18 Checking and Correcting Spellings

Difficulty Level: Beginner

Excel Version: XP

Assumed Knowledge: None

 

 

The aim of the tutorial is to:

 

show you how to check and correct the spelling of words in your worksheet.

Spellings

Excel can search your text for spelling errors or unusually spelled words so that you can check them and amend them if necessary. The Spelling box is useful for this purpose.

To open up the Spelling box in one of three ways:

  1. Click on Tools in the menu bar, then click on Spelling; or
  2. Click on the Spelling and Grammar button on the standard toolbar ; or
  3. Press the F7 key (among the top row of keys on the keyboard).

The Spelling dialogue box will appear. Notice that the blue bar at the top of this box will also show you which language has been selected. Next to Not in Dictionary: at the top of the box you will see the first mistake or unusual word that Excel has found in the worksheet. At the bottom of the box under Suggestions: Excel will show you any words it has in the dictionary that can be used to replace the mistaken or unusual word.

To correct a mispelled word using a given suggestion:

  1. Search the Suggestions box to find a suggestion of how the word should be spelled.
  2. Click on the correctly spelled suggestion.
  3. Click on Change (or Change All if all occurrences of the mispelled word in the worksheet are to be corrected in the same way).
  4. Excel will continue to check the worksheet for further spelling mistakes. If you want to stop the spell check click on Cancel.

To correct a mispelled word when the correct suggestion is not given:

  1. Check the Suggestions box to find a suggestion of how the word should be spelled.
  2. If there is no correctly spelled suggestion correct the spelling in the Not in Dictionary box.
  3. Click on Change (or Change All if all occurrences of the mispelled word in the worksheet are to be corrected in the same way).
  4. Excel will continue to check the worksheet for spelling mistakes. If you want to stop the spell check click on Cancel.

To store a correctly spelled word that Excel would otherwise show as incorrect:

  1. Click on the Add button to add the word to the dictionary (this is particularly useful if the word will be typed often in one or more worksheets).
  2. Excel will continue to check the worksheet for spelling mistakes. If you want to stop the spell check click on Cancel.

To ignore a word that is shown as incorrect but you are certain is spelled correctly (such as someone's name):

  1. Click on the Ignore (or Ignore All if the same word appears more than once in the worksheet).
  2. Excel will continue to check the worksheet for spelling mistakes. If you want to stop the spell check click on Cancel.

 

Exercises

For exercises to practice the above click here.

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