Do you worry that you and your spellchecker aren’t speaking the same language? Mike Plant explains how to wrestle back control and get even tougher on typing errors
If Word has a nasty habit of rephrasing your split infinitives, or you’re left tearing your hair out whenever your email client fails to catch a spelling slip, you’re not alone. The built-in spellcheckers of your favourite programs can seem to throw the rules of English grammar out of the window at times, but there are things you can do to get them under control. Here we’ll explain how to replace or expand your spell-checking options to produce error-free documents and emails.
Expand Word’s dictionary
Word’s spellchecker can come in handy when correcting the odd spelling mistake, but it can also be heavy-handed – underlining entire sentences that it thinks you should rephrase or insisting you change what you’ve just typed. Try typing 1/2 without Word changing it to ‘½’, for example.
The first step to controlling Word is to make sure its corrections are based on UK English (rather than US, for example). Click File, Options, then Language in the column on the left. In the Choose Editing Languages section you’ll see the current default language (marked in bold) – this should say English (United Kingdom). If not, select this in the list, then click ‘Set as Default’. To stop Word defaulting to another version or language in future, delete any other options from the list – for example, English (United States) – by selecting those options and clicking Remove.
You can add non-standard words to this dictionary so that Word stops flagging them up as spelling errors (useful if you’re writing about a product with a unique name, such as CCleaner). Right-click the word you want to add then click ‘Add to Dictionary’ from the list of options.
Customise AutoCorrect
For more comprehensive control of Word’s spellchecker, click File, Options, then Proofing. As mentioned earlier, Word has an annoying habit of assuming you want to type fractions when you separate numbers with a forward slash. To stop this, click AutoCorrect Options, then the AutoFormat As You Type tab and untick ‘Fractions (1/2) with fraction character (½)’ then click OK.
To minimise Word’s overzealous red underlining of anything it deems to be a mistake, return to the Proofing menu, select ‘Grammar and Style’ from the Writing Style dropdown menu, then click Settings. Here, you can change how Word assesses poor grammar.
For example, if you right-click a section of underlined text to find out what the ‘error’ is, you may see the message ‘Fragment (consider revising)’, meaning Word regards it as an incomplete sentence that cannot stand alone. If you don’t want Word pointing out this type of error in future, untick ‘Fragment – stylistic suggestion’ box, then click OK. Untick any other boxes as you see fit so Word only flags up the grammatical errors you want it to.
Check for consistency
Something that Word’s spellchecker won’t look for is inconsistencies in your writing, but the free Consistency Checker add-in will. It scans your document for instances where you have used multiple variations of the same word – redo or re-do, for example. To install it click Insert, Store, type consistency checker into the search bar, then press Enter. Click Add next to Consistency Checker in the list. Open a document you want to scan, click Insert, My Apps, then double-click Consistency Checker. When its sidebar opens on the right of your screen, click Scan. Don’t be put off by its low rating in the Office Store. We think this is undeserved.
Change Gmail’s language settings
The spell-checking options you’ll find in email services, such as Gmail, tend to be more limited than those found in Word. You can launch Gmail’s spellchecker by clicking the down arrow at the bottom right of the New Message window, then clicking ‘Check spelling’. It will then highlight any spelling mistakes it finds. Right-click a highlighted word to choose from a list of suggested alternatives. Bear in mind, it won’t detect correctly spelled words used in the wrong context (for example, if use pail where you really mean pale).
As with Word, it’s important to make sure UK English is the default language. To do this, click Settings (cog icon at the top right), then Settings in the dropdown menu. In the Language section, ensure that the ‘Gmail display language’ is set to English (UK). If not, select it from the dropdown menu then click Save Changes at the bottom of the settings screen.
Add a spell-checking extension to Chrome
If you access your email service (Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, etc) via Chrome, consider using the ‘After the Deadline’ extension, which is clever enough to root out the kind of pail/pale errors we mentioned above. Go to www. snipca.com/23434 in your Chrome browser, click ‘Add to Chrome’, then ‘Add extension’ (you might be prompted to restart your browser).
To spell-check text you type in an email, online forum, or even on Facebook, click the small ‘ABC’ logo at the bottom right of the window. Any spelling and grammar errors will be underlined with a solid red line. Click any underlined text to choose from alternative suggestions.
To configure ‘After the Deadline’ so it works as you want it to, click the ‘AtD’ logo at the top-right of Chrome’s window, then choose View Options. Here, you can set proofreading preferences, and add terms you want the extension to ignore.
Spell-check in Firefox
LanguageTool Grammar Checker is the best spell-checking add-on for Firefox. Go to www.snipca.com/23435, click ‘Add to Firefox’, then Install. Make it use UK English by clicking the menu button (three horizontal lines at the top right), Add-ons, then Extensions. Click Options to the left of LanguageTool then scroll down to the ‘Mother tongue’ section. In the ‘Assume this variety of English’ dropdown menu, click ‘English (GB)’, then Save.
To use LanguageTool when typing in Firefox, click the ‘LT’ extension icon at the top right (you’ll be prompted to click Continue the first time you use it). Next, click any of the suggested words to insert them into your text.