to see it missing in your ...

Discover More

Specifying Location for a Message Box

When writing macros, you may want to position a message box at a specific location on the screen. This can't be done in ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Hiding Grammar Errors

Are you bothered by the green underlines that Word uses to mark potential grammar errors in your document? You can hide ...

Discover More

Checking Up On Numbers

When do you use digits in your prose and when do you spell out the numbers? Why not let Word help you make the decision? ...

Discover More

Allowing Passive Voice in Writing

When you have Word do grammar-checking on your document, it typically marks everything it considers wrong with the way ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 7 - 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.