FIX: Microsoft Office Word 2007 - Spellcheck not working!

July 24th, 2007 | by LocalTech |

If you are facing an issue where you’re using Microsoft Office Word 2007 and the Spellcheck feature is not working while you are typing or even when you click on “Check Spelling and Grammar” it doesn’t detect any mistakes, here is the possible solution for you to fix that issue.

  • Open Microsoft Office Word 2007
  • Click on the Microsoft Office logo on the top left of the screen.
  • Click on Word Options
  • Click on Popular at the left hand side Pane
  • Click on Language Settings at the bottom
  • On the left hand side under “Available editing languages“, look for English (Australia) then click Add
  • At the bottom where “Primary Editing Language” change it to English (Australia) at the drop down menu
  • On the right hand side under “Enabled editing languages“, highlight any other language other than English (Australia) then click Remove in the middle.
  • Click on OK
  • Click on OK again
  • Restart the whole computer

EDIT: Popular Solution
By Lance

    I have struggled with this problem and think I found the answer. It seems that Office 2007 disables the english dictionary becasue it causes problems with Outlook Express. To turn the dictionary back on goto:
    Microsoft Office Button>
    Word Options>
    Ad Ins>
    Manage (select disabled items)>
    Click on the english dictionary and re-enable it>
    Close Word and restart.

Now test the issue and see if you’re still facing the same issue. If this step doesn’t work, please do let me know and I will give you the more complicated method of resolving the issue :)

  1. 162 Responses to “FIX: Microsoft Office Word 2007 - Spellcheck not working!”

  2. By Marshall C Allen on Nov 29, 2007 | Reply

    Hello,

    Replacing English US with English Australia did not fix this issue for me. Of course, I also want to remain with or restore to US as that is my language. I have done so (gone back to US) and would like to know about the ‘more complicated method’ of resolving the issue.

    thanks,
    Marshall

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  4. By LocalTech on Dec 31, 2007 | Reply

    Hello Eugene,

    I could recommend a few things that might resolve your issue.

    First of all uninstall the software completely… When I say that I don’t mean go to Program and Features then uninstall it there… Try doing the following

    Go to Http://www.microsoft.com/downloads and search for Windows Install Cleanup
    - Download and install this software
    - Click on Start - All Programs and go to Windows Install Cleanup
    - Search for all Microsoft Office applications and remove them

    Once you’re done, click on Start, and in the start search box type in REGEDIT and click enter to bring up the registry editor…
    Once in here go to the following locations and rename the folders

    HKey_Local_Machine -> Software -> Microsoft -> Office
    - Rename the Office folder to Office.old
    HKey_Current_User -> Software -> Microsoft -> Office
    - Rename the Office folder to Office.old

    *You have to expand the folders to view the subfolders…

    Close the registry editor now and go to Computer

    Then go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office and rename the Microsoft Office folder to Office.old

    Once you have done these steps, Microsoft Office would have completely been erased from your computer… Now do not restart the computer, just run the installation again and then test out the spell checker…

    If this step doesn’t work, it would be a good idea to try and create a new user account and test it in there as this step has worked previously.

    Do let my know if these steps resolve your issue :)

    On Dec 30, 2007 12:35 PM, E. Dolan wrote:

    Hello,
    I would be grateful for any help in resolving the following problem:
    We have a new Dell PC, with Windows Vista and Office Basic 2007.
    Spell check function will not show misspelt words in Word 2007. It does work correctly in Excel 2007 and Outlook 2007.
    In word 2007 repeated words are detected with wavy red line under the repeated word, but otherwise “the spell check is complete” shows, ignoring misspellings.
    The English dictionary for Ireland is selected. Grammar check is turned off. “Do not spell check” is not selected in word “proofing” settings.
    I have experimented with various other relevant settings to no avail.
    I uninstalled and reinstalled Office 2007 basic, still no solution.
    I have run out of ideas - any help/suggestions are appreciated.
    Eugene.

  5. By Lance on Jan 23, 2008 | Reply

    I have struggled with this problem and think I found the answer. It seems that Office 2007 disables the english dictionary becasue it causes problems with Outlook Express. To turn the dictionary back on goto:
    Microsoft Office Button>
    Word Options>
    Ad Ins>
    Manage (select disabled items)>
    Click on the english dictionary and re-enable it>
    Close Word and restart.
    My speel check now works fine.

  6. By Lance on Jan 23, 2008 | Reply

    I obviously didn’t spellcheck my previous post.

  7. By Rich Fuller on Jan 28, 2008 | Reply

    Lance,

    You’re a genius as you have found the answer! I’ve been searching sites and trying stuff for 2 weeks and this one worked. Thanks a lot.

