WD: Words in Exclude Dictionary Not Flagged as Incorrect

ID: Q189042

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a

SYMPTOMS

When you use the spelling checker to check the spelling of a document in Word, Word does not stop at words that are spelled correctly but that are included in the exclude dictionary. Instead, it acknowledges them as spelled correctly.

CAUSE

Words contained in an exclude dictionary should be flagged as misspelled in Word documents when you run the spelling checker. The following are reasons why a word in an exclude dictionary may not be flagged as incorrect:

The exclude dictionary is in a different directory than the main dictionary.
The exclude dictionary does not have an .exc extension and the same file name as the main dictionary. For example, if the main dictionary is Sp_am.lex, the exclude dictionary must be Sp_am.exc.
You edited the exclude dictionary in Word and the changes do not take effect until you restart Word.
The words contained in the exclude dictionary are case sensitive. If you want Word to flag all occurences of a word, you need to add all of the case-sensitive forms of the word.
For example, add each of the following forms of the word "center" to the exclude dictionary:
```
     center
     Center
     CENTER
     CEnter
     CENter.....etc. 
```
You have added a word that consists of only a single character.
The exclude dictionary may be corrupt; if this is the case, create a new one.

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q87857
   TITLE     : WD: Spelling and Grammar Checkers Do Not Flag Single
               Letters

   ARTICLE-ID: Q181641
   TITLE     : WD97: How to Create an Exclude Dictionary

   ARTICLE-ID: Q181640
   TITLE     : WD98: How to Create an Exclude Dictionary

   ARTICLE-ID: Q142100
   TITLE     : WD: How to Create an Exclude Dictionary

Versions 2.0 and 2.0a Only

The word is contained in both an exclude and a custom dictionary. After Word for Windows checks the exclude dictionary, it checks the custom dictionary. If Word for Windows finds the word in both dictionaries, it considers the word to be spelled correctly.

NOTE: This information does not pertain to Word for Windows versions 2.0a-cd, 2.0b, and 2.0c. These versions will exclude a word that is contained in the exclude dictionary even if the word is found in the custom dictionary.

MORE INFORMATION

An exclude dictionary contain words that you want the spelling checker to flag as incorrect even though the words are not normally considered misspelled.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," page 283

Additional query words: ignore

Keywords          : kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:2.0,2.0a,2.0a-CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: January 29, 1999