Proofing

Last updated: November 10, 2014

Word 2010 provides many tools for proofing your content before you submit or publish a document.

Proofing Options

You can control how Word proofs a document using the Proofing Options menu. For example, you can set Word to check for spelling and grammar errors as you type, or customize the dictionaries Word has access to. To access the Proofing Options menu:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Click the File Tab. A menu will open.
  3. At the bottom of the menu, click the Word Options button.
  4. Select Proofing. A dialog box will open, showing the available proofing options.
  5. Select the options you want to modify.
  6. Click OK.

Spelling and Grammar Check

By default, Word runs a spelling and grammar check to make sure that there are no errors in your document. Word searches common dictionaries and libraries to see if the words you type are spelled correctly and are grammatically correct. Word underlines misspelled words with a red line, and grammar mistakes with a green line.

Word provides the following options for fixing the errors it finds:

  • Click the Review tab, and click the Spelling and Grammar button from the Proofing group. The Spelling and Grammar dialog box will open. From here, you can manually go through all the spelling mistakes, followed by all the grammar mistakes, and choose whether you want to accept the suggestions for fixing the mistake, or ignore the warning.
  • Right-click the underlined error if you are using a PC, or control-click the underlined error if you are using a Mac. A shortcut menu will open that displays alternative words or sentence structures, allows you to add words to your dictionary, or allows you to ignore the suggestions for fixing the error.

AutoCorrect

Autocorrect automatically fixes commonly misspelled words. It also allows you to replace typed letter combinations with a word of your choice. For example, you can program Word to automatically input the word “government” every time you type the letters “govt”. To access the AutoCorrection menu:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Click the File Tab. A menu will open.
  3. Click the Options button at the bottom of the menu.
  4. Click Proofing.
  5. Click the AutoCorrect Options button.
  6. Select the options you want to modify from the list provided, or create word replacements using the Replace and With fields.
  7. Click OK.

Research

The research tool allows you to check words or phrases in many different libraries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, reference books, and even other languages. For example, the research tool can provide you with a dictionary definition of a term, or translate words or phrases from one language to another.

To open the research tool:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Click the Review tab.
  3. Click the Research button from the Proofing group. The Research Pane will open on the left of the screen.
  4. Enter the text you want to research in the Search for field.
  5. Select the most appropriate reference book you would like to search (i.e. dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and translation) from the All Reference Books dropdown menu.
  6. Press the Enter key on your keyboard. The results will appear in theResearch Pane.

For quick and easy access to the Research tool:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Select the word(s) you want to research.
  3. Right-click the selected word(s) if you are using a PC, or Control-click the selected word(s) if you are using a Mac. A shortcut menu will open.
  4. Click Look Up… from the shortcut menu. The Research pane will open on the left of the screen.

Thesaurus Tool

The Thesaurus tool provides you with words that have a similar meaning to the one you have selected. For quick and easy access to the Thesaurus tool:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Select the word you want to find alternatives for.
  3. Click the Review tab.
  4. Click the Thesaurus button from the Proofing group. The Research Pane will open on the left of the screen, showing similar words to the one you have selected.

Translate Tool

The Translate tool allows you to translate words and phrases into any of the languages that you have loaded onto your computer. To access the Translate tool:

  1. StepsActions
  2. Select the word or phrase you want to translate.
  3. Click the Review tab.
  4. Click the Translate button from the Proofing group. The Research Pane will open on the left of the screen.
  5. Choose which language you want to translate the word or phrase into. The results will appear in the Research Pane