    Rich

  8. By Freelancer on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    Guys, I have the same problem, please help.
    In all office 2007 applications repeated words are detected with wavy red line under the repeated word, but otherwise “the spell check is complete” shows, ignoring misspellings.

    How can I resolve it?

  9. By Freelancer on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    I found the answer:
    Rename the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ to zz1.0.

  10. By LocalTech on Feb 2, 2008 | Reply

    By that Freelancer means go to the Registry Editor

    Start - Run - Regedit
    Then browse to those following locations…
    That was the complicated method, was trying to find the folder but I forgot where it was, sorry guys…

  11. By Andrew on Feb 4, 2008 | Reply

    I tried the solution that Freelancer poted on Feb.2 using the added instructions LocalTech added bellow that, and it worked great!

    Thanks folks that Spellcheck problem’s been ticking me off for a while.

    Cheers!

  12. By barry on Feb 4, 2008 | Reply

    My spellcheck problem with Office 2007 is not what has been described in the other posts. The spellcheck works fine in office 2007, but once I installed office 2007, the spell check would not work on my MSN/Qwest email. Window comes up that there is no American dictionary. So I called msn help and they told me that MSN has to be updated to support the new updated dictionary on Office 2007, and that they are working on it; they indicated they have been working on it for about 5 months, but after exploring the web, I find its been longer. Is there any way around this problem? I downloaded
    Tiny spell or speller and it was pretty bad. Any suggestions?

  13. By CR on Feb 8, 2008 | Reply

    You rock - this has been killing not only me but my grades. Thanx to you I can once again spell

  14. By Beth on Feb 9, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you so much Lance!!! I had this problem for about a month and found another “fix” on another website which involved the registry. That worked for about a week, but it then reverted back to not working. I do use Outlook, so that was probably the problem. Your solution worked perfectly and made the most sense. Thanks soooo much!! I’m a medical transcriptionist, so I need my spell checker - I was losing my mind without it!

  15. By MRNX on Feb 14, 2008 | Reply

    Lance is the man! Thank you, I struggled with the problem fore more than five months and given op hope. Thank you very much!

  16. By Ryan on Feb 26, 2008 | Reply

    Lance, You are my hero. Spent the day trying to figure out where spell check went, googled, found this page and it was fixed 10 minutes later.

  17. By Desrae on Mar 15, 2008 | Reply

    Lance or anyone else,

    I found this page and have gone to the add-ins and unfortunately, the dictionary was not disabled. I am back at square one and do not know how to fix the problem. I have erased the file and reinstalled and I am still having problems. Any help?

  18. By Angie on Mar 15, 2008 | Reply

    Lance!
    You are my hero!

  19. By SCA on Apr 8, 2008 | Reply

    I am finding that if I have stationary in Outlook 2007, it will not check anything - the spell check reports that everything is OKAY when I purposefully type words incorrectly to test it- and if you cut and paste the e-mail text from Outlook to Word, it does the same thing -

  20. By Junaid on Apr 14, 2008 | Reply

    Thanx. though ur proceedure is time consuming but it works. LocalTech u rock.

  21. By robby on Apr 16, 2008 | Reply

    this did the trick!!

    thanks

  22. By Aliasger on Apr 17, 2008 | Reply

    Hey Lance thanks a lot i have been racking my brains over this spell check issue…thanks dude

  23. By Alex on Jun 1, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks Freelancer,
    Your suggested fix was right on (all others did not work for my machine):
    Rename the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ to zz1.0.

  24. By Peter G on Jun 9, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks that worked

  25. By Aisling on Jun 11, 2008 | Reply

    I followed your instructions re changing the language settings to English (Australia) which worked for all new documents I am creating - thank you!

    However, I had been working on a large piece of research (which is how I realised the problem with the spell checker) and the changes as above I made have not affected this document and the spell checker is still not working - and I really need the spell checker to work on it!!

    Have you any advice for making the spell checker work on documents that were created before the changes to language settings etc. are made?

    thanks so much,

    Aisling

  26. By Doug on Jun 13, 2008 | Reply

    I’ve been having this same spell check problem with all my Office 2007 applications. This fix did it for me too. Thanks so much!!

  27. By Doug on Jun 13, 2008 | Reply

    Sorry, I’m referring to the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ to zz1.0.” fix.

  28. By RJ on Jun 14, 2008 | Reply

    I’d like to ask Freelancer and LocalTech if renaming the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0 to zz1.0 is equivalent to removing the key. Might we have renamed it to anything - oldkey1.0 for example - or is “zz1.0″ the correct name for the key?

