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: Editing While Spell-Checking.

Editing While Spell-Checking

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 20, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You already know that Word includes a powerful spell-checking utility. You may not know, however, that you can edit your document as you are spell-checking. I find this particularly useful, as I often recognize other, non-spelling errors as I am running the spell checker.

To do this, any time the spell-checker is prompting you to correct a word, press Ctrl+Tab. This changes the focus to your document and away from the spell-checker; you can now edit your document directly. If you prefer you can simply click the mouse pointer in your document, near the place where you want to make your edit.

When you are ready to resume spell-checking, simply click on Resume in the Spelling and Grammar dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1039) 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: Editing While Spell-Checking.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Transferring AutoCorrect Entries

One of the helpful tools in Word is AutoCorrect. If you spend a lot of time creating your own AutoCorrect entries, you ...

Discover More

Best Quality for High Resolution Graphics

You want your documents to look as good as they can. If those documents include graphics, then you also need to make sure ...

Discover More

Changing Spacing Between Table Cells

Need to adjust the space between individual cells in a table? Word gives you a good deal of control over this spacing, as ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (menu)

Replacing Two Tabs with a Space in Limited Situations

The Find and Replace feature of Word is very powerful, allowing you to finely target exactly what you want to search. ...

Discover More

Allowing Sentence Fragments

Grammar, particularly in English, has a perplexing array of rules and exceptions to those rules. Word does a fairly good ...

Discover More

Hiding Errors

If you find the green and red squiggly underlines that Word adds to your document distracting, you might want a quick way ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 4 - 1?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.