Can't add words to Microsoft Word

[lomend]

Make sure that your dictionary is set to where you are, not just English. I live in the US but somehow it got changed to Australian english and therefore I could not add words. Double check that before anything else!

 

[MicMcG]

re: Cannot use "Add" in Microsoft Word

Hi all,

I think I took one suggestion from all of the links above ... many of them did not work for me. The "Add" Function did not work for me for over a year or two.

Changing my language to default English (US) did not change it.
Neither did unchecking "check spelling as you type" under word > preferences > spelling and grammar.

I deleted my whole MS Office Suite twice to no avail of "Add" coming back.

What I ended up doing was deleting "custom dictionary" by going into preferences>spelling and grammar>dictionaries>remove "custom dictionary">click "NEW" (create a new custom dictionary not saved as "custom dictionary" b/c that will not work. Do not re-add the custom dictionary from your system prior.

I renamed my "NEW" custom dictionary "Custom Dictionary 2013" and now I can use ADD.

 

[hansognana]

Use a different custom dictionary language

Here's what I found: The Custom Dictionary needs to be checked as English(US) for the add option to work. I'm not sure why but I think it is because the native mac dictionary is US English by default. ...<snip>

For me, it worked in the opposite. I had my default US English as my custom dictionary's language and I couldn't add new words (even after deleting all existing words in my custom dictionary, incase it was full). So as per the suggestion above, I changed my custom dictionary to Australian English and then it worked - the add button became active and I could add new words again. Hope it helps.

 

[Alex 3]

Add greyed out in spell check Word for Mac

Simple but unexplainable solution.
Custom dictionary was set for English (CDN). Changed to English (US) and it works fine. Go figure.

 

[joyshafer]

How to Delete Words from Custom Dictionary

I have Mac Office 2008 running on OSX 10.9.5. I accidentally added a few words to my custom dictionary and wanted to remove them.

Here's what didn't work:

First I right-clicked on a misspelled word > Spelling > Options > Dictionaries

But Edit is grayed out. After finding this thread, I tried:

Word > Preferences > Spelling and Grammar > Dictionaries > (lo and behold!) Edit

But, although I could see the list of words in my custom dictionary, I couldn't edit them. The list box was labeled "Preview" so I assume edit is not a feature of this box. I could not find a way to edit the words from here.

I tried changing languages as was suggested by shelleyfrank, but that didn't work in this case either.

So I decided to edit the actual custom dictionary file. But how to find it? The "full path" is listed in the Custom Dictionary dialog box, but it actually only shows the first directory an ellipsis and the file name. I was unable to scroll to see what the actual full path was. A Search in Finder for likely strings (.dic, dictionary, custom, etc.) did not find this file.

Searching online I discovered it was supposed to be at: ~ > Library > Preferences > Microsoft > Office 2008 > Custom Dictionary. But under Hard Drive > Library > Preferences, there was no Microsoft folder.

What worked for me:

After pulling my hair our a while longer (I am now almost bald), I finally noticed that I was supposed to be looking in the Library folder under my Home folder, not the one off the root. However, there is no Library folder listed under my Home folder. After doing some more searching, I found this esoteric explanation for how to show hidden files and folders on your Mac: http://ianlunn.co.uk/articles/quickly-showhide-hidden-files-mac-os-x-mavericks/.

Following those instructions, I was able to see my Library folder under my Home folder, and I found the dictionary file under Home > Library > Preferences > Microsoft > Office 2008 > Custom Dictionary. It was a simple matter at that point to edit the file in Mac's default text editor.

I did have to uncheck and recheck the option for Check Spelling as you Type in Word > Preferences > Spelling and Grammar in order to turn spell checking back on in Word.

Everything is now working fine, but that was way too ridiculously difficult!!

 

[MacHelpPlz]

Here's what I found: The Custom Dictionary needs to be checked as English(US) for the add option to work. I'm not sure why but I think it is because the native mac dictionary is US English by default. In the UK it is a constant problem among mac users. I had my custom dictionary set as English (UK) all the time and couldn't figure out why I can't add a simple word like colour to it. So I changed the cust dict language to English (US) and the add option came on. Alternatively you can set the custom dictionary language to (none) and it will work just the same.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. My *whole* issue was that the custom dictionary wasn't set to English(US)!