  29. By Kat on Jun 20, 2008 | Reply

    thank you very much, freelancer. i tried Lance’s option, however it didn’t make a difference, though the dictionary was in the disabled add-ons.

    i tried freelancer’s option and it worked immediately.

    thank you :)

  30. By Tom on Jun 24, 2008 | Reply

    This is sheer genius. Thanks man

  31. By MBC on Jul 9, 2008 | Reply

    Lance you are god sent! Well done and thank you very much.

  32. By matt north on Jul 9, 2008 | Reply

    If that doesn’t work then in Add/Remove Programs in the Windows Control panel
    -start the Microsoft Office 2007 choice and select ‘Change’.
    - Then select ‘Add or Remove Features’
    -then open from there
    ‘Office Shared Features’ and set ‘Proofing Tools’ to ‘run from my PC.

  33. By tupperwarelady on Jul 11, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you guys for postng “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ to zz1.0.” fix.
    this worked for me!

  34. By mikoyan on Jul 12, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks dude… My office is now working very well. spelling ok!! T o think of all the things I have tried!

    Thanks a million

  35. By mikoyan on Jul 12, 2008 | Reply

    I MEAN lANCE! THANKS YOUR SUGGESTION REALLY WORKS!! WILL TRY OUT THE OTHER SOLUTIONS IF THE PROBLEM RECURS TO GET A PERMANENT FIX

  36. By Steve Burchett on Jul 15, 2008 | Reply

    Lance, your fix for Word 2007 not spell checking worked like a charm!

    You da man!

    Steve

  37. By JohnW on Jul 16, 2008 | Reply

    Freelancer,

    I was having the same problem and your suggestion was the only one to work!! I did uninstalls and fresh installs, but your simple registry edit was the best! Thanks!!

  38. By Brad on Jul 16, 2008 | Reply

    I am having the same problem with my 2007 Word not correcting the spelling. I have gone through the steps suggested and reloaded the software. I have asked it to dignosis the problem. Nothing is working. Please advise?

    Brad

  39. By Kay on Jul 16, 2008 | Reply

    You are awesome!! You helped me. THANKS!

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  41. By Kelly on Aug 5, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you Lance! I’ve tried many websites and have tried various things, but yours worked! Cheers!

    Kelly

  42. By Alan on Aug 18, 2008 | Reply

    Lance,

    You are absolutely AWESOME!!!!!!! Thanks

  43. By Shaylyn on Aug 20, 2008 | Reply

    Didn’t have the Proofing Tools, but the following worked:

    Delete the registry key “Word” located at:

    KEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word
    Launch Word 2007 and it will rebuild the key.

    Hope it works! — SW

  44. By Chuck on Aug 27, 2008 | Reply

    My problem with spell check is it won’t read headlines in a news release template. It checks the rest of the document but not the headline/title. BTW, I’ve tried every suggestion above and none worked. Any clues? Thanks in adavance.

  45. By KTLS on Sep 5, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you so much! You have no idea how many papers I’ve turned in and gotten points off because I missed an error or two that would’ve been caught easily with spell check. Thank you!!

  46. By WandaMD on Sep 10, 2008 | Reply

    Feb 2 fix worked like a charm.

  47. By Nick on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply

    Freelancer,

    Thanks for the great tip..

    Nick

  48. By Nick on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks Freelancer, This is it..
    ————————————————
    Step 1: START/RUN/REGEDIT

    Step 2: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0 (rename “1.0″ to “zz1.0″ )
    ————————————————
    Nick

  49. By sandy08 on Sep 22, 2008 | Reply

    hello Freelancer, thank you so much! The spell check works like a charm.

  50. By ratel on Sep 23, 2008 | Reply

    matt north - thanks man - this did it for me, for some reason the “‘Proofing Tools’ to ‘run from my PC.” was not set

  51. By gregorylent on Sep 24, 2008 | Reply

    1.0 to zz1.0 had no effect on lack of spellcheck in word 2007 … still doesn’t work

  52. By Ken on Sep 28, 2008 | Reply

    Lance, your solution worked for me - Thanks. I had given up searching for the answer a few months ago. Glad I tried again!

  53. By kbrown3116 on Oct 9, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you so much for the help - the Regedit to zz1.0 worked - this was driving me crazy, thanks for all the help!

  54. By Kathleen Beattie on Oct 15, 2008 | Reply

    Thank you so much - it worked - I had reported the problem to our IT guys and they were unable to solve

  55. By thanks on Oct 17, 2008 | Reply

    Freelancer’s suggestion worked. My suggestion, though, would be to close word first, then make the registry change, then re-open word, then re-run the spell check.

