MS Word question

euclid

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I'm using MS-word 2011 on my Apple Mac.

I've been editing a long document (my new novel), and noticed that the autocorrect and spellcheck functions are not working - but only in a passage that starts halfway through chapter 41 and ends halfway through chapter 42. How can this happen?

Thanks
JJ Toner
 

alleycat

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Could you have inadvertently changed the style for that section?
 

alleycat

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You could have a style that doesn't autocorrect.

You can change settings by section.
 

robjvargas

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I don't recall... does 2011 include the ribbon bar? I'll assume yes. One quick check is to move your cursor inside the affected area. Look at the Styles list of the HOME tab. If you move your cursor to an unaffected are, does the selected style change?

You could highlight the affected area, then double-click the intended style. That might reapply the correct settings.

Was that section copied from another document, perhaps?
 

euclid

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What's a ribbon bar?

I moved my cursor from line 1 to the last line of chapter 41 and watched the style box (normal) which did not change.

I'm assuming the section was copied from another document at some stage - yes.

PS I keyed in callical at the start of a new paragraph at the end of chapter 41. Word corrected it by replacing the leading character with a capital, but spellcheck did not object to my invented word. So some auto check functions are working, but not 'as you type' spellcheck.

JJ
 
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Treehouseman

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The nuclear option might be to save as RTF (or gasp - TXT to lose ALL formatting). Reopen, then cut-paste into another document. Even re-opening in a lesser word processor like WordPad (or the Mac equivalent) then returning to word can strip out pesky formatting.
 

cbenoi1

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< {...} the autocorrect and spellcheck functions are not working
> - but only in a passage that starts halfway through chapter 41
> and ends halfway through chapter 42. How can this happen?

You may have ended with paragraphs set in different languages. Just select everything and apply a single language setting with:

Review->Language->Set Proofing Language...

Note: being unfamiliar with Macs, this may end up in a different part of the UI. Search the help pages for 'proofing'.

-cb
 
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robjvargas

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Oh! Format Painter might help. I think you have it in Mac as well as in Windows.

Select text that works as you want it to work. Click Format Painter (Clipboard section of the Home tab in the ribbon bar, I don't recall in the older menu-driven interface). Select the text that isn't working.

The catch is that I don't know if Format Painter applies any setting that affects what your seeing. But, hey, couldn't hurt.

Well... pretty darn unlikely.
 

Taejang

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MS Word has a set limit on how many errors it can handle with autocorrect and passive spell check functions (passive meaning the squiggly lines under words). Large documents can run up against this limit; my 83k word fantasy novel hit it around 60k words, if memory serves, though it may depend on the computer and available resources. Once you hit that limit, it misbehaves in interesting ways. On mine, it dropped all red squigglies but kept the grammar ones. Occasionally it randomly started doing spelling errors again, most often after reloading the document and skipping to the bottom without scrolling through the rest of the document.

If the above posts about formatting and languages didn't fix the issue, then you might have reached that limit. Here are three options:
1) Split the document up into multiple files
2) Fix the things MS Word is complaining about. Either correct mistakes, add unknown words to the dictionary, or tell it to ignore stuff
3) Use a "better" word processor. Once saved in its .odt format, LibreOffice loads my 83k novel roughly three times faster than Word ever did, the spell check functions worked all the way to the end, it's free, and it doesn't revamp the entire menu system with each new version, so once you learn it you can always use it ;)
 
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euclid

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Nice one, taejang. I might try that.

Robjvargas: What on earth is Format Painter? Is that an MS-word add-on?

JJ
 

paddismac

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MS Word has a set limit on how many errors it can handle with autocorrect and passive spell check functions (passive meaning the squiggly lines under words). Large documents can run up against this limit; my 83k word fantasy novel hit it around 60k words, if memory serves, though it may depend on the computer and available resources. Once you hit that limit, it misbehaves in interesting ways. On mine, it dropped all red squigglies but kept the grammar ones. Occasionally it randomly started doing spelling errors again, most often after reloading the document and skipping to the bottom without scrolling through the rest of the document.