 

[geserit]

Here's what I found: The Custom Dictionary needs to be checked as English(US) for the add option to work. I'm not sure why but I think it is because the native mac dictionary is US English by default. In the UK it is a constant problem among mac users. I had my custom dictionary set as English (UK) all the time and couldn't figure out why I can't add a simple word like colour to it. So I changed the cust dict language to English (US) and the add option came on. Alternatively you can set the custom dictionary language to (none) and it will work just the same.

 

[geserit]

Thank you . . . this worked for me. So bloody clunky though isn't it. I guess that trying to get MS and Apple to be nice to each other is a far away dream.

 

[SMITEE]

#3 worked for me updating the language to English (US). Thank you for an easy fix to a frustrating problem.

It works like this (Word 2011):

1. You can place your custom dictionary anywhere (works great in Dropbox for use on several computers

2. Go to Spelling & Grammar > Dictionaries to get to the window called "custom Dictionaries". Here you can create a new dictionary anywhere on your computer and choose which custom dictionaries are active. The 'Language' option here associates that particular custom dictionary with a language of your choice. Select (none) to be able to use it with any language.

3. NOW THIS IS WHAT BUGS A FEW PEOPLE I THINK!
If you have associated your custom dictionary to fx 'English (UK)', then the document language must also be set to 'English (UK)', otherwise your custom dictionary is not active (and the Add button is grayed out). So in this case mark all your text (Cmd+a), go to Tools > Language and select 'English (UK)'.

4. To be able to edit/modify a custom dictionary e.g. add/remove words manually, that particular custom dictionary must not be in use by the document. So if your having problems modifying your custom dictionary you can close your document, create a New Blank Document and make sure the language are set to another language than your custom dictionary is associated to. Then you should be able to edit the custom dictionary.

This worked for me and I hope it helps a few people

 

[tacosandbeer88]

For what it's worth, the custom dictionary isn't located there. The default custom dictionary is:

~/library/preferences/microsoft/custom dictionary

But now then... Go to Preferences -> Spelling & Grammar. Make sure that something is selected under Custom Dictionary. If not, click on the Dictionaries button and either try to find and add the file listed above, or make a new custom dictionary.

this one did the trick for me, thanks a lot!!

 

[alisonpatey]

Here's what I found: The Custom Dictionary needs to be checked as English(US) for the add option to work. I'm not sure why but I think it is because the native mac dictionary is US English by default. In the UK it is a constant problem among mac users. I had my custom dictionary set as English (UK) all the time and couldn't figure out why I can't add a simple word like colour to it. So I changed the cust dict language to English (US) and the add option came on. Alternatively you can set the custom dictionary language to (none) and it will work just the same.

I know this thread is now really old but I just had to add my thanks for this solution - which works! Adding the British spellings takes no time at all so thanks shelley frank of 2008 - helped me a lot.

 

[ZeuSGoKiL]

Here's what I found: The Custom Dictionary needs to be checked as English(US) for the add option to work. I'm not sure why but I think it is because the native mac dictionary is US English by default. In the UK it is a constant problem among mac users. I had my custom dictionary set as English (UK) all the time and couldn't figure out why I can't add a simple word like colour to it. So I changed the cust dict language to English (US) and the add option came on. Alternatively you can set the custom dictionary language to (none) and it will work just the same.

This actually works overtime .

 

[Back2Front]

I never had this problem until today, when I decided to try turning off the "check spelling as you type" feture. Now, as others have described, "add" is greyed out when I preform the spell check / also when I re-enable "check spelling as you type."

I made sure that Custom dictionary was checked, and that my language was US English. I can even open up my custom dictionary and see all the words I've added over the last year. But for some reason, when I run the spell check now, I get a message that reads: "The custom dictionary 'Custom Dictinoary' is not available." What gives?

Thanks! this makes no sense as its probably us non US users who are more likely to want to add words to the dictionary. But either way this solution worked for me!