    Thanks freelancer!

  56. By Deb on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply

    I have tried all of these–my spell check seems to work for documents but it will not spell check words embedded in a table. It says text marked as do not spell check (or some such) were skipped and I cannot figure out how to get them unskipped

  57. By Stephanie on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply

    I have been having an issue with the spell check for a few months now, and as a student it’s not something anyone should risk. I tried what LocalTech said first, but that didn’t make a difference. I then did what Freelancer said and it worked! It’s great to have a working spell check! What’s the point of Word without it?

  58. By Deborah on Oct 31, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks Freelancer!

  59. By Kim on Nov 8, 2008 | Reply

    I have the same problem- the first day i installed Microsoft Office 2007, the spell check did work, however the next day it didn’t. Still won’t. I’ve tried the suggestion Lance gave for add-ins, as well as the language one. Nothing has worked. The program does not find errors at all. And I sort of tried the other option of the start/run/regedit and I do not get it at all. After you click Start, Run, type REGEDIT then what? What folder am I looking for? I’m sorry to bother everyone, but if I could get help that would be great! thanks

  60. By Galen on Nov 9, 2008 | Reply

    Holy crap! That really worked. When I first saw the solution I was like what the hell does that stuff mean? But it was all cool after. Thanks, man.

  61. By Joanne on Nov 11, 2008 | Reply

    OMG - you all are geniuses. I tried the registry instructions and IT WORKED. I am so excited. I have been working without spell check for about two months and my eyes are getting tired trying to pick up all of the errors. I re-named the folder to old1.0 (per the instructions from Lance) and then later saw Freelancer’s instructions to re-name it zz1.0 but it appears it doesn’t matter.

    THANKS SO MUCH!

  62. By Michael on Nov 14, 2008 | Reply

    The registry edit from Freelancer works. When it started after the registry edit, Word recreated a new 1.0 folder, then copied the contents from the original custom.dic file to create a new custom1.dic file. All of my custom spellings were retained. Wonders never cease.

    Thanks for the helpful suggestion.

  63. By Sam on Nov 19, 2008 | Reply

    Matt North thanks, IT WORKED…I tried the regidit adjustment to no prevail. But the add/remove process worked!! YESS!

  64. By Waseem Belushi on Nov 23, 2008 | Reply

    The Second Step worked for Office 2007 Small Business with Contact Manager. Under OS. Vista Home

  65. By Chris on Nov 25, 2008 | Reply

    That was it. . .holy cr*p I’ve been struggling with this for 2 days on a chapter of my thesis due 2 weeks ago. . .My daughter hit the hot button for Outlook Express. . .that must have been when the spell checker was disabled.
    Thanks. . .

  66. By Randy on Dec 9, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for the info. This fixed the problem.

  67. By peterson9877 on Dec 9, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks everyone for the help with Word 2007 fix. I used the regedit and it worked. However, I still have no spell check with Outlook and can’t figure that one out. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

  68. By Carolyn on Dec 13, 2008 | Reply

    the zz1.0 change worked for me, too. thanks for your persistance!

  69. By Vineall on Dec 17, 2008 | Reply

    Tried the add remove; didn’t work for me but the regedit solved it. Thank you so much!

  70. By Mary C. on Jan 8, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you so much!!! This worked for me, and I will be sharing this with many of my colleagues.

  71. By Niroshan on Jan 13, 2009 | Reply

    Lance,
    You made my day. Thanks a lot. My speller is back to normal.

    Thanks a lot

  72. By qwerky01 on Jan 16, 2009 | Reply

    thanks!!! i used the popular solution, the registry renaming thing and it worked! :D

  73. By arthurb on Jan 22, 2009 | Reply

    hope this ends the constant pop up for signing the user agreement!

  74. By Jim on Jan 23, 2009 | Reply

    How’s this for a problem? The English spellchecker works fine but the spell checker in tables is French, not English. How can I correct that?

  75. By Tina on Jan 23, 2009 | Reply

    Lance, Thank you very much. I have been trying for weeks to get my spell checker to work and yours is the only one that worked.

  76. By Ron on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply

    only one that worked for me is the regedit solution. Fixed it for all Office including Expression Web.. Great help! Thanks much

  77. By debbie on Jan 31, 2009 | Reply

    Oh my God! It really worked. Microsoft couldn’t help but you did. I tried both solutions. I kept typing the word “the” as “hte” and spell check thought “hte” was a correct word. Wrong. It now recognizes “hte” as wrong and I can fix it. I type for a living, I get paid to be right, so you can’t believe how much this helps me. Thanks to you, my hair will grow back in now. Can’t thank you enough.

