Quickly Accessing Spelling and Grammar Options

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 26, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Exactly how Word performs a spell check or a grammar check is controlled by the settings on the Spelling & Grammar tab in the Options dialog box. To display the proper tab you normally choose Tools, then Options, and finally click on the Spelling & Grammar tab.

Word provides a quick way to pull up the spelling and grammar options, however: Simply right-click on the "open book" icon in the status bar, and then choose Options from the resulting Context menu. The Spelling & Grammar tab is displayed, alone, in its own dialog box. You can quickly make changes, dismiss the dialog box, and get on with other editing tasks.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1562) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Removing Spaces

Need to get rid of spaces in a range of cells? There are two ways you can approach the task, as described here.

Discover More

Handling Validation for Proper Latitude

When setting up Excel for data entry, you often have to be concerned with what values are acceptable. For example, if ...

Discover More

Incomplete Table of Contents

Word allows you to easily add a table of contents to your documents. If you find that some of your document headings ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies 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

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

Spell Checking with Text Boxes

Text boxes are a common design element in a document. You may wonder if the text you place in a text box can be spell ...

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 0 + 6?

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.