Error Message: The Custom Dictionary <filename> Is Unavailable

ID: Q98304

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SUMMARY

The following error message may occur when you use the spelling checker in Word for Windows 6.0:

The custom dictionary <Path\dictionary name> is unavailable

This error message can occur because the user has previously specified the custom dictionary in found under Tools/Options/Spelling and the file has either been deleted or moved.

The following error message may occur when you use the spelling checker in versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, or 2.0c of Word for Windows:

   The custom dictionary <Path\dictionary name> is unavailable.

This error message can occur in the following two situations:

1. The custom dictionary named in the error message is not a text

   file.

2. If the custom dictionary is located on a network, another user may

   be using the dictionary. They may be adding a word to it using the
   spelling checker, or they may have the dictionary file open in Word.

In Word versions 1.x, the following error message may occur:

   Error Writing to User Dictionary

For information on this error message, see the "Word Version 1.x" section at the end of this article.

Workaround 1: Save Dictionary File in Text Only Format

To use your custom dictionary with Word for Windows, it must be in Text Only file format. If it is not in this format, do the following:

1. Open the dictionary file.

2. From the File menu, choose Save As.

3. In the Save File As Type box, select Text Only (*.txt).

4. In the File Name box, type a new name with a .DIC extension, and

   choose OK.

5. The name of your usable dictionary is now different than the name

   referenced on the CUSTOM DICT N= line in the [MS Proofing Tools]
   section of the WIN.INI file. The dictionary name and its WIN.INI
   reference must match, so you can either rename the dictionary file
   or change the WIN.INI reference to the new dictionary filename.

Workaround 2: Change Network Custom Dictionary to Read-Only

If you are on a network, you can change the file attributes of the custom dictionary file to Read-Only or change the network users' rights to Read-Only. This workaround allows multiple users to access the custom dictionary at the same time and avoids the error message. The drawback to this workaround is that nobody can add words to the custom dictionary.

As an alternative, you could create a separate custom dictionary file for each network user.

MORE INFORMATION

Word for Windows, Versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c

If you continue to use the spelling checker after you receive the above error message, the Add button in the Spelling dialog box is unavailable. To add a word to a custom dictionary, you can select a different dictionary from the Add Words To list (if one is listed), or you can choose the Options button in the Spelling dialog box and open a different custom dictionary or create a new one.

If you create a new custom dictionary, Word adds the following line to the [MS Proofing Tools] section of your WIN.INI file

   Custom Dict N=C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\<filename>.DIC

where N is a number from 1 through 4.

Note: If you do not have an \MSAPPS\PROOF subdirectory, Word places the custom dictionary file in the Word program directory.

If you cancel the unavailable dictionary selection from the Custom Dictionaries list in the Spelling Options dialog box, Word deletes the dictionary name from the Custom Dict N reference in the [MS Proofing Tools] section of the WIN.INI file and moves the remaining selected custom dictionaries to the top Custom Dict N positions. For example, if you deselect CUSTOM.DIC, Word removes it from the Custom Dict 1 reference and moves the current custom dictionaries to the top positions, as shown in the following sample WIN.INI entry:

   [MS Proofing Tools]
   Custom Dict 1=C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\LETTERS.DIC
   Custom Dict 2=C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\NEW_DICT.DIC
   Custom Dict 3=

Note: In the above sample, LETTERS.DIC and NEW_DICT.DIC are selected in the Custom Dictionaries list in the Spelling Options dialog box.

To see which custom dictionaries are open--or selected in the Custom Dictionaries list in the Spelling Options dialog box--do the following:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Spelling.

2. In the Spelling dialog box, look in the Add Words To box. The

   filename(s) in this box are open custom dictionaries. This list
   corresponds to the completed Custom Dict N references in the
   WIN.INI file (for example, based on the above sample WIN.INI file,
   LETTERS.DIC and NEW_DICT.DIC would appear in the Add Words To box).

Word Versions 1.x

If a user dictionary file is in a file format other than text only or if somebody else is using the file over a network, Word cannot read the file, but no error message occurs until you attempt to add a word to that dictionary.

The error message:

   Error Writing to User Dictionary

also occurs in Word versions 1.x if you attempt to add a word to the CUSTOM.DIC file for Word versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, and 2.0c.

The error message:

   Cannot Create STDUSER.DIC

will occur when trying to invoke the spelling checker in Word for Windows on a network if the subdirectory where the spelling checker DLL files are located is marked as read only. This happens because Word attempts to make the update dictionary in the same subdirectory as the spelling checker and is prevented from doing so by the system.

One solution is to move all the spelling checker files into a subdirectory that the user has read-write privileges in and specify that subdirectory in the UTIL-PATH under the Microsoft Word section of the WIN.INI file.

Reference(s):

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 276-283, 733-734, 805

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Reference," version 1.x, pages 224, 331-334.

KBCategory: KBSubcategory: Additional query words: 1.0 1.10 1.10a 2.0 2.0a 2.0a-CD 2.0b winword 7.0 word95 winword2 2.0c 6.0 proofing tools speller word7 word6 checking gray grey grayed greyed

Keywords          : kbproof 
Version           : 1.x 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c 7.0
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 6, 1998