  78. By Jo on Feb 1, 2009 | Reply

    I tried everything but nothing works :(

  79. By rkelly72 on Feb 12, 2009 | Reply

    freelancer, i have been on this problem for the past 6 hours. I’ve tried several ways to correct the problem. You have the answer. Thank you very much for your post.

  80. By Sam on Feb 13, 2009 | Reply

    Lance’s solution is amazing!

    Just to add to it: from “Manage,” select “disabled” add-ins and then click “Go…” I didn’t click go at first to it took me a while to find the dictionary.

  81. By Bob on Feb 14, 2009 | Reply

    The posting done by ‘Freelancer’ on 2 Feb 2008 is the best solution I have found!! It worked like a champ. Thanks Freelancer!!

  82. By Regina on Feb 14, 2009 | Reply

    Lance
    You’re an angel. I worked on the spell check item for days to no avail. Then I found your suggestion to remove the spell check from the disabled list, and it worked.
    Thank you so much! Regina

  83. By Teemara on Feb 17, 2009 | Reply

    LANCE-You’re a true genius. I was freaking out because all my documents were being sent out with typos. I didn’t know the spell check wasn’t working for a few weeks (because the grammar checking was working). Oh well. better late than never.

  84. By Laurie on Feb 17, 2009 | Reply

    Freelancer, THANK YOU!!! Worked PERFECTLY.

  85. By Eric on Feb 20, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks. I noticed that it works on anything new I type now. However, if I go back into an old document where I know something was misspelled, it doesn’t pick it up as misspelled unless I retype it. Thanks though, the Help Desk at work couldn’t figure out this one…

  86. By Janelle on Feb 22, 2009 | Reply

    You are a God Lance Thank you for saving my sanity. I was losing my mind trying to figure out what happened to my spellchecker.
    ~Janelle

  87. By Mike on Feb 23, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you sincerely for you information. Two days it took to find your site then 10 min later all is good. Again thanks

  88. By Milo on Feb 26, 2009 | Reply

    Lance,

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I’ve been going crazy trying to find a solution. Great job!

  89. By Jonathan Kluge on Feb 27, 2009 | Reply

    I have problems with my Word 2007 Spell Check not functioning correctly and i used lances method it still wont work.

    Please help

  90. By Ady on Mar 1, 2009 | Reply

    I’ve tried it all - the registry manipulation, reinstalling, nothing worked… UNTIL

    I enabled the mysteriously disabled add-in (of the 2003 speller).

    FIXED!

    Thanks!

  91. By Luke on Mar 1, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you this worked for me.

  92. By Johnnewb on Mar 6, 2009 | Reply

    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
    That did the trick!!!!!
    And by the way….
    THANK YOU!!!

  93. By Isabel on Mar 16, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for that Lance.
    I have just survived the mortifying experience of sending a doco to execs with elementary typos.
    I am delighted your fix works so I won’t have to go through that again.

    I enabled the disabled add-in

  94. By Nate on Mar 18, 2009 | Reply

    Lance you genius!! You saved me. My Outlook 2007 now shows all misspelled words in red again. Thanks for posting.

  95. By Melissa on Mar 19, 2009 | Reply

    I’ve been trying to fix my spell checker for months. I’ve tried everything listed on here, and it still isn’t working. I don’t know what to do anymore. I use word 2007 for writing novels, and I must have a spell checker. Any other suggestions???

  96. By LawSchool Girl on Mar 22, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you sooo much Freelancer. Your suggestion worked perfectly. I had been going crazy without spell check.

  97. By Chris on Apr 1, 2009 | Reply

    Fantastic! Thanks everyone!

  98. By Rob on Apr 11, 2009 | Reply

    Lance,
    Nicely done, after all this time, it still works, immediately… with no reboot even.

  99. By arthur on Apr 14, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks Freelancer, This is it..
    Thanks, this does work!!!

    ————————————————
    Step 1: START/RUN/REGEDIT

    Step 2: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0 (rename “1.0″ to “zz1.0″ )
    ————————————————

  100. By Tyrone on Apr 22, 2009 | Reply

    Hello mate,

    My drop down menus never stay down and when I type the word/s they vanish.

    I have Norton Anti-Virus, Registry Fix and microsoft’s maliciuos remova tool but they sy there are no bugs or viruses.

    Can you PLEASE advise???