If the above posts about formatting and languages didn't fix the issue, then you might have reached that limit. Here are three options:
1) Split the document up into multiple files
2) Fix the things MS Word is complaining about. Either correct mistakes, add unknown words to the dictionary, or tell it to ignore stuff
3) Use a "better" word processor. Once saved in its .odt format, LibreOffice loads my 83k novel roughly three times faster than Word ever did, the spell check functions worked all the way to the end, it's free, and it doesn't revamp the entire menu system with each new version, so once you learn it you can always use it ;)

I have a question about this bolded bit. I always correct or "ignore", (Word HATES the Danish spelling of many of my proper names) and I "save as" when I'm done for the day. But, invariably when I open the document the next day, all of the "squiggles" are back. What am I missing?

Sorry if this is a derail.
 

alleycat

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You can add words to the Word dictionary, then Word won't flag them for being a misspelling.
 

Taejang

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You can add words to the Word dictionary, then Word won't flag them for being a misspelling.
To expand on alleycat's answer, telling MS Word to ignore something only lasts as long as the current session (aka til you close the document). Adding to the dictionary is permanent. So for something you know is not changing, like a name, dictionary is the way to go.

Ignoring is more for spelling or grammar issues you're not sure of but don't want to look up just then, or when proofing a shorter document like an email that you'll only open once or twice.

Robjvargas: What on earth is Format Painter? Is that an MS-word add-on?
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It exists in different places for different versions of MS Word, but if you select something, then click the Painter, you can highlight something else and all formatting from the first selection is copied to the second. An example:

this is a bold word. <select word "bold">
<click Format Painter>
this is not bolded. <select>
this is not bolded.
 
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Jamesaritchie

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MS Word has a set limit on how many errors it can handle with autocorrect and passive spell check functions (passive meaning the squiggly lines under words). Large documents can run up against this limit; my 83k word fantasy novel hit it around 60k words, if memory serves, though it may depend on the computer and available resources. Once you hit that limit, it misbehaves in interesting ways. On mine, it dropped all red squigglies but kept the grammar ones. Occasionally it randomly started doing spelling errors again, most often after reloading the document and skipping to the bottom without scrolling through the rest of the document.

If the above posts about formatting and languages didn't fix the issue, then you might have reached that limit. Here are three options:
1) Split the document up into multiple files
2) Fix the things MS Word is complaining about. Either correct mistakes, add unknown words to the dictionary, or tell it to ignore stuff
3) Use a "better" word processor. Once saved in its .odt format, LibreOffice loads my 83k novel roughly three times faster than Word ever did, the spell check functions worked all the way to the end, it's free, and it doesn't revamp the entire menu system with each new version, so once you learn it you can always use it ;)

What version of Word are you using? I just did a passive spellcheck on a 250k novel with no problems. I hate autocorrect, so that's always turned off.
 

Taejang

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What version of Word are you using? I just did a passive spellcheck on a 250k novel with no problems. I hate autocorrect, so that's always turned off.
MS Word 2007. I'd bet they all have a limit, though newer versions probably increased it.

The number of words is not the concern, it is the number of errors. I've literally (and humorously) received error messages saying there are too many errors and Word can't handle them all. You can't have that many errors without a lot of words, but if you've consistently made Word happy (by correcting things or adding them to the dictionary), you won't accumulate the necessary number of errors regardless of the length.

To be fair to Word, my novel is fantasy and includes words like "mage" that Word doesn't have in its dictionary, not to mention names like Monpazier and Boudica (I like to pull in historical easter eggs ;) ). I never bothered to add them to the dictionary, so in Word's mind, there were a lot of things wrong.
 
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Lena Hillbrand

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I never noticed that Word stopped redlining my mistakes. Maybe I never reach the limit of mistakes? Those red lines are so distracting that if I have a name, I always add it to the dictionary so I won't have to see the lines every time I type it. (I did however do a search for F-bombs in my novel once, and it said there were too many to find them all. So there is a limit--I want to say 100 but not positive on that--on showing those pesky words you overuse, too, but if you get rid of some of them, you'll be within the limits and can scroll through then one by one).

Format painter is a great feature, and if you're going to use word a lot, you might find it really helpful once you learn how to use it.
 

PeteMC

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I'm still clinging onto Office 97 on my home PC as it's fast, useable and works properly.

I'm stuck with Office 13 on my work laptop and the whole thing is just hideous sluggish bloatware.