    It’s a Toshishiba Windows XP laptop

    May thanks,

    Tyrone

  101. By Adam on Apr 23, 2009 | Reply

    HOW TO FIX SPELL CHECK IN WORD 2007.
    I figured it out! I tried just about every fix out there…even the registry thing, and nothing worked more than temporarily.

    Here it is:
    1) Select all the text in your entire word document.
    2) Under the review tab, click “set language.”
    3) Uncheck the box that says “Do not check spelling or grammar.” Make sure that the box is not shaded either, because if it is, this means that some of the text is not being spell checked and some is.

    That should do it. For some reason, sometimes certain sections of the document mysteriously get that box checked and get skipped over by the spell checker. Good luck!

  102. By awc on Apr 27, 2009 | Reply

    Your suggestion worked! Thank you.

  103. By steve on May 4, 2009 | Reply

    The second option (changing the registry) worked! thanks so much

  104. By Jim P on May 11, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for the ms office 2007 word spellcheck fix.

  105. By Miki on May 22, 2009 | Reply

    Lance, you are a genius. I have been browsing the web for over an hour, trying every solution out there, and yours did it! Thanks!

  106. By Alicia on May 28, 2009 | Reply

    This also worked for me! Thank you so much! I have been looking on other websites and at other posts and nothing worked. Thanks again!

  107. By Alicia on May 28, 2009 | Reply

    Lance, this also worked for me! Thank you so much! I have been looking on other websites and at other posts and nothing worked. Thanks again!

  108. By Jan on Jun 2, 2009 | Reply

    Hi, I tried the solution from Lance a few months ago and it worked like a charm. However, the problem seems to have returned and the old fix does not work. At the bottom of my documents - i get crazy things - it seems to resent itself to Finnish and Italian. I go back and change the language and it lasts for a few moments, then returns to Finnish, Italian or a range of other obscure languages. I am not happy about trying the regedit solution - any other ideas?

  109. By Virginia on Jun 7, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you so much, not having spell check has cost me alot of issues. I am currently in college and just turned in a rough draft of a very big paper knowing that there might be spelling errors but with no way to review it, turned it in anyway. The spelling errors it had took the paper from an A to a C. Well the final paper is due in two weeks and trying to review a 30 page paper for spelling errors is beyond tedious. I had tried all of the other suggestions to no avail. Then there you come and save the day. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

  110. By Rob on Jun 10, 2009 | Reply

    Hey Lance,
    I’ve tried heaps of methods but this was the only one that worked for me.

    Cheers man!

    Rob

  111. By Christina on Jun 13, 2009 | Reply

    Wow, thank you so much! I don’t know what it was that you had me do but it fixed the problem!

  112. By nasser on Jul 13, 2009 | Reply

    i had same problem now its fixed
    cheers

  113. By Jill on Jul 26, 2009 | Reply

    I STILL cannot figure out how to get my spellcheck to work (Office 2007). I tried finding the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ but could only find “HKEY_CURRENT_USER”. Nothing I try seems to work. Can someone help me, a person who is not terribly knowledgable about programming and the technical side of computers? Thank you!

  114. By sau on Jul 29, 2009 | Reply

    Thank-you so much! I tried other registry changes that called for deleting the Word register. Renaming the shared file makes more sense since spell check is a shared function within MS Office!! I spend a whole day trying different things and until I finally came across this “Expand HKey_Current_User -> Software -> Microsoft -> Shared Tools -> Proofing “.

  115. By Stuck on Jul 30, 2009 | Reply

    Worked great Lance, THANKS!!

  116. By eamazil on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply

    i’ve tried all of your suggestions yet it didn’t work for me..
    so i tried deleting the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0 since it will regenerate…
    after doing this..
    my spelling correction did run!hahaha…

    a lot of thanks to all of you for giving me the idea!

  117. By Endri on Aug 14, 2009 | Reply

    Frelance’s solution solved my case too. Mine was different because in my case the spell check wasn’t working only in publisher 2007 but was working on the rest of Office 2007.

  118. By Jai on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply

    I’m not sure what helped but you all are amazing! I first used the recommendation by removing English and then Adding English (Austrailia). Well then I was reading further down in some of the comments and I seen a comment by “Lance” which stated to go to the Add Ins, then click disable items. Well to my surprise the spell check was indeed disabled, not sure how that happened or maybe it was just something funky going on with Word 2007. Well I clicked enabled and restarted my computer. So I used both methods and it help fix the problem. Thank you all so very much!

  119. By hz on Aug 26, 2009 | Reply

    the method that lance says which is disable the item is working now
    thanks

  120. By hz on Aug 26, 2009 | Reply

    this problem drags me a lot messy time. thanks to u! works now

  121. By NickF on Aug 28, 2009 | Reply

    Lance - thanks, that spell check had been killing me. You DO rock. Much appreciated.

  122. By Aaron on Sep 1, 2009 | Reply

    HOW TO FIX SPELL CHECK IN WORD 2007.
    I figured it out! I tried just about every fix out there…even the registry thing, and nothing worked more than temporarily.

    Here it is:
    1) Select all the text in your entire word document.
    2) Under the review tab, click “set language.”
    3) Uncheck the box that says “Do not check spelling or grammar.” Make sure that the box is not shaded either, because if it is, this means that some of the text is not being spell checked and some is.

    That should do it. For some reason, sometimes certain sections of the document mysteriously get that box checked and get skipped over by the spell checker. Good luck!

    THANK YOU SOOO MUCH, I have been trying everything even editing my registry. An hour left to finish my paper lol.

  123. By Lance on Sep 11, 2009 | Reply

    Lance, Your solution worked for me perfectly. Thanks.
    Regina

  124. By Dan on Sep 16, 2009 | Reply

    I’m with Barry, way back in Feb. Spell check words fine on Office 2007, but not on MSN/Quest email. Only French dictionary offered as a choice. Tried all solutions offered, but no-go. Is it a waiting game for Msn to upgrade or has someone found a solution?

  125. By morgan on Sep 17, 2009 | Reply

    THANK YOU!!! The second part worked. I really appreicate the help. :)

  126. By Bob on Sep 22, 2009 | Reply

    The register edit method is working. thanks to mr. freelance

  127. By Michelle on Oct 3, 2009 | Reply

    Lance - u r AWESOME!!! Thanks so much!!!!

  128. By web on Oct 4, 2009 | Reply

    Start - Run - Regedit
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER(near the top)Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\
    change 1.0 to zz1.0.

    not my answer just a reformed answer of freelaners and this is the only thing that really worked for me

  129. By Kaun on Oct 10, 2009 | Reply

    the fix with the registry worked like a charm! Thanks!

  130. By Jimmy on Oct 21, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks, Matt North. Your solution was the one that applied to me.

    People, try the different solutions posted here. Not everyone has the same problem. For whatever reason, my tools just wasn’t activated. I think it was due to me trying to install as few features as possible when I installed Enterprise 2007.

  131. By IKAN on Oct 26, 2009 | Reply

    Hi Aron,

    Thanks, it works with me!

    IKAN

  132. By Nick D on Nov 3, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks web. Lance’s solution didn’t apply to me (since nothing was ever disabled with my ms word) but your solution worked.

  133. By Marcia on Nov 4, 2009 | Reply

    I am going nuts! My Research options just quit working! The pane displays, but nothing will return from a search, except a message that says ‘No results found, please search again”. This is NOT a spelling issue as I have tried several words, including ‘meat’. The thesauraus is not working either. Have tried just about everything, incl. resetting privacy settings.

    The only thing changed in the same time period is a backward install of Java 1.6 as that is the only one that will work with my onine university Blackboard program. Could this be the problem? If so, how do I fix it? Thanks for any help!!

  134. By john from brighton on Nov 8, 2009 | Reply

    Open Microsoft Office Word 2007
    Click on the Microsoft Office logo top left of the screen.
    Click on Word Options
    Click on Popular at the left hand side Pane
    Click on Language Settings at the bottom
    On the left hand side under “Available editing languages“, look for (English) then click Add
    At the bottom where “Primary Editing Language” change it to (English ) at the drop down menu
    On the right hand side under “Enabled editing languages“, highlight any other language other than (English ) then click Remove in the middle.
    Click on OK
    Click on OK again

    In outlook express go to tool and click options.
    Click on spelling and tick on (always check spelling before sending).click on apply.

    Restart the computer.

  135. By Steph on Nov 11, 2009 | Reply

    My English dictionary was not disabled and I’ve figured out how to turn spell check on if anyone else has the same problem. Go to the review tab then to spell check, when the box comes up (assuming you have a misspelled word) Go to options…at the bottom it will say exceptions for…un-check “hide spelling errors in this document only” and “hide grammar errors in this document only” I see red lines again. :)

  136. By rachael on Nov 12, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks Guys, I tried just about everything listed here.. One of them worked so thank you to you all.
    Cheers

  137. By Sophie on Nov 12, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks so much Freelancer…I’ve been struggling with this problem for many months…I really blamed this problem to Microsoft… your solution was the only thing worked for my MS2007!!! now my outlook and ms word both can check spellings!!!!!! GREAT!!!
    THANKS SO MUCH!!

    I found the answer:
    Rename the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ to zz1.0.

  138. By ash on Nov 25, 2009 | Reply

    FREELANCEr!!!! you rock my socks off! finally it’s fixed! thanks so much!

  139. By Emmett on Nov 28, 2009 | Reply

    Lance’s Add-Ins solution worked! Hooray!!! After two hours of trying other solutions!!!
    Thanks Lance!!!

  140. By Mitch on Dec 1, 2009 | Reply

    The Solution for me was to ensure the proofing tools had be installed in the first place, Add/Remove Programs > Office 2007 Ent > Change > Proofing Tools > Run from this computer > install

  141. By Natalie on Dec 3, 2009 | Reply

    Oh my gosh thank you guys so much for your help! This worked! The help comment with editing Word’s options in the ad-in section didn’t work, but this one did. Thank you!

  142. By Andrea on Dec 6, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you so much! This is the only post I have found that actually fixed my problem.

  143. By VIncent on Dec 6, 2009 | Reply

    Thought my problem was a windows 7 issue.Fixed it with the registry modification method and it worked. Hours of wasted time. Thanks Freelancer.

  144. By David on Dec 9, 2009 | Reply

    Hey,

    Thanks a lot for giving out the info on Word 07 spell check. I’ve been going insane trying to repair the fg%$^&n’ thing!!! THIS WORKED & WAS EASY. (More than I can say for tech. support at microsh&^t…

    I’m going to pass this along to everyone I know!!!

    Up the Irons!!!!
    David

  145. By narendra on Dec 22, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks a lot. I benefited a lot by the informations.

  146. By manku thimma on Dec 25, 2009 | Reply

    Just uninstall 2007 and reinstall 2003

  147. By bob on Dec 31, 2009 | Reply

    i need crack ne1 got some?

  148. By K on Jan 13, 2010 | Reply

    Lance, thank you soooo much this did it:
    (EDIT: Popular Solution By Lance)

    I have struggled with this problem and think I found the answer. It seems that Office 2007 disables the english dictionary becasue it causes problems with Outlook Express. To turn the dictionary back on goto:
    Microsoft Office Button>
    Word Options>
    Ad Ins>
    Manage (select disabled items)>
    Click on the english dictionary and re-enable it>
    Close Word and restart.

    Now test the issue and see if you’re still facing the same issue. If this step doesn’t work, please do let me know and I will give you the more complicated method of resolving the issue :)

  149. By jeanc on Jan 21, 2010 | Reply

    thank you matt north for your July 08 post. I tried other things and they didn’t work. Your fix worked!
    I have been frustrated by this for so long and have not had time to spend searching for a fix. did go to microsoft but they are no help.
    grateful,
    j

  150. By Aaron Wroot on Feb 7, 2010 | Reply

    You are a genius. I really cannot thank you enough. Please email me and let me know how on EARTH you figured this out!

    Thank you!!!!!

  151. By zia on Feb 19, 2010 | Reply

    RE: Word 2007 Spell Check not working.

    ——————————————————————————–

    - follow these steps
    1. Delete uproof folder from %appdata%\Microsoft.
    2. Click on Start > Run and type regedit
    3. Expand the folder HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing
    Tools\1.0\Override\en-US
    4. Rename the String Values DLL and LEX to oldDLL and oldLEX
    5. Close the registry editor and check the issue

  152. By Scanit0 on Feb 27, 2010 | Reply

    Freelancer, thanks for your solution! by renaming that key (for sure corrupted) a new one (named 1.0 again) is created, solving the issue. Thanks again!

  153. By LouLou on Mar 4, 2010 | Reply

    thnk you that so much help my essays now have the right spellings in it :)

  154. By scar05 on Mar 18, 2010 | Reply

    alas, i can spell again…. lol
    thanks freelancer

  155. By Nick on Apr 4, 2010 | Reply

    Whoever you are Lance - you have just saved me hours and hours and hours of time. If only I had ready your solution 1 week sago ;-)

    Take Care and thanks
    Nick

  156. By patryk Excel 2007 on May 25, 2010 | Reply

    Do anybody know how to enable auto spell checker in EXCEL 2007? Word 2007 is ok but I need those red waves when I type something in Excel. Any help would be appreciated!!!
    Patryk

  157. By Tracy on Jun 10, 2010 | Reply

    Hey, I’m just a mom and rather helpless at fixing computers. I tried changing the language and no go; I am not finding my English dictionary in the disabled list, etc. I would like to try to use Lance’s fix, but I need a step-by-step on how to do it (Rename the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\1.0″ to zz1.0.

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